I absolutely love the previous characters that Michael Connelly has created, but I think it might take me another book or two to feel the same way about Stillwell. Stillwell's single mindedness is going to take some getting used to, he doesn't seem to get along well with others and thinks his way is the best (or only) way. I am hopeful that his relationships will improve (even slightly) as the series progresses.

Looking forward to reading the next book in the series when it has been written and published.

Nightshade by Michael Connelly introduces a new character: a California sheriff’s sergeant named Stillwell. He had been sent to quiet Catalina Island as a punishment but he had found a home. He was investigating the mutilation of a buffalo, which turned out to be the tip of the iceberg. He had found love with Tash Dano, who was the assistant harbor master. The harbor at Catalina was busy, especially on holidays and weekends. Someone had spotted a body in the water and Stil went to investigate. The water was cold but he went in anyway. A woman. He didn’t recognized her but he called ERT to retrieve the body. He wasn’t in charge of the investigation, that was his nemesis, Ahearn, who had been the other part of the altercation that got him assigned here. Obviously Stil would work on the investigation as he was local. Hopefully he could calm the mayor, who was worried about what a murder would do to tourism. The was a lot to unravel.

Stil is a calm, intelligent guy. He has learned, mostly, to hold his temper in check. He was recently divorced but thought he had found the one in Tash. He had a small, but reliable and loyal staff, who helped him police the island. Then, this murder, which took place here and upset the equilibrium. Nearly cost him Tash. The buffalo and the murder were connected but he had to figure out how. He lost a couple of prisoners in his jail, one by murder. That made everyone less than happy. It all worked out but there were are lot of twists and turns to get there. Including his relationship with Tash, which survived.

I was invited to read Nightshade by Little, Brown, and Company. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #LittleBrownAndCompany #MichaelConnelly #Nightshade

In Nightshade, Detective Stilwell is reassigned from the Los Angeles county sheriff’s office to Catalina Island as a punishment. In this new assignment Stilwell must put his anger behind him and move forward. With many twists and turns in this fast paced police procedural, Stilwell deals with many vexing problems, the principal one being the discovery of a murdered female victim whose body is weighted down by anchor chains and found at the bottom of the harbor. I hope to meet Detective Stilwell again in future books.

Murder on Catalina Island!

Set on Catalina Island off the Californian coast, an hour by ferry from Los Angeles, the slaughter of a protected buffalo and a drowned body trussed up in a sail bag held down by an anchor and chain don’t seem to have anything in common—until they do.
Detective Sergeant Stilwell who’s been sent here as punishment for opening up a case supposedly solved, actually finds island life soothing to his soul. Also an ex police diver, Stilwell finds himself coming up against the same LA detective who is the cause of his banishment.
Stilwell takes on the rich and powerful members of the exclusive yacht club, gangsters, and local politics, mixing to make an interesting read.
A somewhat different mystery and police procedural that opened up vistas I hadn’t explored before.

A Little, Brown & Co. ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I'm a Michael Connelly completist (no small feat!), and I always delight at a new book. Nightshade introduces a new main character: Los Angeles County detective Stilwell, who works on Catalina Island (a punishment/banishment of sorts.) Nightshade is classic Connelly, and I'd know Stilwell is a Connelly protagonist even if he'd published this mystery under a different name. The murder mystery at the crux of this novel is a Jane Doe whose body washes up in the harbor. The mystery was twisty and intriguing (and harrowing.) The commentary on Los Angeles County politics and government was fascinating. Catalina Island becomes almost the main character, and I found myself opening maps to look at the island, its distance from the mainland, and the landmarks mentioned. There is so much rich detail in this novel. I hope we'll see Detective Stilwell and the Catalina crew again.

Michael Connelly is a good mystery writer. The setting on Catalina Island was great (even if I don"t know California). Stil was a well rounded character and his partner Tash was akso well drawn. A complicated mystery with several twists and turns.

Nightshade by Michael Connelly is an intriguing mystery set on beautiful Catalina Island. Stilwell does a great job of juggling multiple cases and criminals while dealing with adversaries who want to see him fail.

I had the opportunity to read Nightshade by Michael Connelly, which follows Detective Stilwell as he investigates a mysterious body found on the stunning Catalina Island. True to Connelly’s style, this book was a smooth, engaging read with a well-paced mystery that unraveled through a series of subtle, well-placed clues.

What I appreciated most was how Connelly once again managed to keep the reader immersed with strong pacing and sharp storytelling. While this was a lighter and more straightforward read compared to some of his longer novels, it still delivered the intrigue and satisfaction I’ve come to expect from his work. Fans of Connelly will definitely enjoy this one—another solid addition to his collection.

Sometimes office politics can get in the way of what you believe is the correct or just way to do things. Thus is the case with our main character Stilwell, a detective with the sheriff’s department in the county of Los Angeles, California. After not “playing well with others” during a case on the mainland, Stilwell finds himself banishment to a post out on the small island of Catalina off the California coast (a supposed disciplinary action or punishment). Turns out he likes the calmer environment rather than the busy criminal life in LA. Most of his issues on the island are drunk and disorderly offences and occasional theft. Until they’re not, and an anchored dead body is pulled up from the harbor. The mainland, now in charge of the murder case, frustrates Stilwell having to deal with detectives from his past. Snarky comments & dialogue run rampant.
You meet a cast of interesting and believable characters that work on the island. But not all is what it seems. There is an issue with a protected buffalo that leads to additional issues and concerns. Stilwell jumps back and forth from the mainland to the island in his search for answers in a cat and mouse chase that turns up with another murder on the island.
Connelly has a way of twisting thing right before your eyes and all of a sudden a flash or insight and you realize the story is headed into another direction. He is a master at pulling you one way just to throw you off in another direction.
This was a fast paced completely enjoyable read with lots of moving parts and balls in the air. There was just enough police procedure, all culminating with a satisfying ending. A great start to a new character and series.
I received an advanced electronic copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased write up on my opinion of the book.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company publishing and NetGalley for my ARC!

This is my first Michael Connelly read, and it did not disappoint! I highly enjoyed the intricate plot base with twists and turns, clearly by a master story teller.

I am now going to go back and read Connelly's earlier books, and look forward to more books coming with Detective Stillwell!

I’m a huge fan of Michael Connelly’s books, and am so excited to embark on this new series! Nightshade features LA County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell banished as punishment to the idyllic harbor community on Catalina Island. New characters and a new setting but the same gritty stubborn detective attitude who will buck the bureaucracy to give voice to the victim. This book delivered on the crime, mystery, suspense and even included a romantic element.
This was an awesome start to a new series and I look forward to spending more time with Stilwell and the other residents of Catalina Island. We only got glimpses of the depths of these characters with so much more simmering beneath. In true Connelly fashion, Stilwell uses sharp investigative skills to follow and unravel the clues to solve not only one, but two cases.
Stilwell’s usually quiet policing of drunk and disorderliness on this vacation island is disrupted with the discovery of a dead body. Simultaneously, the report of the decapitation of a protected wildlife reserve leads Stilwell to a more nefarious undercurrent of the island.
Michael Connelly was my very first author event, many many years ago! But I’ll never forget it. I love his Bosch series but also am excited to see what’s next for Stilwell and can’t wait for the next installment!

Michael Connelly’s police procedural thrillers, exemplified in Nightshade, follow Stilwell, a newly transferred detective struggling to adapt to a quieter life on Catalina Island. Stilwell, a not-always-by-the-book detective, gets answers in unconventional ways and often crosses the higher-ups in power. This procedural tale is full of drama, suspense, intrigue, and unexpected twists. A great read.

Santa Catalina is a world unto itself. The casino was intended to be a retreat for the wealthy from southern California but a town was built and the island populated by the wealthy and their poorer caregivers.

The idyllic beauty and the island tranquility becomes background when a body is found bound in chains and weighted down in the bay. The body is distinctive by the purple streak in her hair.

A sub-plot is introduced involving one of the island’s long residents. Protagonist Detective Stilwell has his hands full with both cases.

The story has many twists and turns as everyone seems innocent but someone must have tried to destroy evidence.

This author shares many interesting detective techniques and methods for solving the killing. The machinations of the suspects and their attempts at providing alibi are intriguing and entertaining. Enjoy! 5 stars – CE Williams

Did you know that a two-masted sailboat is a ketch? After reading Nightshade, I know that and much more about boats and navigation. I’m writing this review during Memorial Day weekend and have been thinking about idyllic summer getaway vacations so Nightshade and its setting was most suitable reading. Catalina Island, one of California’s Channel Islands, with its pristine beaches, clear waters, perfect climate and popularity with tourists serves as the backdrop for Michael Connelly’s tale about Detective “Stil” Stilwell, the detective sergeant assigned to the Avalon substation and the commanding officer on the island. Stilwell had been a homicide detective in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office but was reassigned to the island after a dispute with another detective. Catalina Island is twenty two miles from the coast, less than an hour from Los Angeles on the ferry. At first angry over his dismissal to the island while steadfast in his belief that he had acted properly in the city, Stilwell comes to realize that he is happy on Catalina even if it means dealing with petty thefts, vandalism, fraud, drunk and disorderly cases and crab-trap poaching. He is also happily involved with a native and resident of the island, Tash Dano, assistant harbormaster. Then a woman is found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor and Stilwell finds himself having to deal with his nemesis back on the mainland, that detective’s partner and their captain as well as the politics of the homicide division. The death of the Jane Doe, later identified as Leigh-Anne Moss, occurred on his turf although delegated to the homicide division and Stilwell is determined to solve what he discovers to be a murder.
Stilwell must also contend with the discovery of a dead mutilated buffalo. The case of poaching on protected land leads to a man of notoriety on the island and a motive much larger than poaching.
Stilwell must face his past and come to terms with the shadier aspects of the island he know calls home. He is strong-willed and righteous and willing to do what he deems necessary even going against orders. Stilwell is a loner (much in the same vein as Harry Bosch) who does not want or need two Los Angeles detectives and their captain calling the shots and overlooking his investigation while holding back information. Stilwell is always ahead of them and it is through his efforts and skills that a murder is solved and a crime is uncovered. His code is to find justice for the victim, no matter the the victim’s character or past.
This police procedural mystery thriller has action and suspense while demonstrating the demands of small town law enforcement and small town politics. It reminded me of Kevin Wade’s novel, Johnny Careless, with a small town police chief, his police force, an influential town political figure, and local residents as characters. The division between the wealthy and the working class is also a theme of both books. The Black Marlin club, with its invite-only membership and members anchoring their yachts in the harbor on weekends and holidays, is an important component of the plot.
The characters of this book are indeed colorful. There is Judge Harrell, who arrives on his boat once a week to hold court, always swimming ashore. Deputy Ralph Lampley, also a city police department castoff, is an example of why most deputies on the island do not retain their positions. One of the bad guys in the story, nicknamed Baby Head, owns and manages Island Mystery Tours and his six-seater golf cart has a green papier-mache alien with three fingered hands lying chest down on its roof. The incidental details of the story are also intriguing such as everyone on the island police force riding golf carts, even to crime scenes.
This would make a great new series with a worthwhile protagonist but I do have two misgivings. All of Connelly’s female characters have been strong, brave, independent women to be admired. The female protagonist of Nightshade does not fit that bill. Tash Dano is a moody, cranky, agoraphobic who doesn’t want to leave the Island to spend even a few nights in a swanky hotel with her boyfriend. She has lived nowhere but on Catalina and feels safer there than on the mainland even after she is endangered in a formulaic part of the plot. There is another female character who shows moxie and is much more interesting. Stilwell could do better than Tash as his love interest and I hope he does so if this becomes a series. He could also do better than employing the questionably professional officers under his command. Moving on with Detective Stillwell’s story, I believe there is a need for tough and likable secondary characters.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advance copy of Nightshade. This is my honest review of Michael Connelly’s book.

I love Michael Connelly’s books and think he is the best crime writer working, so I was thrilled when I was gifted an arc of his latest work by @netgalley and @littlebrown I’ve been reading him for decades and he is just so consistently good. And the character of Harry Bosch is one of the best in contemporary literature. I recommend that series a lot but people are often daunted to start a long existing series. Well, Connelly’s newest book is a stand-alone and the perfect way to experience Connelly for the first time.

The book revolves around Officer Stilwell (Stil to those who know him),an LA cop who has been exiled to Catalina island after an incident on the mainland. Unhappy about at is assignment at first, he has now grown to love the laidback atmosphere of dealing with unruly tourists and the occasional poacher. And then one day a young woman’s body is found weighted down under a yacht….and old instincts kick in.

What Connelly does so well is to create flawed characters that are good at their jobs and trying to work through situations. They feel human. His books have a dark grittiness that appeals to me just like the crimes that inhabit them. This one is no different. There is murder, a burgeoning romance, and a murder that took me places I never saw coming. If you have been wanting to try Connelly this would be a great place to start and as usual, it more than delivers. The best crime writer around.

NIghtshade is the first in a new series by Michael Connelly. NIghtshade debuts LA County Sheriff Dept Detective Stillwell, a detective in the mold of Harry Bosch, a great detective but one more interested in doing the right thing for justice than in doing things by the book. This habit seems to have gotten him exiled to sleepy Catalina Island, although we aren’t sure why. When the body of a young woman is found entangled in an anchor, Stillwell is dragged into an investigation to find her killer that no one else seems to care about. Then another case comes up that seems to lead to more violence and mayhem. Although told not to get involved, and thwarted by an old nemesis in the department, Stillwell just can’t leave things alone, and is driven to find out who the young woman is, and get justice for her. Are the 2 cases connected? If so, how? Like a dog with a bone, Stillwell just won’t leave things alone (sound familiar).

Stillwell is a likable new character and is determined to solve the mystery. If you like Michael Connelly’s other books, you will enjoy this one too. I definitely did!

Connelly’s latest brings us a new character so a good place to start if the interconnected backlist is too much for new readers. I liked Stil, though he felt very Bosch-like, and look forward to getting to know him in future books.
4.5 stars

In Nightshade, Connelly introduces us to a new detective. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been moved to a post policing Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk. But while following up the usual crimes that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a Jane Doe identifiable by a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig.

Crossing all lines of protocol, Stilwell doggedly works both cases. He is convinced he is the only one who can bring justice to the woman known as “Nightshade.” His investigation uncovers secrets to the island that was meant to be his escape from the big city. I did like the new character.

Michael Connelly has done it again!
I loved the new characters and setting, loved how fast-paced this book was as well.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my first Michael Connelly book and I really liked it! The small island setting great, and the mystery had me hooked! Detective Stilwell has found himself in Catalina Island tucked away and exiled. I really enjoyed the mystery and enjoyed learning about many of the big players on the island.
There were a lot of sketchy things happening behind the scenes and they were revealed in such a thrilling way. Perfect for fans of police procedurals and twisty investigations. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.

A very special thanks to Little Brown for the gifted copy.