NEW ON THE LIST AND IN PUBLISHING
A hit ‘Show’: If Michael Connelly harbored any doubts whether hard-core Harry Bosch fans would follow him as he introduced a new cop heroine, they should be allayed by the performance of The Late Show.
The thriller, starring LAPD Detective Renée Ballard, lands at No. 1 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list.
“It is extremely gratifying to hit that spot with a new character,” Connelly tells USA TODAY. “I have high hopes for Renée Ballard’s literary life, and it can’t start out better than the top of USA TODAY’s best-seller list.” The Late Show is Connelly’s 30th novel, but the first to feature Ballard, who is banished to the Hollywood night shift after her sexual harassment complaint against a male supervisor goes nowhere.
The Late Show is Connelly’s second novel to hit No. 1, but the first to make its debut in the top spot. The Wrong Side of Goodbye, a Bosch novel, landed at No. 2 on Nov. 10, 2016, and then hit No. 1 on Jan. 5, 2017.
In a July 18 #Bookmark This interview with USA TODAY on Facebook Live, Connelly said it was a “big deal” for him when
Goodbye hit No. 1, proving the enduring popularity of Bosch, a now-retired LAPD homicide detective and inspiration for the Amazon Prime series.
There’s more Bosch to come this year. On Oct. 31, Connelly will publish Two Kinds of Truth, in which Harry is back and volunteering for the San Fernando Police Department.
In his Facebook Live chat, Connelly gave a hint of what’s in store for Ballard. The new Bosch thriller, he said, “has a seed planted in it for another Ballard book. ... It’s just a little reference that next year you might be reading more.”