Ironwood by Michael Connelly

 

First Line: Stilwell could hear the plane but couldn't see it.

When Detective Sergeant Stilwell acts on a tip from a confidential informant, the operation goes disastrously wrong, and he's benched until he's cleared of all responsibility. 

Forced to cool his heels, Stilwell decides to clear out the lost and found at his station and finds a valuable backpack that was never claimed. He traces the backpack to a woman who disappeared while hiking four years ago, but the backpack was only turned in two months ago.

There's no way Stilwell can leave this alone, and when he follows this mystery, it takes him all the way to the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit and Detective Renée Ballard.

Ballard and Stilwell quickly learn that this case has a much wider reach than originally believed, and Stilwell risks his already shaky standing in the police department to pursue it.

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Michael Connelly's second Catalina mystery, Ironwood, is a pleasure to read. Yes, fans do get an update on Harry Bosch, and they do get to watch Stilwell work with Renée Ballard, but that's merely the icing on the cake. Stilwell is cut from the same cloth as Bosch and Ballard, and his commitment to getting justice for victims means that he often has to find workarounds in an attempt to keep out of hot water with his superiors. I love how the gears in that mind of his are always whirring away.

Ironwood is filled with little tidbits of Catalina Island's past that give the story depth and a true sense of place, but the backbone of this book is the police station and its checkered history. Catalina is where the Los Angeles Police Department sends its disgraced officers, officers who've gotten into some kind of trouble but can't be fired. Stilwell is one such officer, although his "disgrace" was his insistence on doing the right thing when his superiors told him otherwise. This habit of the LAPD causes problems because Stilwell is never told why new officers have been sent to him. He certainly could've used more of this kind of intel before conducting the operation which went so horribly wrong.

In Ironwood, we once again see a master at work. Connelly, a master of characterization, plotting, pacing... the whole enchilada. I am definitely looking forward to seeing Detective Sergeant Stilwell butt heads with his superiors again.

Ironwood by Michael Connelly

eISBN: 9780316595391

Little, Brown and Company © 2026

eBook, 400 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Catalina

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley

Nightshade by Michael Connelly

 

First Line: The marine layer was as thick as cotton and had formed a thousand-foot wall that shrouded the entrance to the harbor.

Department politics exiled Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Stilwell to a low-key post on Catalina Island. Now used to dealing with the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts in his new territory, Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighted down at the bottom of the harbor. 

Jane Doe is only initially identifiable by a streak of purple dye in her hair. Stilwell is determined to work the case even though it means sharing the investigation with two extremely hostile LA homicide detectives he used to work with.

As Stilwell digs deeper, he begins to uncover closely guarded secrets and a dark inner core to the tranquil island that was supposed to be his escape from the big city.

~

Sheriff's Detective Stilwell is a welcome addition to the Harry Bosch School of Policing. A former sheriff's dive team member, he's a good fit for the quieter pace of Catalina Island in Michael Connelly's Nightshade. 

A new addition to the Connelly canon calls for a new setting, and I really enjoyed getting to know Catalina Island, which-- in Stilwell's world-- is known as "the Island of Misfit Toys" because police officers with blotches on their records are sent there if they can't be fired outright. Naturally, boating plays a big part in life on the island. Stilwell has gotten to know his fellow officers, their strengths and weaknesses, and he's in a relationship with a woman who's always lived on Catalina. Her very different perspective means that they don't always see eye-to-eye.

The investigations are what we've come to expect from Michael Connelly-- intriguing, engrossing, and filled with interesting factoids (like Prada's RFI chips). I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about Stilwell in the next book. Bring it on!

Nightshade by Michael Connelly

eISBN: 9780316588492

Little, Brown and Company © 2025

eBook, 352 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Detective Stilwell

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley