Reading order · 2 books · 2025 to 2026 · Set in Avalon, Catalina Island
Catalina Books in Order
Detective Stilwell of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department works on Catalina Island, a quiet posting far from the city where small crimes are supposed to be the norm. Connelly began this series in 2025.
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Series facts
- Books
- 2
- Published
- 2025 to 2026
- First book
- Nightshade
- Latest
- Ironwood (2026)
- Setting
- Set in Avalon, Catalina Island
The reading order
Every Catalina book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
2 books · Set in Avalon, Catalina Island
- 1Nightshade2025With Detective StilwellLos Angeles County Sheriff’s detective Stilwell has been moved to a quiet posting on Catalina Island, where most of the work is drunk tourists and minor crime.Buy on Amazon
- 2Ironwood2026With Detective StilwellBuy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Start with Nightshade, then read Ironwood.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Detective Stilwell |
|---|---|
| 1 Nightshade | LLead |
| 2 Ironwood | LLead |
Characters in the Catalina books
3 characters from Michael Connelly’s chart, with the number of Catalina books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Detective StilwellLA County Sheriff’s detective on Catalina Island | 2 | Nightshade 2025 |
| Harry BoschLAPD homicide detective, later retired | 1 | Ironwood 2026 |
| Renée BallardLAPD detective, later head of Open-Unsolved | 1 | Ironwood 2026 |