#Renée Ballard series

[c2e1-book]

Experience the Gritty World of "The Late Show" – Free Audiobook!

Looking for a thrilling, action-packed crime novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat? "The Late Show" introduces you to Renée Ballard, a determined and fearless detective working the night shift in the LAPD. With relentless dedication, Ballard tackles some of the city’s darkest cases, navigating the dangers of the streets while facing challenges in her personal and professional life.

If you're a fan of gripping crime fiction with strong female leads and high-stakes investigations, this audiobook is a must-listen!

Best of all, you can experience "The Late Show" for Free on Audible! Click the link below to start your thrilling journey with Renée Ballard:

🎧 Get The Late Show for $0.00 here. https://amzn.to/4gsHQSU

Dive into the heart of crime-solving today—start listening now!

[lol-jackles]

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/amazon-alex-cross-series-aldis-hodge-renewed-season-2-series-premiere-1235987125/

If “Cross” proves to be popular, it would be the latest successful Amazon series based on a long-running novel character. The company found themselves with a massive hit on their hands courtesy of “Reacher” starring Alan Ritchson, based on the Jack Reacher novels written by Lee Child. Likewise, Amazon’s longest-running series to date was the cop drama “Bosch,” based on the Harry Bosch novels written by Michael Connelly. Titus Welliver starred as Bosch and now leads the spinoff series “Bosch: Legacy” at Amazon Freevee. A second spinoff starring Maggie Q as cold case detective Renée Ballard is also in the works at Prime Video. Prime Video also airs “The Terminal List” starring Chris Pratt, which is based on a series of novels by Jack Carr, with a prequel series on the way, while the John Krasinski-led Jack Ryan series concluded in 2023 after four seasons.

This is old news, but after hearing about Jensen's show Countdown, and reading the blurb about all the action/cop series currently or previously airing on Amazon, it seems that's the genre route they seem to be taking... but if that's the case, is there even room for another one? Especially one who's titular character is not based on a previously known entity?

Not to mention, that Amazon was impressed enough with Cross to renew an unaired series for a second season. It makes me curious to see if Amazon seems just as impressed with Countdown.

Link. Another SPN one-time guest star does good and leading his own show.  Aldis Hodge is also the executive/producer. The character of Alex Cross has been around since 1997 when Morgan Freeman first played him.  Then Tyler Perry took over the role in 2012.

Every studio is cutting cost and number of projects, even Netflix.  The Countdown not based on established IP with built-in audience is less of a sure thing, but at least it's going to be cheaper. So cost wise, there is enough room for The Countdown.  Helped that Jensen is not as high tier as Adis Hodge and John Krasinski and Chris Pratt, and therefore Jensen is much less expensive. Plus Jensen is not an executive/producer so Amazon studios doesn't have to cut him a second check.  I had quite a few very angry Anon demanding that I revise/recant my claim that Jensen is not one of the producers of The Countdown because that means in their eyes Jared is still "winning" because he was an executive/producer of Walker.

Side note, Alex Cross and Reacher are produced by Paramount/Skydance and licensed to Amazon for distribution.

[bbcviral]

Maggie Q To Star As Renée Ballard In ‘Bosch’ Spinoff Series For Prime Video http://dlvr.it/T4QqJH

[pandabytes]

Duik dieper in het Bosch universum met de nieuwe serie over detective Renée Ballard, exclusief op Prime Video. #BoschSpinoff #RenéeBallard #AmazonPrimeVideo #MichaelConnelly...

[dkwall]

Good People and Pies

The Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, we decided to eat at a local restaurant around the corner from the house rather than cook. Based on the crowd, we weren’t the only ones who had the same thought.

Asheville is, of course, a tourist destination. We are accustomed to the ebbs and flows of visitors as they flock to our city. A holiday weekend like Thanksgiving is one of those peak times. Families book hotel rooms or rent houses, and generations gather to celebrate.

With our meal complete and the bill paid, we worked our way through the crowded tables to the exit. We weaved through the line of people at the door, hordes waiting for a table.

A grandmotherly woman approached from another direction toward the same exit. She didn’t see me because her head was turned as she talked to someone behind the host stand.

We were on a collision course. Worse, she was balancing a stack of pies in her hand, a tower of sweet desserts. A disaster of gastronomic proportions loomed, so I froze.

At the last moment, she sensed my presence. Perhaps, she saw me out of the corner of her eye. Whatever the spark, she turned and immediately apologized. “Sorry.”

I replied. “No problem. I saw you coming and… well, I wanted to avoid knocking those pies out of your hands. I would’ve never heard the end of it.”

“You would’ve been in trouble?” Laughter erupted from deep inside her, a guffaw that made me smile. Her sides shook and the pies teetered. “My family would’ve killed me. Their one request as they planned to come into town was the only thing I couldn’t make—pies from this place.”

The restaurant does a special meal for Thanksgiving Day and offers three desserts—Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, and Chocolate Cake. They also sell those same flavors as whole pies/cakes. I’ve never ordered one, but they are obviously quite popular. Orders had closed off the previous week, so if she dropped them, no replacements would be available.

We worked our way through the crowd, laughing and talking even though we had never met. I held the door for her to avoid a pie catastrophe. Well, I held the door because I was raised that way, so it’s an ingrained habit. I literally can hear my mother’s voice in my head reminding me of such manners.

Once we were outside, she angled left toward her car and I turned right. With the pies still safely balanced in her hand, she called out, “Have a Happy Thanksgiving.”

I responded, “Have a great Thanksgiving,” and left with a smile on my face.

This is such a basic, human story. Two strangers sharing a laugh over something that isn’t really that funny. We merely were friendly and wished each other well.

Despite its simplicity, I thought about the moment over the long weekend as similar encounters occurred. We walked our greenway through the neighborhood and wished neighbors and their visiting guests a Happy Thanksgiving. With my sister and fourteen-year-old Super Nephew visiting from Charlotte, we were out in town and greeted others.

I can pick up a newspaper or read a story on the internet and see horrible things, but I can’t do anything about them. But I can hold a door and share a smile. And a grandmother on a pie run can make others laugh.

Two strangers. An amusing moment. A shared, genuine wish for each other to have a good day. Just being human.

I hope her kids and grandkids enjoyed that pie. I’m sure they were warmed by her company. And I hope she had a great Thanksgiving.

***

Enjoyed The Story? How About A Novel?

***

Gratuitous Dog Photo: The Royal Entrance

His Royal Highness Little Prince Typhoon Phooey makes a dramatic entrance befitting his self-image. He fully expects trumpets to announce his arrival and for all to bow. This, of course, leads to the Royal Disappointment.

***

On The Website This Week

I read Michael Connelly’s newest Harry Bosch / Renée Ballard novel, Desert Star, this week. Fans of the series will enjoy it.

Spectacular Vernacular Word of the Week: This week’s vocabulary word, litotes, isn’t bad.

Did you have cranberry sauce with your Thanksgiving meal? If so, read what my readers think about it in last month’s survey.

And don’t miss this this month’s survey on fruitcake. The results will be shared in early December just in time for the next holiday meal.

***

Until Next Monday

Keep your pies balanced and your spirits cheery.

See you next Monday.

[stacyalesi]

THE DARK HOURS by Michael Connelly

New #bookreview: THE DARK HOURS by Michael Connelly, book 4 of the Renée Ballard & Harry Bosch series and an absolute gem! Don't miss it! @Connellybooks #harryBosch #bosch #crimefiction #thriller #mystery #policeprocedural #LAPD #unputdownable #mustread

CLICK TO PURCHASE Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch, Book 4 From the publisher: “A masterpiece”—LAPD detective Renée Ballard must join forces with Harry Bosch to find justice in a city scarred by fear and social unrest after a methodical killer strikes on New Year’s Eve (Publishers Weekly). There’s chaos in Hollywood at the end of the New Year’s Eve countdown. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD…

[hell-yeahfilm]

THE DARK HOURS

New Year’s Eve 2020 finds Detective Renée Ballard, survivor of rape and Covid-19, partnered with Detective Lisa Moore, of Hollywood’s Sexual Assault Unit, in search of leads on the Midnight Men, a tag team of rapists who assaulted women on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve without leaving any forensic evidence behind. The pair are called to the scene of a shooting that would have gone to West Bureau Homicide if the unit weren’t already stretched to the limit, a case that should be handed over to West Bureau ASAP. But Ballard gets her teeth into the murder of body shop owner Javier Raffa, who reportedly bought his way out of the gang Las Palmas. The news that Raffa’s been shot by the same weapon that killed rapper Albert Lee 10 years ago sends Ballard once more to Harry Bosch, the poster boy for retirements that drive the LAPD crazy. Both victims had taken on silent partners in order to liquidate their debts, and there’s every indication that the partners were linked. That’s enough for Ballard and Bosch to launch a shadow investigation even as Ballard, abandoned by Moore, who’s flown the coop for the weekend, works feverishly to identify the Midnight Men on her own. As usual in this stellar series, the path to the last act is paved with false leads, interdepartmental squabbles, and personal betrayals, and the structure sometimes sways in the breeze. But no one who follows Ballard and Bosch to the end will be disappointed.

from Kirkus Reviews https://ift.tt/3D04iPk

[tuseriesdetv]

Guía de series: Estrenos y regresos de mayo 2020

Tenemos mucha suerte de seguir más tiempo con el confinamiento, así podremos disfrutar con calma de todas estas series y de todas las que tengamos atrasadas. Además, hay mucha comedia entre las novedades.

¡Feliz mayo!

Leyenda:

Verde: series nuevas

Negro: regresos de otras series

Naranja: miniseries o series documentales

Amarillo: tv movies, documentales, especiales o pilotos

Morado: season finales

Púrpura: midseason finales

*

Calendario de series

1 de mayo:

Hollywood (1T completa), Into the Night (1T completa), Casi feliz (1T completa), Mrs. Serial Killer, The Half of It y All Day and a Night en Netflix 

Trying (1T) en Apple TV+ 

Betty (1T) en HBO

Upload (1T completa) y Amaia: Una vuelta al Sol en Amazon

Charmed (2T finale) en The CW 

3 de mayo: 

Billions (5T) en Showtime

Rick & Morty (4bT completa) en Hulu

Good Witch (6T) en Hallmark

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (1T finale) y Good Girls (3T finale) en NBC 

4 de mayo:

Reno 911 (7T) en Quibi

The Neighborhood (2T finale) y Bull (4T finale) en CBS 

5 de mayo: 

The A Word (3T) en BBC One

El ministerio del tiempo (4T) en TVE

Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind en HBO 

The Conners (2T finale), Bless This Mess (2T finale) y Mixed-ish (1T finale) en ABC 

6 de mayo:

Becoming en Netflix

SEAL Team (3T finale) en CBS

Riverdale (4T finale) en The CW 

7 de mayo:

Blindspot (5T y última) en NBC

Brassic (2T completa) en Sky

Bruh (1T) en BET+ 

8 de mayo:

Dead to Me (2T completa), The Eddy (1T completa), Valeria (1T completa) y 18 regali en Netflix

Solar Opposites (1T completa) en Hulu

Madres (1T completa) en Amazon

Dynasty (3T finale) en The CW

MacGyver (4T finale) en CBS

10 de mayo:

I Know This Much Is True en HBO

The Rookie (2T finale) en ABC

11 de mayo: 9-1-1 (3T finale) en FOX

12 de mayo:

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend (especial interactivo) en Netflix

The Flash (6T finale) en The CW

13 de mayo:

The Wrong Missy en Netflix

American Housewife (4T finale), Single Parents (2T finale) y Schooled (2T finale) en ABC

14 de mayo:

Station 19 (4T finale) y How to Get Away with Murder (series finale) en ABC

Katy Keene (1T finale) en The CW

15 de mayo:

The Great (1T completa) en Hulu

La unidad (1T completa) en Movistar+

White Lines (1T completa) y Chichipatos (1T completa) en Netflix

The Blacklist (7T finale) en NBC

17 de mayo:

Hightown (1T) en Starz

Snowpiercer (1T) en TNT

The Simpsons (31T finale), Bob's Burgers (10T finale) y Duncanville (1T finale) en FOX

18 de mayo:

Stargirl (1T) en DC Universe

Dead Still (1T) en Acorn TV

19 de mayo: Sweet Magnolias (1T) en Netflix

20 de mayo:

The 100 (7T y última) en The CW

SWAT (3T finale) en CBS

Motherland: Fort Salem (1T finale) en Freeform

22 de mayo:

Control Z (1T completa), The Lovebirds y Survive the Night en Netflix

Homecoming (2T completa) en Amazon 

25 de mayo:

Barkskins en National Geographic

Grant en History

27 de mayo:

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (7T y última) en ABC 

Love Life (1T) y On The Record en HBO Max

Grant en History

29 de mayo:

Space Force (1T completa) en Netflix

Ramy (2T completa) en Hulu

Central Park (1T) en Apple TV+

Defending Jacob (1T finale) en Apple TV+ 

*

Estrenos de series

Hollywood (Netflix)

Descrita como una provocativa e incisiva carta de amor a la edad de oro de Hollywood, sigue a un grupo de aspirantes a actores y directores que intentan triunfar sin importar el precio después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y muestra y examina los injustos sistemas y prejuicios basados en raza, género o sexualidad y las dinámicas de poder que continúan hasta hoy y cómo se vería la industria del entretenimiento si hubieran desaparecido. Con Darren Criss (Glee, American Crime Story), David Corenswet (The Politician), Samara Weaving (SMILF, Ready or Not), Jeremy Pope (Choir Boy, Ain't Too Proud), Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming, BlacKkKlansman), Patti LuPone (Pose, Penny Dreadful), Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men, Mr. Mercedes), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory, The Normal Heart), Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story, The Politician), Queen Latifah (Chicago, Hairspray), Maude Apatow (Euphoria, Girls), Joe Mantello (The Normal Heart), Jake Picking (Patriots Day, Dirty Grandpa), Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite, Condor), Rob Reiner (All in the Family, New Girl), Harriet Harris (Desperate Housewives, Frasier) y Michelle Krusiec (The Invitation, Hawaii Five-0).

Creada por Ryan Murphy (Feud, American Crime Story) junto a Ian Brennan (Glee, Scream Queens). Diez episodios.

Estreno: 1 de mayo Estreno en España: 1 de mayo en Netflix España

Trying (Apple TV+)

Todo lo que quieren Nikki (Esther Smith; Cuckoo, Uncle) y Jason (Rafe Spall; Roadies, The Big Short) es un hijo, la única cosa que no pueden tener, así que deciden adoptar. Conociendo a sus disfuncionales amigos, sus excéntricas familias y sus caóticas vidas, ¿estará de acuerdo el comité con la adopción? El reparto cuenta con Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter, Pride), Daren Boyd (Fortitude, Lucky Man), Jackie Mouzo, Robyn Cara (Life), Jonathan Rhodes y Phil Davis (Poldark, Riviera).

Comedia escrita por Andy Wolton y dirigida por Jim O'Hanlon (Catastrophe, Inside No. 9). Ocho episodios.

Estreno: 1 de mayo Estreno en España: 1 de mayo en Apple TV+ España

Betty (HBO)

Comedia inspirada en la película Skate Kitchen (2018) que se centra en un grupo de chicas de Nueva York que practican skateboarding. Repiten en sus papeles Rachelle Vinberg, Nina Moran, Kabrina Adams, Dede Lovelace y Ajani Russell.

Creada, escrita y producida por Crystal Moselle (Skate Kitchen) y Lesley Arfin (Love). Dirigida por Moselle. Seis episodios.

Estreno: 1 de mayo

Estreno: 2 de mayo en HBO España

Upload (Amazon)

Sitcom en la que Nora (Andy Allo, Pitch Perfect 3) es una trabajadora de atención al cliente en un ambiente de realidad virtual en el que puede vivir la gente después de morir y al que llega Nathan (Robbie Amell; The Flash, A Series of Unfortunate Events) tras sufrir un accidente de coche.

Con Kevin Bigley (Sirens, The Moodys), Allegra Edwards (Briarpatch), Zainab Johnson (American Koko), Elizabeth Bowen (Fargo, No Tomorrow), William B Davis (Continuum, The X-Files) y Owen Daniels (Space Force).

Creada, escrita y dirigida por Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation). Diez episodios.

Estreno: 1 de mayo

Bruh (BET+)

John (Barry Brewer, Games People Play), Tom (Mahdi Cocci, The Gifted, Sistas), Mike (Phillip Mullings Jr., American Soul) y Bill (Monti Washington, Games People Play) son cuatro amigos afroamericanos ya en la treintena que buscan guía y apoyo entre ellos mientras tratan de aprender a ser independientes, ya sea en temas amorosos o laborales. Con Chandra Currelley (Madea's Big Happy Family), Candice Renée (Bodied), Alyssa Goss (The Bobby Brown Story), Caroline Harris (Shook), Brandon Sutton, Angela Marie Rigsby (Too Close to Home) y Sarah Hudson (Bluff City Law).

Creada, escrita, producida y dirigida por Tyler Perry (Sistas, Too Close to Home). Veinticuatro episodios.

Estreno: 7 de mayo

The Eddy (Netflix)

Drama musical ambientado en París y centrado en un pianista (André Holland; Castle Rock, Moonlight), divorciado y con una hija adolescente (Amandla Stenberg; The Hate U Give, The Hunger Games), que se ha convertido en el dueño de un club y mantiene una relación intermitente con Maja (Joanna Kulig; Cold War, Hanna), una cantante que tiene problemas con la bebida. Les acompañan Tahar Rahim (The Looming Tower, The Last Panthers) y Melissa George (The Slap, The Good Wife).

Escrito por Jack Thorne (National Treasure, This Is England) y con música original de Glen Ballard. Dirigido por Alan Poul (The Newsroom, Six Feet Under). Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash) producirá y dirigirá dos de los ocho episodios.

Estreno: 8 de mayo

Estreno: 8 de mayo en Netflix España

Solar Opposites (Hulu)

Comedia de animación sobre una familia de alienígenas que abandona su planeta y se muda a un suburbio de Estados Unidos. Con las voces de Justin Roiland (Adventure Time, Gravity Falls), Sean Giambrone (The Goldbergs, Clarence), Mary Mack (Golan the Insatiable) y Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs, Reno 911!).

Creada por Justin Roiland (Rick & Morty). Ocho episodios. Ya está renovada por una segunda temporada.

Estreno: 8 de mayo

I Know This Much Is True (HBO)

Miniserie que explora la identidad estadounidense siguiendo las vidas paralelas de dos gemelos en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Protagonizada por Mark Ruffalo (The Normal Heart, Spotlight), Melissa Leo (I'm Dying Up Here, Treme), Rosie O'Donnell (SMILF, The Fosters), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife, The Fall), Imogen Poots (Roadies, 28 Weeks Later), Juliette Lewis (Secrets & Lies, Wayward Pines), Kathryn Hahn (Transparent, I Love Dick), Guillermo Diaz (Scandal, Weeds), Aisling Franciosi (The Fall, Clique), John Procaccino (The Good Wife, Madam Secretary), Rob Huebel (Transparent, Childrens Hospital), Philip Ettinger (One Dollar, First Reformed), Michael Greyeyes (True Detective, Fear The Walking Dead), Brian Goodman (Chance, Rizzoli & Isles), Bruce Greenwood (The Resident, American Crime Story), Marcello Fonte (Dogman), Tom Stratford, Simone Coppo y Bethany Kay.

Basada en la novela de Wally Lamb (1998). Escrita, dirigida y producida por Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine). Seis episodios.

Estreno: 10 de mayo Estreno en España: 11 de mayo en HBO España

The Great (Hulu)

Comedia sobre el ascenso al poder de Catalina la Grande y la relación con su esposo. Protagonizada por Elle Fanning (Maleficent, A Rainy Day in New York), Nicholas Hoult (Skins, X-Men). Completan el cast Phoebe Fox (Close to the Enemy, The Hollow Crown), Adam Godley (The Umbrella Academy, Breaking Bad), Gwilym Lee (Jamestown, The Midsomer Murders), Charity Wakefield (Close to the Enemy, Wolf Hall), Douglas Hodge (Catastrophe, The Night Manager), Sacha Dhawan (Iron Fist, Mr. Selfridge) y Sebastian De Souza (Skins, Medici: Masters of Florence).

Escrita por Tony McNamara (The Favourite). Diez episodios.

Estreno: 15 de mayo

White Lines (Netflix)

El cuerpo de un famoso DJ de Manchester es encontrado en Ibiza veinte años después de su misteriosa desaparición y su hermana regresa a la isla a investigar. Con Laura Haddock (Guardians of the Galaxy, Da Vinci's Demons), Daniel Mays (Good Omens, Rogue One), Marta Milans (El embarcadero, Shazam!), Juan Diego Botto (Good Behaviour, Plenilunio), Nuno Lopes (São Jorge), Laurence Fox (Lewis, Victoria) y Angela Griffin (Turn Up Charlie, Ordinary Lies).

Creada y escrita por Álex Pina (La casa de papel, Vis a vis) y producida por Andy Harries (The Crown, Strike Back) y Cristina López Ferraz (La casa de papel, Vis a vis).

Estreno: 15 de mayo Estreno en España: 15 de mayo en Netflix España

Hightown (Starz)

Drama que trata la actual crisis de muertes por sobredosis de opiáceos en Estados Unidos y que se centra en Jackie (Monica Raymund; Chicago Fire, Lie to Me), una chica lesbiana de Provincetown, Massachusetts que trabaja como agente federal en el servicio nacional de pesca marina y tras encontrar un cadáver en la costa, se obsesiona cada vez más con resolver el asesinato mientras se enfrenta a su adicción. Le acompañan James Badge Dale (The Departed, 24), Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break, Deception), Dohn Norwood (The Sinner, Hell on Wheels), Shane Harper (Happyland, Awkward), Atkins Estimond (Lodge 49, StartUp) y Riley Voelkel (The Originals, The Newsroom).

Escrita y producida por Rebecca Cutter (Gotham, The Mentalist) y producida por Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI, Lucifer).

Estreno: 17 de mayo Estreno en España: 17 de mayo en Starzplay España

Snowpiercer (TNT)

Después de que el mundo se convierta en un desierto helado, los humanos que quedan vivos viajan en un tren gigante y en constante movimiento donde se mantienen la lucha de clases, las injusticias sociales y la política de la supervivencia.

Forman el reparto Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind, Requiem for a Dream), Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, The Get Down), Mickey Sumner (Battle of the Sexes, Low Winter Sun), Iddo Goldberg (Salem, Peaky Blinders), Sheila Vand (Undone, Argo), Lena Hall (Becks), Annalise Basso (Captain Fantastic, Slender Man), Jaylin Fletcher (The Female Brain), Sasha Frolova (Red Sparrow, Little Women), Steven Ogg (The Walking Dead, Westworld), Rowan Blanchard (Girl Meets World, The Goldbergs), Karin Konoval (The Good Doctor, Dirk Gently), Timothy V. Murphy (Quantico, True Detective), Happy Anderson (The Knick, Mindhunter), Sam Otto (The State), Stephen Lobo (Continuum, Travelers), Katie McGuinness (Hollywood, Roots), Miranda Edwards (Arrow, The Magicians), Susan Park (Briarpatch, Fargo), Manoj Sood (Salvation, Insomnia), Dylan Schmid (Shut Eye, Once Upon a Time), Mike O'Malley (Glee, My Name Is Earl), Andrea Ware (Van Helsing), Shaun Toub (Homeland, Lois & Clark), Jonathan Lloyd Walker (Continuum, Flash Gordon), Kelly-Ruth Mercier (Bates Motel), Roberto Urbina (Narcos, Recovery Road), Aleks Paunovic (Van Helsing, iZombie), Shaun Toub (Homeland, Iron Man), Kerry O'Malley (Shameless, Annabelle), Aaron Glenane (Picnic at Hanging Rock) o Fiona Vroom (Altered Carbon, The Man in the High Castle).

Adaptación de la película de 2013. Creada por Graeme Manson (Orphan Black). Diez episodios. Ya está renovada por una segunda temporada.

Estreno: 17 de mayo

Stargirl (DC Universe)

Courtney Whitmore (Bella & the Bulldogs, The Goldbergs) es una estudiante que descubre que su padrastro (Luke Wilson; The Royal Tenenbaums, Roadies) fue un superhéroe en el pasado. Además, recibe el poderoso bastón cósmico de Starman (Joel McHale; Community, The X-Files) y se convierte en miembro de una nueva generación de superhéroes. Con Amy Smart (The Butterfly Effect, Felicity), Trae Romano, Cameron Gellman (Heathers), Neil Jackson (Absentia, Sleepy Hollow), Hunter Sansone (Drama Drama), Yvette Monreal (Matador, Faking It), Christopher James Baker (True Detective, Ozark), Henry Thomas (The Haunting of Hill House, Better Things), Joy Osmanski (Santa Clarita Diet, Shameless), Neil Hopkins (Lost, Matador), Nelson Lee (Ten Days in the Valley, Sneaky Pete), Kron Moore (The Oval), Jake Austin Walker (Rectify), Meg DeLacy (The Fosters, Recovery Road), Anjelika Washington (Runaways, We're Not Friends), Lou Ferrigno Jr. (SWAT, How I Met Your Mother), Brian Stapf (The Purge, The Walking Dead) y Hina Khan (Hit the Floor).

Creada por Geoff Johns (The Flash, Arrow) y producida por Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Riverdale). Trece episodios.

Estreno: 18 de mayo

Estreno en España: 19 de mayo en HBO España

Dead Still (Acorn TV)

Ambientada en Irlanda a finales del siglo XIX, sigue a un conocido fotógrafo de cadáveres que investiga los asesinatos de los fallecidos. Estará protagonizada por Michael Smiley (Luther, The Aliens), Kerr Logan (Cormoran Strike, Game of Thrones), Eileen O'Higgins (Brooklyn, Mary Queen of Scots), Aidan O'Hare (Jackie), Jimmy Smallhorne (Clean Break), Mark Rendall (Versailles, Transporter), Peter Campion (Derry Girls, Brooklyn) y Martin Donovan (Big Little Lies, Boss).

Escrita por John Morton (People Like Us, W1A) y dirigida por Imogen Murphy (Red Rock; Can't Cope, Won't Cope) y Craig David Wallace (Slasher, Murdoch Mysteries). Seis episodios.

Estreno: 18 de mayo

Sweet Magnolias (Netflix)

Adaptación de la serie de novelas de Sherryl Woods sobre tres mujeres y amigas de Carolina del Sur que lidian con el amor, el trabajo y la familia. Con JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Once Upon a Time, Kevin (Probably) Saves The World), Brooke Elliott (Drop Dead Diva), Heather Headley (Chicago Med, She's Gotta Have It), Chris Klein (American Pie, The Flash), Jamie Lynn Spears (Zoey 101, All That) y Justin Bruening (Good Behavior, Grey's Anatomy).

Escrita y producida por Sheryl J. Anderson (Charmed, Detective McLean). Producida también por Woods. Diez episodios.

Estreno: 19 de mayo

Estreno en España: 19 de mayo en Netflix España

Control Z (Netflix)

Cuando un hacker empieza a revelar los secretos más íntimos de muchos estudiantes, se desata el caos en el instituto. Los más populares comienzan a ser acosados, los marginados ganan estatus y todos se convierten en sospechosos. Sofía (Ana Valeria Becerril; Las hijas de Abril, Muerte al verano), una empollona sin amigos, intentará descubrir y detener al hacker mientras sufre todo un proceso de autodescubrimiento. Completan el reparto Michael Ronda (Soy Luna, Como dice el dicho), Yankel Stevan (Papá a toda madre, Como dice el dicho), Rodrigo Cachero (Las malcriadas), Lidia San José (Paquita Salas, A las once en casa), Zión Moreno (Gossip Girl), Luis Curiel (Doña Flor y sus dos maridos, Como dice el dicho), Samantha Acuña, Andrés Baida (Los elegidos; Like, la leyenda), Patricio Gallardo (Silvana sin lana; Tony, la chef), Macarena García (Papis muy padres; Like, la leyenda), Iván Aragón (El Chapo, Enemigo íntimo) y Xabiani Ponce de León (Violetta, Esto no es Berlín).

Creada y escrita por Carlos Quintanilla Sakar (La bandida, Rosario Tijeras), Adriana Pelusi (Rosario Tijeras, Sin rastro de ti) y Miguel García Moreno (La candidata, La esquina del diablo).

Estreno: 22 de mayo

Estreno en España: 22 de mayo en Netflix España

Barkskins (National Geographic)

En Canadá, en el siglo XVII, ocurre una misteriosa masacre que amenaza con provocar una guerra en la región. Los colonos, de todas las clases sociales, que buscaban fortuna en el Nuevo Mundo se encuentran con bosques profundos y oscuros e indígenas que les reciben con desdén pero saben que necesitarán buscar alianzas con los recién llegados para sobrevivir. Con David Thewlis (Wonder Woman, Harry Potter), Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock, Mystic River), Christian Cooke (Ordeal by Innocence, Witches of East End), Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk, The White Queen), Thomas M. Wright (Top of the Lake, The Bridge), Tallulah Haddon (Kiss Me First, Black Mirror) y James Bloor (Dunkirk).

Adaptación de la novela de Annie Proulx (Brokeback Mountain) publicada en 2012. Escrita y producida por Elwood Reid (The Chi, The Bridge). Ocho episodios.

Estreno: 25 de mayo

Love Life (HBO Max)

Comedia que sigue el camino desde el primer amor hasta el último. La primera temporada estará protagonizada y producida por Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air) y nos mostrará a un novio distinto de Darby (Kendrick) en cada episodio. Con Scoot McNairy (Halt and Catch Fire, True Detective), Zoe Chao (Strangers), Sasha Compere (Miracle Workers) y Peter Vack (The Bold Type, Mozart in the Jungle).

Creada por Sam Boyd (In a Relationship) y producida por Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks, Other Space). Diez episodios.

Estreno: 27 de mayo

Space Force (Netflix)

Comedia sobre la gente encargada de formar la fuerza espacial, la sexta rama que quiere crear Trump en las Fuerzas Armadas. Con Steve Carell (The Office, The 40 Year Old Virgin), Lisa Kudrow (Friends, The Comeback), John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich, The New Pope), Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, House of Lies), Diana Silvers (Booksmart, Ma), Tawny Newsome (Brockmire, Bajillion Dollar Propertie$), Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley, Crazy Rich Asians), Alex Sparrow (UnREAL, The Vatican Tapes), Noah Emmerich (The Americans, The Spy), Fred Willard (Modern Family, Eveybody Loves Raymond), Jessica St. Clair (Playing House, American Housewife), Don Lake (The Bonnie Hunt Show) y Owen Daniels (Upload).

Creada y producida por Steve Carell (Angie Tribeca, The 40 Year Old Virgin) y escrita por Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation).

Estreno: 29 de mayo

Central Park (Apple TV+)

Comedia musical de animación centrada en los cuidadores que viven en Central Park y acaban salvando el parque y básicamente el mundo. Contará con las voces de Josh Gad (Frozen, Angry Birds), Leslie Odom Jr. (Smash), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, 30 Rock), Kristen Bell (Frozen, Gossip Girl), Stanley Tucci (BoJack Horseman, The Hunger Games), Daveed Diggs (Undone, Ferdinand) y Kathryn Hahn (Transparent, Mrs. Fletcher).

Creada por Josh Gad y Loren Bouchard (Bob's Burgers). Trece episodios. Ya está renovada por una segunda temporada.

Estreno: 29 de mayo

[mariatramp56-blog]

12 Best Things to Do in L.A. This Week

From Vegan Sweets Con to an event tackling L.A.'s homelessness crisis, a dance benefit and Latinx performance art, here are the 12 best things to do in L.A. this week.

DANCE

Tilting at Windmills

Miguel de Cervantes' epic novel Don Quixote, about an idealistic knight-errant and his comrade Sancho Panza, has proved to be a universally resonant tale over the past four centuries, with interpretations in multiple formats, including film and opera. The ballet adaptation, with music by Ludwig Minkus and choreography by Marius Petipa, staged and choreographed further by Alexander Gorsky in 1900, has endured as the definitive ballet adaptation, and that's the version brought to the Southland this week by St. Petersburg's high-flying and stylish Mikhailovsky Ballet. Principal dancer Ivan Vasiliev portrays Basilio in the first two evening performances, and Victor Lebedev takes over in the role in the matinees on Saturday and Sunday, with Angelina Vorontsova and Anastasia Soboleva alternating as Kitri. Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa; Fri., Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 10, 2 & 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 11, 1 p.m.; $29-$189. (714) 556-2787, scfta.org. —Falling James

ART

Check in Here

The last time Art at the Rendon let a few dozen artists loose inside the walls of the mid-transformation Rendon Hotel, they took over every room with a series of art installations that made for an immersive and sometimes intense, hallucinatory experience. A lot of that art is still in place but this weekend, it's interior and exterior video projections and live performance art throughout the building that take center stage. Well, less of a stage and more of a choose-your-own-adventure narrative pastiche of theater and visual reimaginings of the history of this gloriously seedy original Arts District location. In fact, the corner dive bar (familiar to fans of Bukowski's Barfly, and which in the film version basically played itself) will be reactivated as a jazzy period piece serving local brews. All proceeds benefit the theatre programs at nearby Inner City Arts. Rendon Hotel, 2055 E. Seventh St., downtown; Fri.-Sat., Nov. 9-10, 7 p.m.; Sun. Nov. 11, 6 p.m.; $25. (213) 537-0687, artattherendon.com. —Shana Nys Dambrot

BrockusRED hosts Dance/BACK.

Denise Leitner

sat 11/10

DANCE

Giving Back

Deborah Brockus is the prime mover of the L.A. Dance Festival and her own contemporary company, BrockusRED. For the past three years they've hosted the local dance community's charity event Dance/BACK, with 100 percent of the proceeds donated to a designated charity or nonprofit. This year's participants include Maura Townsend's PROJECT21DANCE, Nancy Evans' Dodge Dance Company, Sean Greene, Fuse Dance Company, Lindsey Lollie, Leah Hamel's Carpool Dance Collective, Luke Zendar, Charlotte K. Smith and the host company. Past recipients include Doctors Without Borders (2015), Family Rescue Center (2016) and Doctors Without Borders/International Rescue Committee (2016). This year, the ACLU and the Good Shepherd Women's Shelter will benefit. Whatever finally happens when the dust settles on the midterms, the ACLU undoubtedly will be going to court or paying for current court cases challenging voter suppression efforts in states like Kansas, North Dakota and Georgia. This annual event has become a way to channel the energy of the local dance community and its audience to dance and give back. Entry is an online donation (action.aclu.org/teamaclu/campaign/danceback-2018) or a donation for the shelter brought to the show; advise which you'll do when making the required reservation (Brockus.Dance.inLA@gmail.com). Brockus Project Studios, 618B Moulton Ave., Lincoln Heights; Sat., Nov. 10, 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 11, 6 p.m.; entry by donation. brockusproject.org. —Ann Haskins

FOOD & DRINK

Block Party

While it may not be summer anymore, SoCal's temperate climes mean there's never really a bad time of the year to have an event like the Gonzoplex Block Party, with Pitfire Artisan Pizza celebrating the opening of Superba Snacks + Coffee. A host of food — burgers, pretzels, pizza, french fry cones and more — awaits attendees, as well as live music, games and a cash beer garden.There will be various contests of skill, or at least appetite, including pizza making, pizza eating and latte art competitions. All proceeds from the block party's raffle benefit KPCC/Southern California Public Radio (and really, when you think about it, you and your commute, too). Superba Snacks + Coffee, 730 S. Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena; Sat., Nov. 10, noon-5 p.m.; free. eventbrite.com/e/the-gonzoplex-block-party-tickets-48671148716. —Avery Bissett

Courtesy Druid Underground

FILM

Prepare to Be Provoked

"No one knows who they were or what they were doing, but their legacy remains," the great hard-rock philosophers Spinal Tap once mused about the druids in their daft musical homage "Stonehenge." The druids' legacy resurfaces in another form this evening at the 12th annual Druid Underground Film Festival, with a two-hour program of short films and found footage. While the works in this year's edition will shed little light on the actual culture of the druids, they do represent a fascinating collision of provocative short films on numerous subjects presented by series founder Billy Burgess. HM157, 3110 N. Broadway, Lincoln Heights; Sat., Nov. 10, 8 p.m.; $10. (562) 895-9399. —Falling James

sun 11/11

FOOD & DRINK

Dairy-Free Deliciousness

Vegans tend to get ridiculed for their strict diets. But at Vegan Sweets Con — fittingly taking place around the holidays, the most sugar-filled time of year — the healthy and animal-free desserts are anything but boring. Following this summer's Long Beach Vegan Festival, this event gathers more than 30 vendors selling every type of sweet, from cookies and macaroons to chocolates and shakes, in addition to savory options, such as Compton Vegan, which specializes in soul food and BBQ. The schedule also features a cookie bake-off, children's cookie decorating and a dairy-free milk and cookies lounge, as well as demonstrations and appearances by Lauren Toyota, Nicole Allen and Flower Bullock, creator of Stone Girl Treats & Eats, who teaches how to use cannabidiol. The Renaissance Hotel, 1111 Ocean Blvd., Long Beach; Sun., Nov. 11, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; $10-$40, 12 & under free. (562) 437-5900, vegancookiecon.com. —Siran Babayan

mon 11/12

BOOKS

Murder Mystery

That dozens of unsolved murders were finally solved remains a high point of 2018, and detective novelists have seized upon these latest developments with characteristic vigor. Tonight, Live Talks L.A. presents Paul Levine and Michael Connelly discussing Connelly's new book, Dark Sacred Night (A Ballard and Bosch Novel) ($29, Little, Brown and Company). In this latest page-burner, Detective Renée Ballard stumbles upon former detective Harry Bosch rummaging through old files to solve a cold case. After he leaves, she finds out that he's really on to something and they join forces to close the books on the case at last. Ann and Jerry Moss Theater, 3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica; Mon., Nov. 12, 8 p.m.; $52 reserved + book/$42 general + book/$20 general. (310) 855-0005, livetalksla.org/events/michael-connelly/. —David Cotner

EXPAND

Susanna Mälkki

Simon Fowler

tue 11/13

MUSIC

A Quintet of Premieres

The Green Umbrella series is always one of the highlights of L.A. Philharmonic's season, as adventurous members of the orchestra band together as the L.A. Phil New Music Group to perform strange and experimental avant-garde pieces in front of diverse, open-minded audiences on Tuesday nights. But with L.A. Phil celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the orchestra is taking the bold step of filling every Green Umbrella program this season with the world premieres of new works. Tonight, Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki presents a program of new music by European composers Francesco Filidei, Arnulf Herrmann, Lotta Wennäkoski, Miroslav Srnka and Yann Robin. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown; Tue., Nov. 13, 8 p.m.; $20-$60. (323) 850-2000, laphil.com. —Falling James

wed 11/14

ART

Clay Makes a Comeback

Ceramics has been having an extended moment of popularity and acclaim in fine-art circles, as more and more contemporary artists embrace the appeal of this slow, heavy, messy medium. Not content to simply appreciate the appeal of this exceptionally analog and physical material, perhaps as a countermeasure against the surge of the digital and virtual, new generations of sculptors are pressing tradition into the service of the modern. One of the most intriguing voices in the clay conversation has been Matt Wedel, whose new show, "Everything is everything," opens in Venice this week. Wedel's unique vision merges his own family background (his dad is a potter) with art historical confidence and expressively personal narrative to create eccentric, painterly ceramic sculptures that innovatively interpret elements from natural and psychological landscapes. L.A. Louver, 45 N. Venice Blvd., Venice; opening reception: Wed., Nov. 14, 6-8 p.m.; exhibit Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m., thru Jan. 5; free. (310) 822-4955, lalouver.com. —Shana Nys Dambrot

ACTIVISM

Challenging Homelessness

While the response from Los Angeles' political leaders to the city's homeless epidemic has been less decisive leadership and more unfulfilled promises and moribund policymaking, the participants at the L.A. Homelessness Challenge aren't as content to sit around waiting for the status quo to change. Sponsored by United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the Watt Companies, the Shark Tank (but with better ideas!)–style event will award $200,000 to the best service solution for tackling homelessness. The finalists include Venice Family Clinic's proposal to expand and educate the public on street medicine; a program that offers families mobile childcare; and various housing and support regimes. The evening opens with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. InterContinental Hotel Los Angeles, 900 Wilshire Blvd., downtown; Wed., Nov. 14, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; free, RSVP required. eventbrite.com/e/la-homelessness-challenge-pitch-event-tickets-50787065480. —Avery Bissett

thu 11/15

ART

The Body Politic

En Cuatro Patas is the Broad's feminist Latinx performance series, in which an eclectic range of possible identities across the community and positions as citizens of the world have been explored, manifesting as interdisciplinary avant-garde quasi-theatrical experiences. This edition features Given Over to Want by internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Nao Bustamante; Shadow Woman by Gina Osterloh, a visual artist who has always enacted performative elements as part of her installations and compositions; and INFESTACIÓN: PISOS I, II, III by the operatically soulful composer-singer-activist Dorian Wood. The Broad, 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown; Thu., Nov. 15, 8:30 p.m.; $15. (213) 232-6200, thebroad.org. —Shana Nys Dambrot

Damien Echols

Courtesy Sounds True

BOOKS

Wrongly Convicted

Damien Echols was one of the West Memphis Three, a trio of teenagers who were convicted in 1994 of murdering three young boys in Arkansas in 1993. The case attracted a lot of media attention, with many followers, including Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, decrying the judicial process, and the West Memphis Three eventually were freed from prison, if not fully exonerated. Echols and his friends appeared to have been convicted based more on their lifestyle as fans of heavy metal than on hard evidence that definitively proved their guilt. "Magick saved my life," Echols writes in his new book, High Magick. "Magick was the only thing in prison that gave my life purpose and kept me sane." He discusses the book with The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines. The Regent Theater, 448 S. Main St., downtown; Thu., Nov. 15, 8 p.m.; $32. (323) 934-2944, ticketfly.com/event/1769072-damien-echols-in-conversation-los-angeles/. —Falling James

Source: https://www.laweekly.com/arts/12-best-things-to-do-in-la-this-week-10036509

[lharvey250]

THE LATE SHOW MICHAEL CONNELLY MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️ PUBLISHER Little Brown/Hachette Audio PUBLISHED July 18, 2017 NARRATED Katherine Moennig An exciting new series by Michael Connelly featuring a determined and resilient female detective, who is both impressive and rather intriguing.

SUMMARY Renée Ballard works the “late show” at the LAPD, the night shift. She’s there because her previous supervisor made a pass at her, and she pushed back with a sexual harassment complaint that went no where. She doesn’t mind working the late show, she gets in on the ground floor of lots of cases, the problem is, she never gets to finish any of them. She has to turn each of them all over to the day shift each morning.

One night she catches two cases that she doesn’t want to let go of. One is the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot. The other is the death of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. It’s a huge case with four others dead. Her previous supervisor is in charge of the scene, he hasn’t forgiven her for the complaint, and he doesn’t want her around any of his cases. Ballard steps lightly but keeps working these two cases even when she’s off the clock. It’s against orders and her partner’s wishes. But she wants to solve a case, and the more she uncovers the harder she digs in. She won’t give up.

REVIEW THE LATE SHOW is a exciting new series by author MICHAEL CONNELLY featuring Renée Ballard who is in her mid-30’s, single, and loves to paddle board. She is a smart, strong-willed police detective with plenty of determination. Renee is courageous and certainly not afraid to do what it takes to get the job done. But what I love about her the most is her emotional resilience, her ability to get right back up after being dealt a difficult hand. I’m so elated to have started this series and am already looking forward to the next book, and the next and the next. It’s always nice to have something to look forward to!

MICHAEL CONNELLY delivers a fast-paced crime mystery that masterfully weaves multiple plot lines together like a beautiful braided necklace. THE LATE SHOW was engaging and I highly recommend it. Looks like the start of something good! I listened to the Audible version of the book and thought Katherine Moennig’s narration of the book was good.

[janetoconnerfl]

Book review: A new hero emerges to save lonely but still determined Harry Bosch

  Give crime writer Michael Connelly credit.

He knows that the career and shelf life of his greatest creation — the laconic but always determined Harry Bosch — is spiraling toward a not-too-pretty end. Now, clearly in his 60s, the ex-Los Angles Police detective has hacked off nearly every boss he’s encountered in his nearly 30-year campaign to right all the wrongs in the City of Angels.

Even his current stint as reserve detective for the tiny San Fernando Police Department may be yanked from under him because of a stupid mistake he makes while investigating an unsolved murder in Connelly’s newest book, “Dark Sacred Night.”

But to revive Bosch’s fledgling drive to deliver a measure of justice in this world, and to jolt some youthful energy into the Bosch series, Connelly introduces Harry to Renée Ballard, who we met for the first time last year in Connelly’s “The Late Show.” Ballard is an LAPD detective who is also an outsider. She lives on the beach with her dog and her only family is a grandmother she sees only occasionally.

Ballard refused the sexual advances of a senior detective, filed a harassment complaint against him, and was banished to the late shift when her colleagues refused to back up her allegations. And like Bosch, she hates it when someone gets away with murder, so aligns herself with Bosch to investigate the cold-case murder of 15-year-old prostitute Daisy Clayton.

The first meeting between Bosch and Ballard is low-key but amusing. Ballard returns to her desk at the Hollywood Division and finds an older man with gray hair and “the mustache that seemed to be standard with cops who came on in the seventies and eighties” rifling through some old records. Ballard readies her Glock to use on Bosch but quickly learns about his quest to find Clayton’s murderer.

Clayton’s body was found in a trash bin in Hollywood nine years earlier. Bosch is so invested in the case, he is letting Daisy’s mom stay with him while she is trying to get off drugs.

Ballard asks her superior if he knows Bosch. “Everybody knows Harry Bosch,” he tells her, solidifying his legend in the LAPD. Ballard decides she could learn something from Bosch, while Bosch recognizes a kindred spirit in Ballard, and the two are quickly off probing the death of Clayton.

But Connelly quickly establishes the Clayton case is not the only one each investigator has to work. The novel goes back and forth between Bosch figuring out who ordered the execution-style slaying of a vicious gang leader while Ballard solves — Sherlock Holmes-style — the death in a house high up on Hollywood Boulevard.

Connelly, as usual, delivers a fast-paced story that doesn’t disappoint. Along the way, Bosch briefly reveals to Ballard how deeply lonely he is while Ballard admits to herself how Bosch reminds her of her long-lost father.

The two also learn they can depend on each other in deadly situations. It’s a relationship that might be built to last.

  from Latest Information https://www.denverpost.com/2018/12/13/book-review-a-new-hero-emerges-to-save-lonely-but-still-determined-harry-bosch/

[stepintothelife]

Book Review: Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly

Book Review: Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly

  My Rating: 4 Stars Series Title:  Renée Ballard (A Ballard and Bosch Novel) Number in Series: Book #2 Publisher: Hachette Book Group Narrator: Christine Lakin and Titus Welliver Media: Audiobook Length: 11 hours Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime

LAPD Detective Renée Ballard teams up with Harry Bosch in the new work of fiction from #1 NYT bestselling author Michael Connelly.…

[laurendzim]

Move over, Harry Bosch: There’s a newer and more relentless cop in LA

Little, Brown and Company

“The Late Show”

Congratulations, Harry Bosch. You have a new literary love child to help you fight the seedy underworld of Los Angeles.

Her name is Detective Renée Ballard and she is the driving, jarring force in writer Michael Connelly’s latest crime novel, “The Late Show.”

Ballard appears ready to take over for Bosch, who Connelly created over two decades ago as a rogue fighter for the underdog in the LA Police Department. But these days he is an older and more settled man who left the LA department in a heated dispute.

Bosch has not even met Ballard. But Harry would probably approve of her.

Ballard’s dogged approach to solving murders hacks off her bosses in the department even if the victims are society’s cast-offs. She speaks bluntly and she finds political intrigue inside the department annoying and a barrier to true justice for victims.

Sounds clichéd? Probably in lesser hands. But Connelly made it all part of a Harry Bosch’s ethos when he began writing his Bosch books in the early 1990s.

Bosch is in his 60s now, worried about how he is going to pay for his daughter’s college tuition. He is even the subject of an Amazon Prime television series. The series  — which exists in the real world — gets a mention in “The Late Show,” probably to contrast the different stages Bosch and Ballard now occupy in their lives and careers.

Although a promising investigator, Ballard has been relegated to the late shift  — “The Late Show” — because she filed a sexual harassment claim against her boss. Her former partner refused to back up her allegations because he was worried about his career.

Ballard doesn’t even have a real home. She keeps a change of clothes in a van and lives mostly on the beach and uses time on her paddle board to free her mind of the horrors of her job.

Ballard grew up in Maui but watched her father drown in a surfing accident. Her Hawaiian mother abandoned her, and she is now only close to her grandmother and Lola, a rescued pit bill.

Her current partner is decent enough and “a good cop when he wants to be.” But he prefers to be at home with his terminally ill wife.

So by nature and circumstances, Ballard take on most of her cases by herself. And in one night, she encounters some doozies.

One victim is a cross-dresser who has been brutally beaten. Connelly was a former crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, and he uses that skill to relay cop-speak to the reader in clear and not-so-politically correct tones.

“Drag queens, cross-dressers and transgenders were all generally referred to as dragons in vice,” Connelly writes. “No distinctions were made. It wasn’t nice but it was accepted. Ballard had spent two years on a decoy team in the unit herself. She knew the turf and she knew the slang. It would never go away, no matter how many hours of sensitivity training cops were subjected to.”

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Later on the same night, a “four on the floor in a club on Sunset”  is reported — four shooting victims in one booth. A fifth victim, a waitress, is found near an exit.

Ballard, despite facing overt antagonism from her former boss, takes on each case in breathtaking fashion. She follows every clue to exhaustion and along the way fights her way out of a house where she was stripped of her clothes, and bound and gagged by a suspect who owns brass knuckles that say “Good” and “Evil.”

There are a lot of characters and a good dose of sober forensic science in “The Late Show.” But typically Connelly makes it all seem relevant and key to solving every crime.

It makes you want to say: “It’s all good, Harry Bosch. Put your feet up. Renée Ballard is on the job.”

from News And Updates http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/31/the-late-show-michael-connelly-book-review/