Just a few months ago, bestselling author Michael Connelly told Jim Sullivan of WBUR.org that he was working on his thirtieth novel, but that it wasn’t part of his mega-famous Harry Bosch series. Instead, Connelly announced that his next book would be introducing readers to a new lead character named Renée Ballard.
Before we talk more about Ballard, here’s what Connelly said in regards to Bosch during that same interview:
“You want to give them a rest so those batteries recharge,” Connelly says. “It’s always helpful because when I’ve been away from these characters for a year or two, I can’t wait to start writing about them again. But on the other hand, on the creative, artistic level, I turned 60 this year. I don’t want to just keep writing and alternating between two characters that I’ve had around 25 years. I want to create new things and I think this is the right time to do that.”
The vast majority of media outlets, including us, took the author’s remarks to mean that he would not be publishing a new Bosch novel in 2017. It turns out that we were all wrong, because Connelly just announced that Harry would, in fact, be back later this year.
Entertainment Weekly was one of the first to publish the breaking news, saying: “Connelly will publish the next installment in the Bosch series (untitled as of now) on Nov. 7, 2017, and will introduce the world to the new Renée Ballard series kicking off with The Late Show on July 18, 2017.” (As EW pointed out, Little, Brown, and Company, Connelly’s publisher, announced the news on Tuesday.)
So while we don’t know any details about the twenty-second Bosch novel, which follows last year’s The Wrong Side of Goodbye, at least we know Bosch will be back in November–and that’s good enough for us!
In the meantime, we do know details about the plot info for The Late Show, which is scheduled for release this summer and will introduce readers to Renée Ballard, a young LAPD detective who’s stuck working the night shift in Hollywood after filing a sexual harassment complaint against her boss.
Renée Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing none as each morning she turns her cases over to day shift detectives. A once up-and-coming detective, she’s been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor.
But one night she catches two cases she doesn’t want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn. Against orders and her own partner’s wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shift by night. As the cases entwine they pull her closer to her own demons and the reason she won’t give up her job no matter what the department throws at her.
Readers chomping at the bit to get their hands on The Late Show can pre-order it here, a full five months before it’s due in bookstores on July 18th. Also, for fans of the Amazon-produced television show, Bosch, season three is nearly done filming and should be available on Amazon sometime in March or April.
All things considered, 2017 is shaping up to be one awesome, Michael Connelly-filled year!
