Michael Connelly, prolific author of crime and thriller books, is well known for his protagonists Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller, and Renée Ballard. In this debut novel, Connelly introduces a new investigator, Detective Sergeant Stilwell.
*****
Detective Sergeant
Stilwell was a homicide investigator for the LAPD before a departmental
dust-up got him transferred to the Sheriff's Department on the Catalina
Island substation - the penalty for troublesome Los Angeles cops.
Most
arrests on the island are drunk-and-disorderlies; assaults; property
crimes; and driving while impaired. Today though, Detective Stilwell is
investigating the mutilation of a protected species. A buffalo was
killed on the Catalina Island Bison Preserve, and its head was sawn
off. 
Stillwell
suspects that Oscar "Baby Head" Terranova, who owns Island Mystery
Tours, ordered the mutilation. Baby Head has been pushing the idea of
alien activity on Catalina, to drum up business for his tours.
Stilwell
executes a search warrant on the premises of Island Mystery Tours, and
confiscates a handsaw stained with blood. Stilwell also accuses an
employee called Henry Gaston of mutilating the buffalo. Stilwell gives
Gaston a few days to come in and make a deal - presumably implicating
Baby Head.
Unknown
to Stilwell, the dead buffalo is the tip of the iceberg of a criminal
conspiracy that reaches into government circles, and this incident
mushrooms to murder and abduction.
In
the meantime, the body of a woman is found in the Catalina Island
harbor. The deceased is in a sail bag, weighed down by an anchor, and
has been in the water for days.
As
a result the body is badly decomposed and difficult to identify.
Murders are handled by the LAPD homicide unit on the mainland, and
Stilwell reports the incident. 
Unluckily for Stilwell, homicide Detective Rex Ahearn gets the case.
In
Stilwell's opinion, Ahearn is lazy, cuts corners, and makes bad
arrests. It was a disagreement with Ahearn that got Stilwell banished to
Catalina Island, and there's bad blood between the two men.
When
Ahearn and his partner Sampedro arrive on Catalina Island, there are
nasty exchanges between Ahearn and Stilwell. Ahern scornfully calls
Stilwell 'Stillborn.' And Stilwell returns the favor by calling Ahearn
'A-hole.'
After throwing his weight around, Ahearn arranges to take the body back to Los Angeles, and warns Stilwell to stay off the case.
Stilwell
does no such thing. Instead he plunges right in to investigate. The
first order of business is to identify the victim, and Stilwell has a
stroke of luck. Charles Crane, the general manager of Catalina Island's Black Marlin
Club (BMC), reports a theft. The exclusive BMC has an invitation-only
membership of rich families, most of whom own yachts and live along the
California coast. 
Crane says a small black-jade sculpture of a marlin was stolen from the entry hallway of the BMC clubhouse.
Crane
suspects the marlin was taken by a waitress named Leigh-Anne Moss, who
was fired for inappropriate behavior, namely flirting with the male
club members. Crane describes Leigh-Anne as having black hair with a
purple streak, and Stilwell realizes this matches the corpse in the
harbor.
Leigh-Anne's
name gives Stilwell a starting point for his investigation, and he goes
back and forth to the mainland to interview the victim's lovers,
friends, acquaintances, and co-workers. 
When
Detective Ahearn finds out, he pitches a fit. But Stillwell's progress
convinces the head of homicide, Captain Corum, to put Stilwell on the
case with Ahearn and Sampedro. 
In Stilwell's private life, he's dating Natasha (Tash) Dano, the assistant harbormaster on Catalina Island.
Tash
gets interested in Leigh-Anne's murder, and helps Stilwell look up
arrivals and departures of yachts - one of which may have been the
murder scene.
Stilwell
is an aggressive detective who skirts the rules, which irritates his
boss, Captain Corum. Fortunately for Stilwell, he's clever and
identifies the perp(s). The finale leaves some loose ends though, which
will probably be addressed in future books. 
This looks like the start of a good new series. Recommended to fans of mysteries and thrillers.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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