Book Report: The Late Show

25. Michael Connelly, The Late Show (2017) (9/14/18)

On Tuesday I flew from Seattle to San Jose—via San Diego. The San Diego extension was a surprise, my original direct flight having been canceled, and added four hours to my journey. I decided to buy a book to make the trip more entertaining. Although the in-airport offerings were limited, a thorough scanning of the shelves did net me one book I knew I'd enjoy: anything by Michael Connelly is a sure win.

This particular book features a new LAPD detective in Connelly's stable, Renée Ballard. The "late show" refers to her shift, midnight to 8 a.m., which she was relegated to as punishment for filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor. But over the years, she's grown to enjoy the relative peace and autonomy of the assignment.

This book ties together several crimes that occur one night—a burglary, a beating, and a nightclub murder of five individuals. There's a dirty cop, a patient dog, a porno movie maker, a stashed witness, a car salesman, and we learn how to wax a surfboard.

It was all perfectly adequate storytelling, with nothing remarkable about the writing—so no quotes here.

Connelly has written twenty Harry Bosch novels, and a new one is due out next month, pairing Bosch and Ballard. I keep toying with the idea of reading all the Bosch books, some of them again, the more recent ones for the first time. Maybe that can be my next reading project.