Nightshade

I just finished reading Nightshade, Michael Connelly 's latest detective novel. This time Connelly introduces a new character, Los Angeles Sheriff's Detective Stilwell. A homicide detective, he has been exiled to Catalina Island after a dispute with another detective involving the investigation of a fatal shooting. Stilwell's mundane routine is interrupted when a body is found weighted down on the bottom of the harbor, a Jane Doe with a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, the investigation of a mutilated animal on a nature preserve turns into a much more serious and deadly case that it first appeared. Stilwell investigates both cases, even though the homicide case officially belongs to his former colleagues on the mainland. I enjoyed this story, but although it is entertaining, it does not measure up to his Harry Bosch, Renee Ballard, and Lincoln Lawyer series of novels. It is worth the read, but let's face it - Catalina is just not LA.