Abby Shewmaker

Whether a dinner-table thought experiment or the basis for a historic epic, the concept of time travel has fascinated writers, artists, and audiences for decades. Contemplating human history and future potential has created some of the most interesting and enjoyable films, television shows, and books of the last century. Explorations of time travel, though fantastical in nature, appear in stories across genres and mediums, uncovering and re-exploring what it means to exist as a human in time.

For any readers new to Michael Connelly's interconnected web of procedural crime novels that span decades, multiple protagonists, and interlocking storylines, finding a place to start may feel almost as daunting and mysterious as the cases his beloved characters uncover throughout his bibliography. Connelly's books—which begin with 1992's The Black Echo and will continue this fall with The Hollow—feature many of the same characters in primary and supporting roles in one shared universe.