Renée Ballard Books in Order
Renée Ballard begins the series on the LAPD’s night shift in Hollywood, where detectives start cases and hand them on to the day teams by morning. Later books see her rebuild the department’s cold case unit, with Harry Bosch often working alongside her.
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Series facts
- Books
- 6
- Published
- 2017 to 2024
- First book
- The Late Show
- Latest
- The Waiting (2024)
- Setting
- Set in Los Angeles
The reading order
Every Renée Ballard book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
- 1The Late Show2017With Renée BallardDetective Renée Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood, where cases are passed to the day teams by morning.Buy on Amazon
- 2Dark Sacred Night2018CrossoverWith Harry Bosch and Renée Ballard · Also a Harry Bosch bookWorking the night shift, Renée Ballard finds Harry Bosch going through old files at Hollywood Division.Buy on Amazon
- 3The Night Fire2019CrossoverWith Harry Bosch and Renée Ballard · Also a Harry Bosch bookAt the funeral of his old mentor, John Jack Thompson, Harry Bosch is handed a murder book Thompson took with him when he retired.Buy on Amazon
- 4The Dark Hours2021CrossoverWith Renée Ballard · Also a Harry Bosch bookOn New Year’s Eve a man in Hollywood is killed by what looks like celebratory gunfire, but Renée Ballard finds a link to an older murder.Buy on Amazon
- 5Desert Star2022CrossoverWith Harry Bosch and Renée Ballard · Also a Harry Bosch bookRenée Ballard has rebuilt the LAPD’s cold case unit with a team of volunteers, and she offers Harry Bosch a place on it.Buy on Amazon
- 6The Waiting2024CrossoverWith Renée Ballard · Also a Harry Bosch bookRenée Ballard’s badge and gun are stolen from her car while she is out surfing, and she sets out to get them back without telling her superiors.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Start with The Late Show, then read the rest in publication order. From Dark Sacred Night on, the Ballard books are also Harry Bosch books, so they fit between his solo novels.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Renée Ballard | Harry Bosch | Maddie Bosch | John Jenkins | Colleen Hatteras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Late Show | LLead | MMajor | |||
| 2 Dark Sacred Night | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 3 The Night Fire | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ·Minor | |
| 4 The Dark Hours | LLead | MMajor | |||
| 5 Desert Star | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 6 The Waiting | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor |
Characters in the Renée Ballard books
8 characters from Michael Connelly’s chart, with the number of Renée Ballard books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Renée BallardLAPD detective, later head of Open-Unsolved | 6 | The Late Show 2017 |
| Harry BoschLAPD homicide detective, later retired | 5 | Dark Sacred Night 2018 |
| Maddie BoschBosch’s daughter | 4 | Dark Sacred Night 2018 |
| John JenkinsBallard’s night-shift partner | 3 | The Late Show 2017 |
| Colleen HatterasVolunteer in Open-Unsolved | 2 | Desert Star 2022 |
| Robert OlivasLieutenant from Ballard’s past | 1 | The Late Show 2017 |
| Bella LourdesSan Fernando PD detective | 1 | Dark Sacred Night 2018 |
| Mickey HallerDefence lawyer who works from his Lincoln | 1 | The Night Fire 2019 |
Crossovers with Michael Connelly’s other series
- Harry Bosch: 5 books shared (Dark Sacred Night, The Night Fire, The Dark Hours, Desert Star, The Waiting); Harry Bosch also appears in 22 of its books
- Lincoln Lawyer: Harry Bosch also appears in 6 of its books
- Terry McCaleb: Harry Bosch also appears in 1 of its books
- Catalina: Renée Ballard also appears in 1 of its books; Harry Bosch also appears in 1 of its books