The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.40 You Save: $26.59 (95%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Scarecrow
Book Review: Michael Connelly Delivers... Again
Summary: 5 Stars
There is one thing that is for certain about Michael Connelly, he continues to be one of the - if not the - finest American writers of mystery/thrillers in the field today. In The Scarecrow, his 21st novel, he writes a very human story about the dangers of technology. The book, which has several scary moments, is made even more so by the fact that the technology described is not only available, but real. Focusing on the amount of information available, and how it can be used for nefarious activity, Connelly's story centers on serial killers that are just as twisted and evil as any, but use technology to move about under the radar.
This was the 5th book to feature Rachel Walling and the 4th with Jack McEvoy. After first meeting in the excellent Connelly novel, The Poet, McEvoy calls on Walling, a Special Agent with the FBI, to assist him with the information he has unearthed as he works on his last story for the Los Angeles Times. The chemistry between the two is something that they are both aware of. There is not an appearance from Connelly mainstay Harry Bosch in this book, but there is conversation about Harry; though he is never named.
Connelly continues to show his writing prowess. He can write a book with any character and make it fun and enjoyable. The Scarecrow is yet another great novel by Connelly. It is a 5-star read by this consistent and talented author.
For those new to Connelly, the Walling appearances are: The Poet, The Narrows, Echo Park, the Overlook, and The Scarecrow.
McEvoy appearances include: The Poet, A Darkness More than Night, The Brass Verdict, and The Scarecrow. He stars in The Poet and The Scarecrow.
Book Review: This isn't Kansas
Summary: 5 Stars
The newspaper business has been affected more than any other by the new digital age. Newspaper circulation, advertising inches, and editorial staffing are all down. Great newspapers like the Los Angeles Times go through rounds of cuts as their corporate owners struggle to survive.
This new information infrastructure does not content itself to wrecking great metropolitan newspapers, it invades the core of other professions, law and finance in particular, by becoming the watchdog for their great secrets.
Who watches the watchers?
Jack McEvoy, underachieving reporter for the L.A. Times is caught in the digital crunch. Assigned to train his pretty young replacement, McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, to find the big story and write it before his tenure is his profession comes to an end. He has only two weeks, and yet opportunity has knocked. McEvoy begins to investigate the homicide of a leggy exotic dancer and the young gang-banger charged in her gruesome death.
Soon McEvoy, who we last saw in Michael Connelly's The Poet is in big trouble and he turns to his long lost love FBI agent Rachel Walling to pull his chesnuts from the fire. But every Michael Connelly novel offers deeply complex plots in which the obvious is only a teaser of what lies within.
This novel, perhaps Michael Connelly's best work ever, will not disappoint. From the sentimental goodbye to print journalism to digital terrorism at its apex Connelly commands our attention and respect as America's greatest mystery writer.
Book Review: Connelly Delivers Another Winner!
Summary: 5 Stars
Connelly delivers again with one of his early characters (Jack McEvoy) now paired with Rachel Walling who we last saw with Harry Bosch. McEvoy is told he is being let go from the his paper and has two weeks to train his replacement. Jack decides that he wants to go out with a bang and happens to follow-up on a tip from the mother of teen caught up in a murder that Jack reported. As Jack starts to probe he realizes that the teen couldn't have committed the crime and may be in fact innocent.
Meanwhile the scene is switching back and forth with a place called "the Farm" where two hacker types are discussing attacking people trying to get into their system and also women subjects for other purposes. When Jack's replacement does a search on a web-site it sets off an alarm to the hackers who decide that Jack and his replacement need to be eliminated.
Jack tries to enlist Rachel Walling's aid, since he knew her from the Poet case. As the hackers get close to carrying out their plan Rachel and Jack must save each other and try to find out who the bad guys are.
The author uses third person when writing about the hackers and in investigative reporter first person when discussing Jack. This works very effectively.
The tension is high throughout and there are some parts towards the end that have the excitement of the Fugitive movie as Jack must take the bad guys out.
Jack seems to be more interesting than either of Connelly's other main characters, Harry Bosch and or The Lincoln Lawyer. I am hoping for more Jack tales in the near future."
Book Review: The Writer's Breath and Depth
Summary: 5 Stars
With THE SCARECROW Connelly score's again with another Jack McEvoy thriller. This time McEvoy's back at the newspaper and he has been pink slipped. He has 14 days left on the job when one of his articles drags him into something much deeper and more sinister than the angst of unemployment. Our hero soon learns that Dante was wrong. There are more levels of hell than he promised and some exist in our world. Take targeted cyber stalking and add a new twist on stolen identities, for example. Then mix them in with a killer's MO and unleash them on McEvoy to greatly complicate and frustrate his investigation and life. With that you have a frightening new premise and take.
To his credit Michael Connelly conjures up another very good and well crafted thriller. Although some readers may not like McEvoy over Harry Bosch or Mickey Haller I find the change refreshing. Also, for anyone who has ever worked for a newspaper or magazine there's more than a few chuckles and head nods for his insider's take on downsizing, political and personal rivalries and the business behind journalism.
Breath and depth in news articles is hard to come by. There's too much competition for the printed ad space and editors like to razor cut and bleed the byline. Luckily for us Connelly went into writing his novels. The books breathe life and their depths plunge us into murky and sometimes frightening waters.
Oddly enough, once we're out we gladly plunge back in. That's the power of the written word and the skill of writers like Connelly.
A good read.
Book Review: Newspapers and the Internet
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been reading Michael Connelly since I first read The Black Echo (Connelly's first novel) several years ago. His main character has been the homicide detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch (the choice of name is deliberate: see selections of Bosch's paintings online). Bosch is not in this work. Rather, the main character is Jack McEvoy, a reporter for the LA Times, who, about the time he gets laid off (budget cuts) as a reporter, stumbles into a serial murder case. McEvoy has figured in a couple of earlier Connelly novels.
The story is compelling and fast-paced, well up to Connelly's highest standards. Also along for the ride this time is FBI agent Rachel Walling, who has appeared in a number of previous Connelly novels.
I won't tell you any more about the plot, since it is relatively standard for serial killer murder mysteries. If you like serial killer stories, you'll enjoy this one. If you don't, read it for Connelly's killer prose.
There are two primary subtexts to the story as well. The first is the demise of the newspaper largely due to the Internet, which is clearly close to Connelly's heart, having previously been a crime reporter. The other is the dangerously intrusive nature of the Internet and related technology. I remember when the Sandra Bullock movie The Net came out, techies were pooh-poohing it, saying that the things depicted couldn't be done. I'm not so sure that's the case anymore, and there's a cautionary tale here for those who would carelessly spread their lives on the net for all to see.