Book Review: Detective Stilwell #1

Nightshade by Michael Connelly

Published: May 2025

Summary from Goodreads:

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been “exiled” to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor—a Jane Doe identifiable at first only by a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve turns into a case fraught with violence and danger as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig.

Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, Stilwell doggedly works both cases. Though hampered by an old beef with an ex-colleague determined to thwart him at every turn, he is convinced he is the only one who can bring justice to the woman known as “Nightshade.” Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.

Confession:

This is my first time reading this very prolific and well loved author. I have enjoyed the TV shows based on his work, so I decided to give this first book in a new series a try. It didn’t hurt that it was set in one of my favorite places in convincing me to give it a chance. While I thought the overall plot was brilliant I did have a few issues with the characters and the dialogue.

While I like the main character Stilwell, I never really felt like I connected with him. He is a typical cop in these types of books, driven to do his job and find the perpetrator of the murder at all costs, even when other cops hold him back. He is smart and can see people for who they are. But he also has a bit of an anger issue, and is a bit of a lone wolf, choosing to do things himself instead of getting help when needed. His character seemed to be lacking a bit of depth though especially when he was interacting with his girlfriend Tash. Their relationship felt like an afterthought to the story as a whole.

The writing was atmospheric and compelling. I did have a hard time putting this book down. There were lots of twists and turns and it was hard to figure out who had committed the murder. There was also some political intrigue to the buffalo poaching which added another intriguing layer to the overall story. But despite the story being interesting, there were some questions left at the end of the story and somethings didn’t quite add up for me, as far as motives went. The dialogue also felt very wooden to me at times. The descriptions of Catalina Island and of the town of Avalon were spot on, except for a few places that the author admits to having added for the story.

I have seen some reviews stating that this perhaps wasn’t this author’s best work, and I can’t really speak to that as this is my first book by him. But I am intrigued enough by this book to give him another chance. This was a well done police procedural despite the issues I had, and I still recommend that you give it a chance.