"Intriguing seeds for an ongoing series" - review of NIGHTSHADE

NIGHTSHADE by Michael Connelly (Allen & Unwin, 2025)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

#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 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.

Nearly a century ago, the world of mystery fiction had four ‘Queens of Crime’ in the form of Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers, and Margery Allingham. Nowadays if we were to recognise a quartet of crime writing royalty, or a ‘Mount Rushmore’ of modern masters, if you will, then surely Michael Connelly would be on the not-too-long list of main contenders.

For almost forty years, Connelly has been taking readers into the gritty underbelly of the City of Angels, first as an award-winning newspaper reporter then inarguably one of the modern masters of crime fiction, setting a high bar across nearly 40 novels, many featuring iconic detective Hieronymus ‘Harry’ Bosch. As the Bosch: Legacy streaming adaptation, starring Titus Welliver as the eponymous investigator, finishes its excellent ten-year run, Connelly has continued to expand his fictional universe. Nightshade introduces a new hero, and a new California setting.

Thanks to department politics and an unerring ability to step on the wrong toes, LA County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has swapped the prestige of homicide investigations on the mainland for low-key policing on rustic Catalina Island. A land of exiles and misfit toys. Law enforcement in golf karts.

But when the body of an unidentified young woman is pulled from the harbour, Stilwell can’t resist encroaching on the murder investigation being led by his nemesis. He knows it could put his career at risk, and more, but he ploughs ahead to uncover the truth.

Like watching a brilliant musician perform onstage, who makes things seem far easier than they really are, there a deceptive effortlessness to Connelly’s storytelling that belies the high level of craft. Nightshade unfolds in a smooth narrative, speckled with telling details about character and place, incorporated with practised ease into an intriguing, page-turning mystery storyline. Detective Stilwell is an intriguing hero – like former ‘Late Show’ detective Renee Ballard, who’ll soon be spinning off into her own screen series, he shares a dogged determination, moral centre, and sense of justice that has made fans flock to Connelly’s Harry Bosch books for decades, while still being a different character rather than a pale imitation.

Connelly plants some intriguing seeds for an ongoing series, perhaps. Coupled with his evocation of Catalina Island – place and people – it’s another very good read from an exceptional storyteller who shows no signs of resting on his laurels or putting things in cruise control.

[This review was first written for Deadly Pleasures magazine in the United States]

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.