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mbpartlow's review against another edition
3.0
I never thought I'd read a Michael Connelly book that I didn't just LOVE. But this one is it.
The problem for me was the main character. I felt like you could have written the name "Harry Bosch" instead of hers, and it would have read exactly the same. When my husband and I were discussing the book, I accidentally referred to the main character as "he" more than once.
I know Connelly can write female characters. Cassie Black is one of my all-time favorites. Damaged and fully-realized, interesting and believable. I can't say the same about Renee Ballard.
The second thing that bothered me was a plot point. Renee discovers a suspect in a crime had been married and was divorced. And Renee thinks, in reference to the ex-wife, "Her ending the marriage following his arrest and her apparent decision not to fight for a share of the house in the hills indicated that this was a woman who just wanted to get away from a bad guy and a bad mistake."
First, the arrest. It was a prostitution sting operation. I think that would be reason enough for many women to divorce their husbands. The fact that the "prostitute" was a young male would also be reason enough to choose to end the marriage.
Second, the house. Some women don't WANT anything from their ex-husbands, whether they're psychopaths or really nice guys. This marriage was less than ten years, so the easiest dissolution would be: you take your stuff, I'll take mine. Which leads to wondering, if he owned the house before they got married, she might have signed a pre-nup. Or not wanted his house OR his money because she had pride, or faith in her ability to support herself. I could go on and come up with another half-dozen reasons, easily, why a woman might not want a share in a house when she got divorced. For this supposedly savvy detective to make this unfounded leap really made me like the character less, and made me question whether she was really as smart as she thought she was.
I would think twice before buying another Renee Ballard book, although I'll remain a die-hard Michael Connelly fan.
The problem for me was the main character. I felt like you could have written the name "Harry Bosch" instead of hers, and it would have read exactly the same. When my husband and I were discussing the book, I accidentally referred to the main character as "he" more than once.
I know Connelly can write female characters. Cassie Black is one of my all-time favorites. Damaged and fully-realized, interesting and believable. I can't say the same about Renee Ballard.
The second thing that bothered me was a plot point. Renee discovers a suspect in a crime had been married and was divorced. And Renee thinks, in reference to the ex-wife, "Her ending the marriage following his arrest and her apparent decision not to fight for a share of the house in the hills indicated that this was a woman who just wanted to get away from a bad guy and a bad mistake."
First, the arrest. It was a prostitution sting operation. I think that would be reason enough for many women to divorce their husbands. The fact that the "prostitute" was a young male would also be reason enough to choose to end the marriage.
Second, the house. Some women don't WANT anything from their ex-husbands, whether they're psychopaths or really nice guys. This marriage was less than ten years, so the easiest dissolution would be: you take your stuff, I'll take mine. Which leads to wondering, if he owned the house before they got married, she might have signed a pre-nup. Or not wanted his house OR his money because she had pride, or faith in her ability to support herself. I could go on and come up with another half-dozen reasons, easily, why a woman might not want a share in a house when she got divorced. For this supposedly savvy detective to make this unfounded leap really made me like the character less, and made me question whether she was really as smart as she thought she was.
I would think twice before buying another Renee Ballard book, although I'll remain a die-hard Michael Connelly fan.
dreavg's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
uncle_nino's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
dunnadam's review against another edition
5.0
Well written and it very easily hooks you in. I had never read Connelly before and I was enjoying this so much I put The Lincoln Lawyer on my watch list and started watching Bosch.
I am very familiar with mysteries but I don't think I had read a police procedural before this, and I really enjoyed it, I will be following this series and probably starting others by Connelly.
One small flaw, I was enjoying the logistics of the case so much that I didn't really like it when the action part started heating up at around 65%.
I am very familiar with mysteries but I don't think I had read a police procedural before this, and I really enjoyed it, I will be following this series and probably starting others by Connelly.
One small flaw, I was enjoying the logistics of the case so much that I didn't really like it when the action part started heating up at around 65%.
ap2009's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
merisoricica's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
cake_cats_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bookhawk's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Late Show introduced the protagonist Renee Ballard. Connelly is an excellent writer and a master plot generator overall. Unfortunately, this is not one of his better books. Ballard is a good character but seems like a female Harry Bosch clone in many ways. I don’t quite know how this is in the Harry Bosch universe as I did not even see a single Bosch reference. 3.5 stars.
missyjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
Good escape to LA. I like the new character. Some of the bits were a little hard to really believe but that is ok, the story was entertaining and I look forward to the next Late Show adventure of Detective Ballard