Nightshade
- Judith D Collins
- a few seconds ago
- 10 min read
By: Michael Connelly
Detective Stilwell #1
Narrator: Will Damron
ISBN: 978-0316588485
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: 05/20/2025
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
#1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly introduces a new cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina Island.
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 wrapped in plastic and weighed down at the bottom of the harbor. Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, he starts doggedly working the case. 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.
My Review
The master of crime fiction and king of cop procedurals, Michael Connelly (my favorite author) is back with a sizzling new crime thriller series featuring Detective Sergeant Stilwell #1, set on Catalina Island, with his fortieth gripping novel, NIGHTSHADE.
STELLAR! Top Notch— Top Books of 2025.
With a new cast of characters and a fresh base of operations, we are introduced to a new hero, a love interest, a nemesis, a reporter, a mayor, and a crime boss. This new setting and these new characters leave readers eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series.
If you are fans of Bosch, Haller, and Ballard, you will be at home with the new police detective on Catalina Island, and the project that started as an exile or punishment. Connelly once again showcases that small-town crime can be just as enthralling as big-city corruption.
Full of grit, edge, humor, suspense, twists, and lots of heart. Fans will be pleased!
About...
LA County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell, our protagonist, has been “exiled” to a low-key post policing Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. He's a determined and relentless investigator, much like Bosch, and his journey on the island will test his skills and character.
He did not like the department politics (much like Bosch) and was re-assigned to the island of Catalina, 22 miles off the coast of Los Angeles.
Not long after arriving, Stilwell receives 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 the island.
There is also a high-stakes theft at the exclusive Black Marlin Yacht Club, whose exclusive membership is limited to original families and their heirs, and opens only when one dies. The club makes rare honorary exceptions for the judge who visits the island weekly and the mayor.
Crossing all lines, he works the cases. Of course, things are made complex by an ex-colleague determined to thwart him at every turn. He is as persistent and skilled as Bosch when it comes to receiving justice for the woman known as “Nightshade."
In Connelly's signature fashion, his investigation will lead him to dark secrets of the idyllic island. What was meant to be a serene, laid-back island as an escape from the evils of the big city proves just as corrupt.
My thoughts...
Connelly is a super star juggling all his major projects with the filming of the fourth season of The Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller) and the upcoming new Lincoln Lawyer thriller The Proving Ground (can't wait-Oct 21, 2025) and the most recent Renee Ballard Prime series (July 2025- spinoff series; I bingewatched the entire season when it was released) and of course, Bosch Legacy (final season) which I devoured and going to miss.
However, with all this, the author comes up with a creative way to keep things fresh with a new, flawed, and highly relatable skilled detective, Stilwell, a mysterious idyllic setting with new crimes to uncover, a nemesis to deal with, a love interest, and a fabulous supporting cast of characters.
What makes NIGHTSHADE so fascinating is the politics, jurisdictions, and hierarchy between LA and Catalina Island and all the obstacles, grudges, hostility, and his reinforcements being 20-some miles away. But Stilwell is up for the challenge. Also, another perk is that Stilwell is in a steady relationship (Tasha, the island’s harbormaster), unlike most of Connelly's characters, so it will be interesting to see how all this is developed.
Highly impressive! Superbly plotted, full of tension, suspense, and twists. As a long-time avid fan, Connelly keeps getting better if that is even possible!
In summary, NIGHTSHADE is a riveting, intriguing, engrossing start to a new series that I highly recommend! Combining an intelligent leading man, mixed with suspense, drama, wit, humor, and heart, this is a captivating must-read new series!
Audiobook...
As a long-time fan, I always read the e-book (ARC if lucky) and then buy the audiobook and the hardcover copy for my home library. Over the many years, I have been spoiled by the lineup of favorite voices with some of my favorite narrators, and when they change, it always messes with your head.
However, my delight knew no bounds when I discovered that one of my favorite narrators, Will Damron, would be narrating NIGHTSHADE. With his deep, soothing baritone, I knew the audiobook would be a treat. And it was! Will's narration brings Stilwell and the other characters to life, providing an award-winning performance and an unparalleled listening experience. I can only hope that Will continues to narrate the upcoming Stilwell installments.
Recs...
Fans of Michael Connelly, Bosch, Ballard, Haller, and well-written police procedures/crime fiction —will enjoy the introduction of his latest hero, Stilwell.
Special thanks to Little Brown & Company and NetGalley for providing an advanced reading copy for my honest thoughts. I also purchased the audiobook and the hardcover copy.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating; 5 Stars +
Pub Date: May 20, 2025
Top Books of 2025
Praise
"Connelly's compulsively readable, best-selling crime fiction is propelled by justice-seekers committed to their calling, no matter the risks...With an intriguingly low-key but skilled and principled hero, his significant other, a pesky if useful reporter, a conniving mayor, and a crime boss known as Baby Head, Nightshade is a gripping and promising start to crime virtuoso Connelly’s new series." ―Booklist (starred review)
“As always with a Connelly novel, the characters are well drawn and the prose is tight, precise, and easy to read.”
―Associated Press
“Michael Connelly has remained one of today's top mystery writers — if not the top mystery writer...Nightshade marks another bright turning point for Connelly."
―South Florida Sun Sentinel
"[Connelly's] reporter’s skills of observation make Nightshade come alive.”
―Los Angeles Times
"Connelly's compulsively readable, best-selling crime fiction is propelled by justice-seekers committed to their calling, no matter the risks...With an intriguingly low-key but skilled and principled hero, his significant other, a pesky if useful reporter, a conniving mayor, and a crime boss known as Baby Head, Nightshade is a gripping and promising start to crime virtuoso Connelly’s new series."
―Booklist (starred review)
“In this winning series launch, L.A. noir maestro Connelly...proves small-town policing can be just as high stakes as crime solving in the big city…The claustrophobic setting and layered plotting evoke the crime novels of John D. MacDonald, and Stilwell makes for an intriguing hero, with enough biographical gaps for Connelly to sketch him in further in subsequent installments. The author’s fans will be thrilled to find him working in a new register.”
―Publishers Weekly
“As with all of Connelly’s books, there’s a relentless narrative drive powering the story along to an explosive climax. His plotting, as usual, is tight and without a school of red herrings to distract the reader. Its strengths are its evocative atmosphere, realistic dialogue, and well-developed characters...Come what may, Stil is sure to soon take his place alongside Harry, Mickey, and Renee as a beloved Connelly stalwart.”
―Washington Independent Review of Books
"The singularity of Catalina, which is far enough from the coast to have its own insular nautical culture, allows Connelly to add deeper blues to his ever shifting Southern California palette.”
―Airmail
Q&A With Michael Connelly
Q: You introduce a new character in Nightshade—Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell. Can you tell us a little about him?
MC: This is sort of a marooned on a desert island story. Stilwell ran afoul of department politics and was re-assigned to the island of Catalina, 22 miles off the coast of L.A. County. It is not a desert island, but in terms of crime and law enforcement, there is not much happening out there. Or so it would appear. So, it’s not a great assignment. Or so it would appear. Several months into his posting things start to heat up and Stilwell has his hands full, and his mind is full of the recognition that maybe this is the place where I want to be.
Q: You’ve mentioned Catalina Island in other books but have never made it the locale of the story before. What inspired you to make it the main location in Nightshade?
MC: It is my 40th novel and I started thinking that I should not keep coasting on characters I have created over the years; Bosch, Ballard, Haller. I decided that with the 40th novel I would see if I couldn’t teach an old dog new tricks. And Stilwell on Catalina was born.
Q: Is the Sheriff’s department set up on the island in real life exactly as you describe in the novel: one detective handling everything, a judge that comes over one day a week, deputies in trouble get assigned there?
MC: To a great extent it’s fact based. I would not cast aspersions on the real deputies assigned to the island, but there is only one detective assigned there. A judge does come by boat once a week and often swims ashore. While I do write fiction, I am inspired by the real. So I often incorporate the truth in my fiction. When I found out that the judge takes his own boat over, moors in the harbor and then sometimes swims ashore, how could I not use that?
Q: Stilwell seems pretty content on the island and happy in a relationship until a body is found and an old nemesis from the Sheriff’s department gets involved in the murder case. Is the search for justice driving Stilwell or is it the rivalry within the Sheriff’s department?
MC: I think it is definitely both. It is probably not a characteristic anybody is proud of, but negative motivation is a powerful thing. I have used it in my own life to great result. I’m not saying I’m proud of it, but it’s there. But the flip side of this is that Stilwell is a skilled detective and someone motivated by his belief in justice. When there is a murder on the island and he sees the problem with it being investigated by detectives from the mainland, he cannot just sit on the sidelines when he knows he is in the best position to work the case. In that he shares a kinship with the other characters I write about. They will bend and sometimes break the rules when it is the rules that are in the way of justice.
Q: You don’t normally write 2 books in one year. What makes it happen in those rare years, and how do you fit it into your writing life?
MC: Usually, it happens when there is an urgency to tell a story. This usually happens when I introduce a new character. Stilwell, Ballard, and the Lincoln Lawyer, Haller, were all introduced in two-book years. And there is a subtle correction to make here. I publish two books in a year. I don’t write them in one year. It’s closer to writing three books across two years. Still, they are busy years with little down time, if any, between ending one project and starting the next.
Q: The last time you introduced a new character, Renée Ballard in The Late Show (2017), she became a part of the bigger Bosch canvas. Should we expect to see Det. Stilwell again, and if so, will he be a part of the larger Bosch/Ballard/Haller universe?
MC: Oh yeah. I like Stilwell and about halfway through writing Nightshade I knew I would come back to him. I really love connecting characters and view my books as all just one big story. So next time out with Stilwell, I think you will see him connect in some way with one of the established characters. It’s a little bit tricky because he is stationed out on an island and I will have to figure out a way for him to connect with Ballard or Bosch or Haller. I have been thinking about it a lot lately and the character that keeps coming to mind is Ballard, because of her working cold cases. I think that might be the way to go. That perhaps out on Catalina, Stilwell comes up with something that connects with one of Ballard’s cold cases. We’ll see how that goes.
Q: You have given us some of Stilwell’s backstory—just enough to whet our appetite for more of him. Any hints about what we may learn in the future about Detective Stilwell? Like his first name?
MC: Ha! I am not sure what his first name is yet. But I can give a hint. The name was inspired by a longtime friend of mine named Steve Stilwell. So that would be the default, unless I come up with something exotic like Hieronymus.
READ MORE on Michael's Website
About the Author
Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of more than forty novels and one work of nonfiction. With over eighty-nine million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty-five foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today.
A former newspaper reporter who worked the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Connelly has won numerous awards for his journalism and his fiction. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly's 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent New York Times bestsellers include The Waiting (2024), Resurrection Walk (2023), Desert Star (2022), The Dark Hours (2021), The Law Of Innocence (2020), Fair Warning (2020), and The Night Fire (2019). Michael is the executive producer of Bosch and Bosch: Legacy, Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver and streaming on Amazon Prime/Amazon Freevee. He is the executive producer of The Lincoln Lawyer, streaming on Netflix, starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. He is also the executive producer of the documentary films, "Sound Of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story' and 'Tales Of the American.' He spends his time in California and Florida.
