Nightshade
By Michael Connelly

- Release Date: 2025-05-20
- Genre: Police Procedural
Description
AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Introducing Detective Stilwell: a 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.
Propulsive and atmospheric, Nightshade launches a brand new character into the Connelly universe, and proves without question that Michael Connelly is “the undisputed master of the modern crime novel” (Real Book Spy).
Reviews
Not bad
4By Evfdst60Not the worst book I have ever read.Loved it!
5By Baseball 9000Great read! Love the location and plot. Hope to more of these characters in the future.Good, but over too soon
4By Wreck'em2004The characters are introduced well and nothing gets in the way of steady progression of the story. My only complaint is that it wraps too quickly. When all the players and their motives finally come together I was left wanting to know more about what happened next.If you liked the Jessy Stone books….
5By tankinmdReading Nightshade, I kept going back to the Robert B. Parker, Jessy Stone series. More than a few similarities, which was not a bad thing for me. Point is, I liked this book a lot. Good story, good characters, well written.Excellent!
5By EGSweetExcellent! Looking forward to reading the next book about Stilwell!Nightshade
4By suemac78587I liked Stilwell’s persistence in solving the crime but I wonder how this angry and no nonsense rule follower could have risen to captain believing his 2 lazy underlings he supervisedGood book
4By Mr SerenityGood story but not a great ending too many loose ends. I would preferred if the story played out the issues.Nightshade
5By homersimp13Excellent, very easy to read and very compelling.Disappointing
3By Pak111Not the quality of writing we always get from Connelly in my opinion. The ending felt unfinished and Stilwell’s relationship with Tash was just awkward, especially after her anger at the hotel in Pasadena. It was almost like she was hiding something and just had to get back to Catalina. If she was so adamant why did she even agree to go? Was this just a setup for the next book? Disappointing.New series starts rolling
5By JohnfromCLEWell written good pacing new young main character yeah!