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Michael Connelly is back with Nightshade, the first book to feature Detective Stilwell. Once a homicide cop in Los Angeles, Stilwell gets shoved aside by department politics and reassigned to Catalina Island, stuck handling property crimes. Sounds easy—until a woman’s body turns up at the bottom of the harbor, identified only by a streak of purple in her hair. Then a routine poaching call explodes into violence, dragging Stilwell into the dangerous orbit of a powerful island figure and an old rival determined to bring him down.
The setting is terrific: Catalina’s picture-perfect charm hides plenty of shadows, and Connelly makes the most of it. Stilwell isn’t polished or pretty, but he’s gritty, relentless, and absolutely refuses to quit—perfect traits for a new series lead. The pacing is tight, the police work feels authentic, and the last act had me flipping pages fast.
Sure, a few plot turns are predictable, but that doesn’t keep this from being a solid series launch. If you’ve missed Bosch and Ballard, you’ll be glad to meet Stilwell—he’s cut from the same no-nonsense cloth, with a fresh backdrop to boot.
Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for the comp; opinions are my own.