The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
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Book Reviews of The Scarecrow
Book Review: Journalist sleuth makes timely reappearance
Summary: 5 Stars
With the demise of newspapers looming, bestselling author and former L.A. Times crime reporter Connelly's latest, set in an LA Times struggling to stay afloat, couldn't be more timely.
Connelly fans will remember rumpled, stalwart newsman Jack McEvoy from "The Poet," and will also be pleased to discover sparks once again flying between McEvoy and FBI agent Rachel Walling (who has made recent appearances in Connelly's Harry Bosch series). A very scary internet-savvy serial killer and Connelly's usual breakneck pacing complete the mix for this absorbing thriller.
After a brief introduction to the clever killer in his day job as a computer security genius, gleefully laying waste to the life of a would-be hacker, Connelly takes us into the newsroom of the L.A.Times where veteran reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner McEvoy has just been terminated - given two weeks notice in order to train his younger, less expensive replacement, Angela Cook.
McEvoy accepts the terms, but has no intention of going gently. He decides to write "a story that would make them remember me after I'm gone," another Pulitzer, a story that would show them they'd fired the wrong man. He focuses on a teenage drug dealer from the projects who's just been arrested for the murder of a young white woman, a junkie, stuffed into the trunk of her own car.
But what starts off as a dark profile morphs into something bigger when it begins to appear the young drug dealer might have been framed - by a clever, sadistic serial killer.
Switching viewpoints between the killer and McEvoy in a high-stakes dance of smarts and ruthlessness, Connelly keeps the suspense at a high pitch, ratcheting up the pace with law-enforcement mistakes, rule breaking, ego clashes, nick-of-time saves and crackling electricity between McEvoy and Walling.
But what adds real depth to this fast-paced read is the portrayal of the newsroom in all its old dinosaur warts, traditions, and gritty venerability. Connelly plumbs his journalistic background for more than atmosphere, however, exploring the meeting of internet and paper, and the ways they enhance one another. The ease and speed of internet research, for instance, combined with the structure and discipline of traditional journalism creates a powerful investigative machine, paradoxically undermined by its own economic mechanism.
Stalking a killer, Connelly gives us a glimpse of a future without newspapers and it's a scary sight. This is one of his best.
Book Review: First Rate Thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael Connelly is at the top of his game in this taut thriller that pits Jack McEvoy, a veteran newspaper reporter, and Rachel Walling, an FBI agent, against a psychopath known as the Scarecrow who has a unique perversion as to how he tortures and kills his female victims. In the process McEvoy and Walling, who have not seen each other in years, rekindle an old romance.
McEvoy receives a pink slip as part of a reduction in force for the newspaper that he works for, and determines to write one last story in his final two weeks that will make the newspaper sorry that they let him go. He plans to get inside the head of a teenage gangbanger who has been arrested for the gruesome murder of a stripper, only to discover that the gangbanger is innocent, as is a man in another state who was convicted of killing his ex wife, who was murdered in the same manner as the stripper. Although he has not seen Walling in years, McEvoy calls her for help, and together they track down the Scarecrow in a fast paced novel that is brimming with action. Along the way Connelly provides interesting insights into how a newspaper is run, as well as a dark side of data security whereby the persons who guard private data can use that very same data to harm the people who own it.
The term Scarecrow refers to the technology engineer whose job it is to stop cyber hackers from invading data that is stored on the Farm, which is a cluster of servers. Connelly shows the irony of entrusting data for safekeeping based on a company's sophisticated technological safeguards, all of which become worthless if a trusted data company employee with access to that data is a psychopath. The reader soon discovers the many ways in which private data can be abused as McEvoy finds his cell phone disconnected, his credit cards cancelled, a private conversation with Walling being monitored on the internet, etc. in an effort by the Scarecrow to stop him.
I disagree with the reviews that say Jack McEvoy is not as interesting as Connelly's other protagonist, detective Harry Bosch, and that this novel is not as entertaining as a Bosch novel. The action is nonstop, and even though the Scarecrow's identity is revealed right at the beginning, a fascinating game of cat and mouse takes place as McEvoy and Walling put together the pieces to finally identify and capture the Scarecrow. This novel is another winner by Michael Connelly.
Book Review: Jack is back!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Jack McEvoy is back in Michael Connelly's latest thriller, The Scarecrow. McEvoy, a crime writer who was previously featured in The Poet, is now writing for the LA Times.
As The Scarecrow opens, McEvoy is becoming a dinosaur. So is the newspaper business in general. He's given two weeks notice if he agrees to train his new replacement, Angela Cook. McEvoy decides that he is going to go out in a blaze of glory, writing a story that will make The Times regret that they gave him the boot. He stumbles upon a case where a young gang-member has been blamed for the rape, torture and murder of a woman found in the trunk of a car. But McEvoy starts discovering that perhaps the kid is innocent after all and that this might actually be the work of a serial killer. He elicits the help of FBI agent Rachel Walling (who appeared in 3 previous Connelly books, including The Poet). Even with the help of the FBI, their lives are in danger as they match wits with someone so evil and with more tools than they can imagine. It's a race to see if McEvoy will even live to write his story.
The Scarecrow has another story to tell as well, and that is the demise of the newspaper business. Connelly is a former crime-beat writer and knows the score. McEvoy muses "Like the paper and ink newspaper itself, my time was over. It was about the Internet now. It was about hourly uploads to online editions and blogs. It was about television tie-ins and Twitter updates. It was about filing stories `on' your phone instead of using it to call rewrite. The morning paper might as well be called the `Daily Afterthought'. Everything in it was posted on the web the night before." He calls Angela Cook a "baby reporter...She's very good and she's hungry, but she doesn't have the chops...The newspaper is supposed to be the community's watchdog and we're turning it over to the puppies." As someone who can't survive without a morning newspaper or two, this is all very depressing stuff.
I'd be hard pressed to decide which of Connelly's characters I like best--Bosch or McEvoy. I think I'm leaning toward McEvoy as I suspect that there is a lot of Connelly in his fictional newsman. But whichever one I choose, The Scarecrow is a superb book to add to Connelly's accomplished body of work.
Book Review: There's A Killer On The Road
Summary: 5 Stars
'Theres a killer on the road
His brain
is squirmin like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If ya give this man a ride
Sweet memory will die
Killer on the road, yeah' The Doors
It is easy to forget just how good a writer Michael Connolly is. That is until you start reading one of his books. 'The Scarecrow' may be just one of his best. You know going in that this is going to be a book that will scare the hell out of you. That is a given. The writing is the best around, Connolly an ex-paper man, of course it is. Connolly allows you to get inside the minds of everyone. The killer, we feel the way along as he thinks about his next victim and how he will proceed, and what is he going to do about the people after him? The characters and in this case bringing back Jack McEvoy, the newspaper crime writer and his 'single bullet' love, Rachel. she of the FBI, are the perfect foils.
The murderer is always sharp and intelligent and we know in the first chapter who the murderer is. We just need to be patient and take the ride with McEvoy until he catches up. He provides all the clues, and he and Rachel fill in all the holes. This murderer is particularly clever- he has a tag and a plan and can outwit anyone. We are taken into the world of the collapsing newspaper where jobs are lost and it seems McEnvoy is the 99Th to go- he has two weeks to train his replacement. And, that is what it takes, two weeks and everything is set to explode. Then into the world of computer security and a killer who has a thing about the rock group 'The Doors'. I am writing this at 2:30am because I had to finish the last 50 pages, and then had to write the review to get it out of my mind so I can sleep.
This is one of the best mystery novels around. I know I have read them all. My hat is off to Mr Connolly. He has put us all on notice that the best has come and it will keep on coming.
Highly, Highly Recommended. prisrob 05-27-09
The Brass Verdict: A Novel
The Reapers: A Thriller
Book Review: Michael Connelly lights the reader's fire
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael Connelly lights the reader's fire.
Reprising LA Times crime reporter Jack McEvoy (Michael Connelly?) and FBI Special Agent Rachel Wallling (The Poet), Mr. Connelly once again has his protagonists enter the dark, psychopathic world of serial killers. The Scarecrow (antagonist) is a computer data storage genius who uses his job at a major data storage company to hunt for his next victims. Together with his protégées he acts out his bizarre psychopathic desires, ultimately disposing of his victims in the trunks of unsuspecting dupes who end up in jail for a crime they did not commit. As the story slowly unfolds Connelly weaves reporter McEvoy and FBI agent Walling into the hunt for The Scarecrow. The chase is a fast paced thrill ride of murder, mayhem, rekindled love, and shaky employment for both protagonists. Ultimately, the story explodes in a climatic ending with several unique twists.
Mr. Connelly is simply a terrific mystery writer. His style, story structure, and informative writing grabs the reader from the opening paragraph and like psychopaths he writes about holds the reader hostage until the final period. He doesn't just write a novel, but along with the reader lives the story. Like all Connelly books you become a voyeuristic interloper in the thrilling world that Michael Connelly has created. There's plenty of action but more importantly there is beautifully crafted, complex mystery that make Connelly one of the best mystery writer today. I especially Liked how he integrated the 1960s music group The Doors into the story.
Superb character development on all levels. Knowing that his main protagonist, Harry Bosch, is getting long in the tooth, it is good to see Mr. Connelly developing other wonderful characters to eventually take his place. Connelly is a master at character integration and we are all the better for it.
No gratuitous sex, or violence. Some very rough language in regards to a black suspect, but integral to the storyline to make a dramatic point.
Hearty recommend. Even at today's high hardback prices worth the money. You can always get Mr. Connelly's books at the local library but plan on waiting a very long time. Always looking forward to Mr. Connelly's next book.