Ironwood by Michael Connelly

Ironwood is the forty-second crime novel written by Michael Connelly, and he has certainly not lost his touch. It is the second in the Catalina series, starring laconic Detective Stillwell (“Stil”). Connelly does not give Stillwell a first name, but we gradually learn more about his past following his is exile to Catalina Island, 22 miles across the ocean from the southern reaches of Los Angeles.

Stillwell and all the officers under his command at the Island’s police department have been removed from law enforcement posts in California as punishment for some perceived failure of duty. It seems that in Stillwell’s case, he was set up by a corrupt colleague, but he has now come to like Catalina’s community and ambience, and is happy to stay there, living with his partner Tash, the Island’s harbour master.

The story begins with what seems to be a standard police interception of a drug deal from a small plane at Catalina’s Avalon airfield. But the situation goes drastically wrong: while Stillwell pursues a fleeing fugitive down a steep ravine in his four-wheel drive vehicle, back at the airstrip a police officer is shot dead and another seriously injured.

Stillwell is suspended from active duty while police internal affairs investigate, but still manages to covertly involve himself with another unsolved suspicious disappearance of a female hiker. In typical Connelly fashion, this dovetails into a serial murder case being handled by Renee Ballard (one of the author’s favourite detective creations) and soon Stillwell is up to his eyes in that investigation. Even beloved fictional (but retired) detective Harry Bosch gets a passing mention!

Stillwell uncovers significant evidence which helps Ballard to mobilise resources to try to track down a serial killer who seems intent on taunting the forces of law enforcement. Meanwhile, he attempts to involve himself in the investigations into who was responsible for the shootings of the officers at the airport, finding himself struggling to get information on what appears to be an inadequate investigation into the murder and maiming of his colleagues.

Connelly specialises in examining the moral dilemmas faced by his key protagonists when facing possible political or criminal corruption but constrained by their training to accept and follow orders from their superiors. This book is no exception, and its well-conceived conclusion leaves some ambiguous questions unanswered. No doubt some of these will be revealed when the third Catalina novel surfaces.

Michael Connelly has not lost his touch as a classic crime novelist, and his key characters are well drawn, human and believable. His plots are complex and satisfying, with twists and turns and plenty of suspects. Readers can no doubt look forward to again encountering Stil and his intriguing life and career on Catalina, a big rock just off the coast of Los Angeles.

Reviewed by Peter Maywald
SMSA Member