In Nightshade, 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 wrapped in plastic and weighed down at the bottom of the harbor. Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, he starts doggedly working the case. 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. Stillwell is another Connelly cop hero not unlike Harry Bosch and Renée Ballard in his doggedness, but with one major difference aside from the small island town setting – he's happily married.
A Different Detective From Harry Bosch
Connelly brought up Nightshade during an online book club in November with his longtime editor, Asya Muchnick, to talk about his latest Bosch-Ballard novel, The Waiting. He talked about spending time on Catalina Island, falling in love with the place, and becoming inspired to create a new character who lived and operated there. He admitted that Stillwell is the first detective character he's created who doesn't have the same kind of dark "lone wolf" angst that plagues Bosch and Ballard but instead has a happy, stable domestic relationship. That doesn't mean there won't be conflict, but Stillwell's marriage will form the emotional heart of his life.
Nightshade will be released on May 20, 2025, in print, eBook, and audiobook in the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. More details to come. Don't be surprised if it joins Bosch, The Lincoln Lawyer, and the upcoming Ballard spinoff in getting a television series adaptation.
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