Connelly has written 39 books about crime and the police in LA.  I’ve read them all and never tired of his vivid prose, insightful psychological portraits, detailed character descriptions and portrayals, and fast-moving plots.  Very few authors have been able to maintain this level of excellence through this many years, but Connelly has found the formula.  He started with a powerful and complicated character, Detective Harry Bosch, and when the Bosch books threatened to become formulaic, he introduced a new character, Harry’s half-brother, Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer who defended the bad guys who Harry arrested.  When Harry and Mickey had gone a few rounds, Connelly then introduced Renee Ballard, an African-American woman detective who works with the now-retired Bosch on cold cases.

Each time, Connelly has kept the thread going but reinvigorated it with new characters to accompany the aging Bosch as he moves through his colorful and usually unkempt career and enters retirement.  Harry’s daughter even makes an appearance as a rookie cop.

Now, Connelly has done it again, and again in a new way.  This book, except for a very subtle reference to a character in the last Bosch book, has no connection to Bosch, Ballard, Haller or any of the old stalwarts.  He introduces us to Los Angles County Sheriff Detective Stilwell who has been banished to Catalina Island after a dust up with another detective and his captain over a coverup of a murder in LA.  While handling the routine drunk and disorderly day tourist and the occasional stolen property cases, Stil (as he’s known) finds himself in the middle of multiple murders on the island.  Connelly uses his well-tested technique of keeping at least two story lines going simultaneously, entwining them in and out as the book proceeds.

The plot is credible and well timed. The characters are interesting and vividly drawn.  The setting is new and somewhat exotic.  And as usual, Connelly gives us a happy ending, a win for the good guys and a bad guy brought to justice.  I have a feeling that we will meet Stil and his girlfriend, Tash, again down the road, and at some point, Bosch, his daughter, Haller,  Stil, and Tash will likely find themselves embroiled in the same investigation of murder in LA County.  Excellent beach read!

P.S. The title refers not to the poisonous plant but to a shade of lipstick one of the murder victims used.