This is a brilliant read and I was pleased to know that Michael Connelly has a new series out. I look forward to reading more in this series.

At the start of a holiday weekend on Catalina, a resort island, a woman's body is found in the harbour, weighed down by an anchor. Detective Stilwell, known as Still, who has been demoted from the LAPD homicide squad due to conflict with fellow officers has to keep a distance from the investigation.

meanwhile he begins an investigation into a missing statue, reportedly to be worth a great deal of month, from a private club. Needless to say the two investigations begin to show signs of overlapping.

Great twists and turns as would be expected from this author.

Highly recommended

Prefer a novel set in the UK but thus was good. Having read it as a stand alone I wasn't clear about what had happened in the past but there were little nuggets to fill you in.
Enjoyed the book but it didn't grab me enough to read the rest of the series.

An atmospheric and intelligent new crime mystery from Connelly featuring a new crime fighting hero - Stillwell. Set on the serene and beautiful Catalina Island, the idyllic backdrop contrasts greatly with the undercurrent of concealed criminality. When a Jane DOE washes ashore, Stillwell is faced with working alongside his nemesis, an ex colleague with a grudge. Whilst his colleague wants to pin the crime on the obvious suspect and move on, Stillwell goes against orders to follow the clues into the darkest corners and uncover an unsettling truth. A superb thriller. #nightshade #michaelconnelly #netgalley

This is the first Michael Connelly book I've read, and it was an enjoyable start. The first book in a series based around a detective who has been sent to work on a small island because of office politics in the LAPD.

It's a fast-paced thriller, and once I got into it, it became unputdownable. I look forward the other books if he continues this series.

#Nightshade #NetGalley I am always keen to read any new book from Michael Connolly. I love the Bosch series! I enjoyed the premise of Stillwell being sidelined off to Catalina island due to some previous actions and it was interesting to see the interaction between the island detectives and the mainland cops. I did not like the fact that Ahearne constantly referred to Stillwell as Stillborn and was only picked up on it once by their superiors. That aside, it was a good storyline and plenty of red herrings along the way. A solid read.

Another exciting thriller from the author .At the start of an holiday weekend a body is discovered in the harbour of a resort island, This has been weighed down by an anchor and covered in a sail bag. The Detective who is sent to see what has happened is Detective Stilwell , but after the initial start to the investigation he is taken off the case and it is handed to the Homicide Squad on the mainland .
Detective Stilwell has been sidelined to the island after having fallen foul of office politics in the LAPD and has issues with the detectives dealing with the case.He is told to leave the case alone but wants to continue and as another case overlaps he does. He identifies the girl as a waitress at a local Yacht Club, The Blue Marlin , where there has been a theft reported of an ornament from the foyer. He is also out to bring down a local untouchable gangster and a corrupt mayor. All in all a thrilling story with good characters and many twists.

I was excited to see that Michael Connelly had a new series out. I've been a long time fan of this author. I liked this one, I just don't think it hit the heights of some of this previous works. The authors style here feels familiar and its well written. There is suspense, twists, and what we have come to know and expect from this author and genre.

Nightshade is definitely a good crime thriller, but not quite as absorbing as Connelly’s Bosch or Haller series. Enjoyable for sure, but I found that the connection wasn’t there with the characters as in other series. A decent start to a series if that’s what it is though.

I am massive fan of the Bosch series of books and was really excited to read Connelly’s new thriller, Nightshade.

Stil (full name Detective Sergeant Stilwell - you never learn his first name) has been demoted and sent to Catalina Island to work. Immediately, I was drawn to the character of Stil and the situation he find himself in, winding up policing on a ‘resort island’ and the frustrations that would bring.

A body of woman is fished out of the sea and Stil is pulled off the case to make way for police from the mainland to investigate. Can Stil abide by the new rules, or will he continue to investigate?

I’m hoping that there’ll be more books in this series and it will be interesting to see Stil’s character develop.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Orion Publishing Group, for making this e-book ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Connelly introduces a new protagonist, L.A. County Sheriff Detective 'Stil' Stilwell in this solid police procedural. Exiled to a remote tourist island off the California coast, Stil has a dull and quiet posting until a woman's body is fished out of the harbour. Ordered to stand down, will Stil drop the case? Connelly is a master storyteller.

I really enjoyed Nightshade (kindle edition) a fast paced and exciting thriller by Michael Connelly.

County Sheriff Detective Stilwell has been moved to a lower post on an island called Catalina where he has to investigate a mutilation of an animal, a murder of a young beautiful young woman with a striking purple streak in her hair, a missing sculpture from the Black Marlin Club and to take down some unscrupulous people in high positions.

Michael Connelly has written another great thriller and hopefully the first in a new series.
With a great new main character, the usual multiple story lines and the ever twisting plot, I loved this book. Not unlike Bosch a detective who cares and all set in a fantastic setting.
I read this book in quick time and thoroughly recommend it.

Great summer read from Michael Connelly with no Bosch or Ballard in sight.
A woman's body is discovered in the harbour of an island off LA, the on island police chief leads the investigation which drags him back into his past on the mainland.
You'll whizz through this book, enjoying every page!
Highly recommended

It’s always a treat when an established author gives us a new character in a new setting. Veteran crime writer Michael Connelly sets his latest book on Catalina, a resort island just off the Los Angeles coast. It’s an island so small cars are not needed and everyone tootles about in golf carts.
His new character, Detective Stilwell (no first name given, he goes by Stil), has been demoted from homicide in LAPD to sheriff and living a far more laidback life until murder comes to the island.
The mystery is good, the plotting tight and the characters interesting. There are a few hints that it is set in the same universe as Bosch, Ballad and Haller so maybe we will see one of them popping up on the island in future. Fans will love this new addition to the family.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

A new detective series from the master of crime fiction. The book is superbly written. I particularly enjoyed the setting which is on a isolated island. Getting to know Stilwell was a pleasant natural experience and I love his expertise and skills. I was desperate for him to succeed in solving the crime. The mystery had me eagerly anticipating the unraveling.

Actual rating 3.5.

I’ve been a Michael Connelly fan for a long time, but whilst I enjoyed this one I must admit it was nowhere near the level of the Bosch or Lincoln Lawyer series for me. Stilwell and the Catalina Island setting are interesting enough, but the story itself just felt like something I’d read before and didn’t captivate me, although I liked the ending. I ended up listening to the audiobook, which was well narrated if a bit stiff!

Oh, I do love Michael Connelly. This is a whole new world he's giving us and, I must confess, I stopped reading after a few pages to look at Google Maps and try to understand some of the geography involved. His other novels are easier to picture when LA is so well known but I'd never heard of this island so felt I needed more before I could lose myself in the book.
Once I did, I raced through it. I read at such a pace, I didn't sleep - I was completely and entirely immersed. I love the new characters, I love the tension, I love the sense of isolation and independence with a detective who is working so differently to Michael Connelly's other characters.
Full five stars - although I would like a map - and I look forward to the next one.

A new series and a new lead detective, Stilwell having recently been transferred to Catalina island, is adjusting to a quieter life compared to LA. When a young woman is found dead, Stilwell struggles to let go and allow the mainland detectives to investigate. Through circumstances, and an overlap between cases, Stilwell finds himself in the middle of it all. Determined to find out the woman’s identity and who murdered her, Stilwell goes against orders, and other detectives.

A great first book, it will be interesting to see if the series continues.

4 Stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for a advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The first book in a brand new series from the master of crime fiction.

As I have come to expect from this great author he has again created a strong character with a high moral compass. The plot was fast paced and kept the tension high all the way through. I absolutely loved this book and look forward to reading more.

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.

Nightshade, is the latest novel by Michael Connelly and also the first book in a new series. This series focus’s on LA County Sheriff Detective Stilwell and is set on the island of Catalina. Stilwell was exiled to the island following being taken off an homicide case.

Stilwell receives a report of a female Jane Doe who has been discovered by a diver off the coast of the island. He immediately wants to step up and solve the case but faces dealing with seniors on the mainland who are keen to have the case assigned to them.

Detective Stilwell is a very complex character and I am sure will only get better once Michael Connelly adds depth to the character in follow up stories. Stilwell was moved from homicide to sleepy Catalina due to internal politics but is definitely capable of dealing with bigger crimes than the ones expected on the island. The Jane Doe discovered submerged in the harbour offers Stilwell a bigger challenge. Her only distinguishing feature is a streak of purple in her hair. Meanwhile a poaching complaint on a nearby nature reserve quickly escalates into something much darker. The two case appear unrelated, but Stilwell’s instincts say otherwise.

I am really looking forward to reading further books in this series as Stilwell is flawed, demoted yet still determined to make a difference. This is a character that has excellent potential for future books. As usual the writing is first class, great storytelling, excellent characters and an intriguing plot.

This is an absorbing thriller and I found it impossible to put down. I love Michael Connelly novels and he never fails to deliver.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.