Death becomes him

With the streaming premiere of Ballard this month, legendary crime writer Michael Connelly's career-long exploration of Los Angeles continues.

- BY CRAIG SISTERSON

Like his iconic Los Angeles sleuth Harry Bosch, crime novelist Michael Connelly's musical tastes lean strongly towards jazz. Miles Davis: Kind of Blue. Frank Morgan: Lullaby. John Coltrane: Soul Eyes. Chet Baker, Cole Porter, Art Pepper and many more.

But it's the words of another timeless musician that leap to mind when surveying Connelly's own prolific creativity and his ongoing drive to write, to explore, to raise questions while entertaining. Bruce Springsteen, the New Jersey rocker, has repeatedly said of his own long career that he feels like he's in the midst of a lifelong conversation with his audience.

Philadelphia-born Connelly's lifelong conversation now includes more than 40 novels, two film adaptations, 125-plus episodes of crime drama streaming, two seasons of a true crime podcast, and more. With more on the near horizon.

Like the Boss, 68-year-old Connelly has grown and evolved over the decades from an exciting breakthrough talent (he scooped an Edgar Award with his 1992 debut, The Black Echo, which introduced relentless LAPD detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch) to a pillar of his field who meshed popularity with critical acclaim to a storytelling doyen who continues to try new things rather than rest on his laurels.

Earlier this year, that included Nightshade, a crime thriller set on Catalina Island, a mix of rugged wilderness, resort and small towns an hour's fast ferry ride from the California mainland.

“It's a really important part of the creative process for me to not feel like I'm just doing a routine,” says Connelly. “I'm also later in my life as a writer and felt compelled to not just coast out of here with the characters I've already established. I wanted to create at least one new main character – I don't know if Detective Stilwell will be my last one.”