Modern-day heroine hits the mark
WHEN it comes to whodunits, Michael Connelly has the Midas touch. This is evident in his work being adapted for the small and big screen with the TV series
and the movie of which I loved watching. A female protagonist is the driving force behind his latest read, a refreshing departure for the inimitable crime author.
Detective Renée Ballard is a tenacious cop. Her career was on the rise until she filed a sexual harassment case against her superior.
What hurt even more was her then partner not having her back.
And so she found herself relegated to covering the graveyard shift –
– with her new by-the-book partner, Jenkins.
Connelly is mindful about not rushing into Ballard’s backstory. He juxtaposes her professional life with her personal life. Ballard is young and beautiful, that much is obvious. But she is also very guarded. She enjoys her alone time with her rescued dog, who mirrors her loyalty.
Having lost her father, an avid surfer like herself, at an early age, Ballard spends much of her time alone.
Romance isn’t part of her DNA. She prefers the no-strings-attached liaisons.
When she is able to prise herself away from work and take a break, she spends quality time with her grandmother.
At the outset, the reader is introduced to a busy night for the detective.
After attending to a credit card fraud call-out, she is called to the scene of two crimes: the brutal beating of a transgender prostitute, and a nightclub shooting that costs a young woman her life.
At the time, these seem to be isolated incidents.
Although her job entails cordoning off the scene, collecting the relevant information from witnesses, filing a report and then handing it over to the guys on the day shift, Ballard finds herself unable to simply walk away, despite the warnings from her partner.
And so she decides to play a tricky juggling act by fulfilling her night-shift responsibilities while looking into the two cases, where she manages to find a link, which takes her down a very dangerous path that could cost her everything.
Although the story is frustratingly languid at first, Connelly picks up the pace by exposing Ballard to even greater danger while also confronting a demon from her past.
With a plot laden with suspense, deception and office politics, Connelly seems to have found the perfect and fearless modern female protagonist, who isn’t above bending the rules for the greater good.