Nightshade

De: Michael Connelly

Narrado por: Will Damron

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).

Fast Read But Weak

This has the same issues as some other Connelly novels. One is that the murderer is obvious very early in the novel. It’s the Mrs. Fletcher rule: the nicest, most helpful person is the killer. This one walks into the room, opens their mouth, and you know that person is the killer. Now you need to spend a few hundred pages learning why. Second is what Siskel and Ebert called the idiot plot. Your keen investigator suddenly becomes an idiot in order to move the plot along. We figure out why a certain individual assaulted a police officer chapters before our hero tumbles to it, too late. The ending is rushed and not very credible. Decent beach read, but not up to some other Connelly mysteries.

Yikes.

I've read or listened to all of Michael Connelly's books, and this one, well, I don't even know what to say. It felt rushed, anticlimactic, and did not develop the characters very well. I think this is what happens when you try to release books too soon. If this had been my first Michael Connelly book, it would've been my last.

Not the norm for MC

Eh, took me days to get thru this book. I gotta say I was disappointed. Was really excited about possible new serial character. Of course, narration made this story worse. No personality. Please try again Mike.

Exciting new characters with lots of twists.

Expected great writing and wonderful character development. A new series from one of my favorite authors.

Slow read but okay

It was a nice story but very slow. I would never have guessed it was Connelly.