Connelly is my favorite writer of mysteries/detective novels.  In this his 43rd book, he once again spins his magic. I raced through it in 2 days, exasperated by the trivial distractions of eating and sleeping and always eager to get back to the book..

He manages to turn out a book a year without getting stale or stilted through two techniques.  First, he allows his characters to age as the books proceed.  Harry  Bosch who started out as a young homicide detective in the LAPD in the first book in 1992 (It won the Edgar Award for best first novel,) appears in Ironwood as a cameo for this silver-haired, retired guy.  Second, Connelly continually introduces new characters to accompany the aging Bosch.  First there was the Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller, his half brother.  Haller was followed by Rene Ballard who heads the cold case division which Bosch advises. And in this book, Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant Stillwell makes his second appearance as he tries to sort out the disaster of a drug bust that resulted in one dead deputy and another seriously injured.

Stil was exiled to Catalina Island for some internal departmental trouble he caused trying to do the right thing, but has come to love the Island.  Ironwood involves him in two parallel but unrelated cases, another technique Connelly uses to keep things fresh.  One case involves the failed drug bust. The other involves a series of murders of young women hikers.  The tension ratches up as both cases reach their conclusion.

This is a great beach read for this summer.  If you don’t know Connelly, any of the books will do, but I would suggest starting with this one.  It’s terrific.