Nightshade by Michael Connelly

(22. - 1265.) Nightshade by Michael Connelly - Connelly had me hooked in the pages it took Detective Sgt. Stilwell of the Catalina substation of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department to transport in his utility task vehicle, an electric golf cart, Judge Harrell, who had swum ashore from his yacht, to the Justice Center. 

The Catalina substation is “a way station for the department’s freaks and fuckups”. Initially resentful at being assigned to the island, Stilwell has come to love island life.

Stilwell is focused on the mutilation of a buffalo when he gets a call to the harbor where he dons a wetsuit - he had been a member of the sheriff’s dive team - to confirm a body is anchored to the ocean floor.

The sight of the body reminds him of “floaters or sinkers” he had dealt with as a “body-recovery diver” - another occupation I could never have handled. He speaks of going under the surface as being in “the blue world”.

It is a woman with a purple streak in her hair.

Mayor Doug Allen is unhappy. Murder is bad for business and it is the Memorial Day Weekend.

The lead homicide detective from overtown (the mainland), Rex Ahearn, makes a memorable entrance into the book when, on the skiff dock gangway while wearing oxfords, he slips and slides into the ocean. Ahearn, whose nicknames are “A-Hole” and “King-A-Hole”, is sent for a shower and dry clothes.

Stilwell’s girlfriend is Tash Dano, the assistant habormaster. She is Catalina born.

Among Stilwell’s other cases is an investigation into the theft of a small black marlin statue from the exclusive Black Marlin club.

With regard to the buffalo there is speculation the head was severed by aliens. Several on the island are profiting from continuing reports of alien activity on Catalina. (In the Age of Trump, I clarify that the suspected aliens are the green extra-terrestrial kind, not foreigners to America.)

As often in a Connelly book the investigation shifts from exploring to finding supporting evidence when detailed police work finds the thread of proof that will be followed to solve the mystery.

Stilwell has a strong resemblance in character to Harry Bosch. Stilwell, formerly a homicide detective, personally investigates the woman’s murder. He knows the detectives assigned to the case will blow up if they find out he is actively pursuing the case. Stilwell does not care. He expects Ahearn will conduct a superficial investigation. The murder also happened on his island.

Considering the last blowup between Hearn and Stilwell ended up with Stilwell being sent to Catalina I wondered what would happen when Ahearn learns Stilwell has ignored his warning.

I should not have been surprised by how deftly Connelly handled the situation. By order of their Captain, Stilwell, Ahearn and Ahearn’s partner, Frank Sampedro become a three man team.

Stilwell discovers the purple streak in the hair of the victim was Nightshade, a deep violet color. That the berries of Nightshade are poisonous seemed appropriate.

As Stilwell pushes the investigation the circumstances become ever more complex.

I was troubled that Connelly once again has a detective, Stilwell, act without backup, and continue his investigation while  suspended from active duty. As well, the body count keeps rising.

As with all Connolly books the story moves smoothly. I could not stop reading but the resolution was not up to the opening.

Stilwell is an interesting character, though I think lacking a partner weakens aspects of the story for he is forced to do more on his own then is really credible. I did appreciate that he has come up with a new detective. Just as John Grisham is great at creating lawyers, Connelly is excellent at creating detectives.

Connelly continues to have one dimensional bad guys. 

There was modest suspense in identifying the perpetrators.

I found it an interesting quirk that Stilwell's first name is never revealed in the book.

For the first time I felt the writing was sometimes formulaic and predictable. Connelly remains an excellent author but Nightshade was not up to the high standard he has maintained for decades in almost all of the 31 books of his previous 39 books I have read. It is not a decline like Robert Crais was for me. Connelly says he is not putting a lot of time into his T.V work. I hope he further decreases his T.V. involvement. In reading other reviews I have not found another reviewer with comparable reservations about the book. 

****

Connelly, Michael – (2000) - Void Moon; (2001) - A Darkness More than Night; (2001) - The Concrete Blonde (Third best fiction of 2001); (2002) - Blood Work (The Best);  (2002) - City of Bones; (2003) - Lost Light; (2004) - The Narrows; (2005) - The Closers (Tied for 3rd best fiction of 2005); (2005) - The Lincoln Lawyer; (2007) - Echo Park; (2007) - The Overlook; (2008) - The Brass Verdict; (2009) – The Scarecrow; (2009) – Nine Dragons; (2011) - The Reversal; (2011) - The Fifth Witness; (2012) - The Drop; (2012) - Black Echo; (2012) - Harry Bosch: The First 20 Years; (2012) - The Black Box; (2014) - The Gods of Guilt; (2014) - The Bloody Flag Move is Sleazy and Unethical; (2015) - The Burning Room; (2015) - Everybody Counts or Nobody Counts; (2016) - The Crossing; (2016) - Lawyers and Police Shifting Sides; (2017) - The Wrong Side of Goodbye and A Famous Holograph Will; (2017) - Bosch - T.V. - Season One and Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch; (2018) - Two Kinds of Truth; (2019) - Dark Sacred Night and A Protest on Connelly's Use of Vigilante Justice; (2020) - The Night Fire; (2020) - Fair Warning; (2021) - The Law of Innocence and Writing a Credible Trial; (2022) - The Dark Hours; (2024) - Resurrection Walk; (2024) -Kim Stone and Harry Bosch; (2025) - The Waiting