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A review by mbpartlow
The Late Show by Michael Connelly
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.