The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
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Book Reviews of The Scarecrow
Book Review: You're Not In The Emerald City Any Longer SCARECROW!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I added this up last night and discovered that I have read more books by Michael Connelly (15) than any other author I've read. So I guess one could say I'm a huge fan. The amazing thing is that they were all five star books (except for Chasing The Dime, of course). I find this almost hard to believe but it's true. And I'm actually one of the readers who started reading Connelly before his real fame came into being with the publication of The Poet.
I guess it's only fair then that his latest offering features journalist Jack McEvoy....the same Jack McEvoy who appeared in The Poet. Connelly's true fans have been awaiting a reappearance by one of their favorite characters for years now and in The Scarecrow, Jack's return does not disappoint for one minute. I loved this book from the beginning to the end.
Having started his career as a journalist, I'm sure this book is close to Connelly's heart as he watches the slow demise of the newspaper industry. The fact that technology is killing newspapers becomes only too clear as the book starts off with Jack getting a pink slip from the LA Times. But "our" Jack is intent on going out with a bang and makes it his business to come up with one last story that will be Pulitzer prizeworthy. He will set out to prove that a sixteen year old gang member is not guilty of the murder for which he is being accused. The good news to Jack's fans is that he will need to ask FBI agent Rachel Walling for her help as he starts to get too close to the answer to the mystery and much too close to The Scarecrow. Their "coupling" in this book is well worth the wait as they make such a great team.
We learn at the beginning of the book who the real villain is and I enjoy when an author does this because I then get to follow the thoughts of the "bad guy" right up front. As Jack is closing in on The Scarecrow, we get to view this villain as he becomes a bird being scared by a scarecrow as opposed to the opposite way around. I enjoyed all of the Wizard of Oz references in the book as well. At one point, music is playing in the background and it's Eric Clapton in concert singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." In addition, the city editor of the LA Times where Jack works is "Dorothy" Fowler and guess where's she originally from....you guessed right...Kansas. I also love when an author references one of his other books within the book I'm reading. In this case, Jack mentions reading a series of stories about a lawyer who did his business out of a Lincoln. Nice shoutout to Mickey Haller of The Lincoln Lawyer fame.
Unlike other authors who don't have Connelly's talent, he doesn't have to make his stories so convoluted that you can't even understand them. He also doesn't resort to having the villain be one of the investigators as so many other authors "cop out" and do. He writes a clear-cut story from start to finish and it's always one you can't put down. I always comment that I read very few books in a given year that would get a "10" rating from me. In the mystery/thriller category, this is one for 2009, a "Big 10". The only other two books in this genre that I've read this year and have also received a "10" rating from me were The Lincoln Lawyer and The Brass Verdict. Surprise, surprise, they were also written by Connelly. This is obviously one satisfied fan.
Book Review: As I've Been Promising
Summary: 5 Stars
I am on record for heaping praise on Michael Connelly's standalone novels. They are not necessarily superior to the Bosch novels, but they are certainly the equal of those books. One of the very best is The Poet. Now, in The Scarecrow, Connelly reunites the central characters of The Poet: journalist Jack McEvoy and FBI Special Agent Rachel Walling.
At the outset of the story Jack has been given two weeks notice by the L.A. Times. Another victim of the internet, the paper is downsizing and Jack, with his high salary, is a tasty target for the corporate beancounters. He vows to go out on a high note by writing one last, big story. He investigates a murder case in which a drug dealer has been convicted of a brutal sex crime. His grandmother claims that he could not possibly have done it. As Jack examines the facts of that case he discovers a cognate case and realizes that the two individuals convicted must each be innocent. Ironically, while he is investigating the case the real perp is investigating him. It is doubly ironic, since the perp is an IT whiz, a master of the technology which is destroying the Times and Jack's journalism career. Reunited with Rachel, the couple discover a web of evil which they proceed to examine and, finally, dismantle. The serial killer (like Harris' Buffalo Bill) is a boy with mom problems, mom problems that have distorted his personality and set him off, somehow, on a life of rape, torture, murder, fetishism and computer fraud.
I am not spoiling the novel, for we learn much of this information early in the book. This is not a mystery, but a cat-and-mouse suspense thriller. Actually cat-and-mice, with Rachel in the picture. Actually cats-and-mice since the eponymous killer has a sidekick.
So why are we seeing The Scarecrow on the shelves of grocery stores and Wal-Mart as well as on the point-of-purchase rack in your local bookstore? Because Michael Connelly is a master story teller. Because here he has recreated two superb characters, whose personal interactions are as interesting as their investigations. Because we want to know how a major reporter investigates major crimes and Connelly's nonfiction book, Crime Beat, wasn't quite as satisfying as this fictional depiction of the process. Because Connelly plots like a master and knows just what information (and how much of it) to reveal at any moment. Because we're fascinated by contemporary technology and we want to know how it operates and how it displays a capacity for good as well as for evil. And, finally, because the book builds to a crescendo and disrupts all of our plans for the day as we sit locked in our chairs, reading the book to its conclusion.
This is Connelly at the top of his form. It's not Conrad and it's not Dostoyevsky (nor does it attempt to be), but it is the beach and airplane book of the summer and you'll love every word. Caution: it starts a little slowly as Connelly erects his superstructure. Be patient, the death race is coming.
Book Review: Lion, Tinman, Scarecrow...
Summary: 5 Stars
I finished reading "The Scarecrow" last night and I really enjoyed it!
It's been nearly a week since I started reading Michael Connelly's latest book. I had hoped to have it completed by Tuesday so that I could weigh in with one of the first reviews posted here. But as I read I decided there was no reason to hurry and every reason to savor a really well-written story. Now I'm ready.
If it was just that Connelly is a terrific guy (and he is) that would be enough. I had been reading his books for awhile before we met at the Santa Monica Super Crown when he was signing "Trunk Music." He stopped signing and we chatted. I was already hooked, but the personal contact just reinforced my high regard for him.
He is a masterful storyteller! As a high school English teacher, I am always prodding my students to read. Holding up books in class (Opah Winfrey style) so they can see what I'm reading. If a book doesn't grab their attention in the first few pages, they want to quickly give up on it. I always encourage them to stay the course. Sometimes you have to wait for the payoff. When they do, it's worth the wait. Years ago I read "Devices& Desires" by P. D. James. The story was plodding for me, but then around page 100 it happened! I often fall back on that story in class when my seniors want to give up on a book.
I found "The Scarecrow" slow moving at first. I had a difficult time with the first and third person perspectives (something I discourage in my students' writing). Don't get me wrong, I was enjoying the read but I found myself waiting. And then, sure enough, after about 100 pages it happened. And once again I was glad I stayed with it. I think that moment happens at different times for different readers, but you have to hang in there.
In those first 99 pages Connelly builds the foundation that the rest of his story rests securely on. There's a real sense of foreboding in the pages of this book. We know things that Jack McEvoy doesn't know and that dramatic irony is difficult to bear in places. We know Wesley Carver is out there, but he remains the "unsub" for a very long time. The Scarecrow remains on the periphery for a large portion of book, but his presence is felt by everyone whose lives he affects.
I don't have to reveal anything that the previous reviewers haven't already. I will simply say I am happy there are writers out there like P. D. James and Micheal Connelly out there so that teachers like me can say: Listen you guys, if I can do this when I read, you should be able to do it too. Don't put this book down! I look forward to complimenting Michael again when I see him next month at The Poisoned Pen.
Book Review: This Scarecrow Doesn't Dance
Summary: 5 Stars
This is Michael Connelly at his best. It's a fascinating read, like so many of his earlier works. I was a bit disappointed with two recent books, The Brass Verdict and The Overlook, but not with The Scarecrow.
The story is compellingly told, mostly from the perspective of the central character. It seems to me that Connelly is at his best when writing about a strong, ethical character, like Detective Harry Bosch, star of several Connelly works. The Scarecrow features such a strong person, Jack McEvoy, who battles the forces of evil.
McEvoy is a well-respected veteran L.A. Times crime reporter who gets fired due to the deep budget cuts that reflect the decline of printed media in the face of Internet competition. (People want their news NOW.) Instead of a swift boot out the door, McEvoy gets two week's notice if he agrees to train his replacement. This sort of thing is as current as today's headlines: a lot of good people with years of experience are getting axed and replaced by younger workers with small salaries.
McEvoy is determined to use those two weeks to build a big story that will help him create a best seller. Several years before his dismissal, McEvoy wrote a best seller about a sensational murder case that he investigated. This is where an earlier Connelly book, The Poet, intersects with The Scarecrow. Connelly also includes FBI Agent Rachel Walling, who has appeared before.
McEvoy wants another big bucks success as a way of thumbing his nose at the Times. So, in The Scarecrow he works a story about two brutal murders in which the victims' bodies were stuffed in car trunks. The trail leads to a "genius" psycho who uses the Internet for no good at all. And it turns out that the psycho's job gives him access to an overwhelming arsenal of high-tech devices.
A typical Connelly tactic is to "tutor" the reader as the plot unfolds. In The Brass Verdict it was jury selection and the conduct of a trial. In The Scarecrow there are many details about computer technology and the Internet. The Internet can be a dark alley used for identity theft, character assassination, and extortion. Clearly, Connelly is one of those (most likely, well past forty) who feel somewhat overwhelmed by the new technology. These are people who grew up before there was a P.C. on every desk and a cell phone in every pocket/purse.
There's plenty of suspense in The Scarecrow. Connelly skillfully reveals things to the reader without telling McEvoy and Walling. The reader then "helplessly" watches McEvoy and Walling stumble about as disaster lurks.
The Scarecrow gets an easy five.
Book Review: More Jack Please!
Summary: 5 Stars
Jack McEvoy made headlines when he helped track down a deadly serial killer early in his career. These days he is being forced out of the Los Angeles Times because of budget cuts. It seems the world has forgotten about the hero reporter who avenged his brother's death. Just as Jack is ready to throw in the towel, he catches wind of a story that might just allow him to go out with a bang. As Jack digs deeper he soon discovers that the newspaper may be done with him, but a deadly new killer is certainly not.
We first met Jack McEvoy in Michael Connelly's highly acclaimed novel, The Poet. Many consider that first introduction of the character to be Connelly's finest work, surpassing even the dearly loved Harry Bosch novels. Thankfully, Connelly decided to prove to us all that Jack McEvoy is anything but a one hit wonder.
The Scarecrow is the perfect blend of vintage Connelly with a welcome dose of tech savvy thriller. While The Poet dealt much more with the daily life of a beat reporter, this time around we get more action layered with the perfect amount of detail. One of Connelly's trademarks is his thoroughness, giving the audience an all access pass into the lives of his characters. While that element is still strong throughout here, it almost feels like Connelly holds back just enough to let the characters tell the story. The Scarecrow has a much tighter, fast paced feel that makes for an even better read than The Poet.
Rachel Walling is of course back and Connelly does a masterful job of portraying the ache of old flames and the hope of what might be. Jack and Rachel have both matured in different ways, yet they can't deny the spark that never died. Their relationship feels like a natural overflow of the story and even helps carry the tension along as the plot unfolds.
The Scarecrow himself is a deeply disturbing villain whose weapon is the one thing that makes us all vulnerable: technology. This is a whole new frightening breed of serial killer, and Connelly wondrously brings this character to life through some riveting third person narrative.
What sets The Scarecrow apart from the rest is the character of Jack McEvoy. Michael Connelly nails every aspect of this veteran reporter with an unyielding sense of justice. The use of the first person is second to none here and the switching from first to third person throughout works as a clever storytelling device.
Millions of Michael Connelly fans wait with bated breath for the next Harry Bosch novel, and rightly so. I, however, can't help but hope that we haven't seen the last of Jack McEvoy.