Somewhere or another, I saw a complaint that the titles of Michael Connelly’s Catalina novels were too ordinary. I totally disagree. Ironwood, the title of the second book, is perfect. An Ironwood tree has one solid root that grows deep and wide. It’s the perfect description of Detective Sergeant Stilwell. He was sent to Catalina as a punishment. He found a home there, and cares deeply about his deputies and the substation and the people of the community. And, he’s determined to protect them, although some aren’t always grateful.
He’s angry at himself, though, for failing to protect two of his deputies. It’s a tip that sends Stil and two deputies to the airport in the middle of the night. They watch as a duffle bag is dropped off, but, while Stilwell chases the pickup man on an ATV, shots are fired on the runway. Now, Stilwell is kicked off the investigation while the lives of his two deputies are destroyed.
Instead of working on the case, Stil is ordered to stay in the substation as much as he can, and clean up the lost-and-found room. But, what he finds puts him onto a whole other case. There’s a backpack there, and when he traces it, it belongs to a young woman, a hiker who went missing three or four years earlier. The complicated search for answers leads him to the Cold-Case Unit of the LAPD and the officer in charge, Renee Ballard.
While Stilwell is shut out of the case involving his deputies, Ballard brings him up-to-date with the case involving missing and murdered women. He also juggles the day-to-day little cases on the island, graffiti, missing golf carts, destroyed grape vines. But, it’s the “Little island, big crimes” that worry him. There’s a search for the bones of the female hiker. But, who is following up on the case involving the officers shot at the airport?
Connelly’s Ironwood is a fast-paced, complex police procedural with an officer determined to do the right thing, no matter who is involved. He bucks the system, but he’s looking for justice. I hope Stilwell and Ballard meet up again in the future. But, even without her help, Stilwell will find his way to answers. Check out this take-no-prisoners, exciting novel. And, Ironwood is a perfect title.
Michael Connelly’s website is https://www.michaelconnelly.com/
Ironwood by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown and Company, 2026. 336p.
FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a galley of the book, with no expectation of a positive review.
