It’s rare for Michael Connelly to release a novel in the springtime – and that’s just one of the things that feels a little different about Nightshade, his 40th book and the first in a new series featuring Detective Stilwell, based on Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of California.

A second change is the setting. Gone is the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles, to replaced by an island that is just 22 miles long, where the only way to get around is by boat or in a gussied up golf cart with a maximum speed of 20 miles an hour. And then there’s our new protagonist. Unlike Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch, Stilwell’s first name is never revealed. However, like Harry, Stil is a man on a mission.

Not that you’d know it as Nightshade begins. Stil is based in Avalon, Catalina’s main town, after being forced out of the homicide department in Los Angeles following a disastrous brush with department politics. Much like Mick Herron’s Slough House, the island’s law enforcement team is seen as a place for losers and rule breakers, and for much of the year there is very little crime. Even the tourist season tends to bring nothing more than drunk and disorderlies and the occasional criminal damage. Until a body is discovered, tied to an anchor at the bottom of Avalon Harbour.

Stil is an experienced diver and is soon at the watery crime scene, where he sees an unidentified woman, bloated and unrecognisable except for the purple streak in her hair. Soon the cops from the mainland are on the island, taking over the case lock, stock and barrel. Stil has history with them both and they delight in shutting him out of the investigation. But – and this is where his similarity to Bosch kicks in – he isn’t about to listen.

In fact, when the detectives return to Long Beach, Stil uses his local connections to identify the woman as Leigh-Anne Moss, a waitress at the island’s snazzy and very exclusive Black Marlin Club who went missing, along with an allegedly priceless statue of a black marlin, after getting fired for being too familiar with the members. It’s a significant breakthrough and enough for the murder team to reluctantly bring Stil back into the fold… for now.

Connelly tees up everything nicely, with some tasty secondary storylines to move the narrative along at a faster lick than the island’s transport system. At first Stil seems a little one-dimensional, but as the pages turn, more and more layers of our new acquaintance are revealed. Like LA in this author’s Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer books, Catalina is a living and breathing, Technicolor character here – and is now added to the list of places I’d love to visit.

The small town vibes that work so well in many Australian crime fiction books (think Chris Hammer and Jane Harper) can be found in Nightshade too, and I’m sure that as this series progresses some of the supporting characters will find their way into the spotlight. Principal of these is Avalon’s assistant harbourmaster, Tash Daniel – who also happens to be Stil’s girlfriend. Unlike other cops who’ve been sidelined into what are perceived as dead-end posts, our protagonist seems perfectly happy with his lot on Catalina Island, and Tash is a big part of that.

So, a none-too-shabby start by Michael Connelly to a series that promises his trademark sharp plotting, coupled with life at a slower pace. I think we’re going to get to like Detective Stilwell – and who knows, maybe one day his first name might even be revealed!

Catalina Island is also the setting in What Never Happened by Rachel Howzell Hall.

Orion
Print/Kindle/iBook
£12.99

CFL Rating: 4 Stars

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