The Scarecrow
by Michael Connelly
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Book Reviews of The Scarecrow
Book Review: Reviewing: "The Scarecrow" by Michael Connelly
Summary: 4 Stars
Last seen primarily in "The Poet," Jack McEvoy returns in this novel which is both a mystery and a lament to the world of newspaper publishing. It's been a lot of years since the celebrity success of his book on the poet serial killer and Jack is on the wrong side of 40. The LA Times has seen its best days and in the latest round of staff cuts has included Jack. They will give him one break which at the same time is a bit of an insult. He can leave now or he can train his replacement, Angela Cook, for the next two weeks and collect another paycheck. Beyond that his options are few and he knows not much else.
"Death is my beat," I whispered to myself. "I make my living from it. I forge my professional reputation on it." ( P. 25)
In a final one finger salute to the management of the paper, he comes up with a plan. Contacted by a family member of Alonzo Wilson, who claims he didn't do the murder he was arrested for, Jack decides to write about the case. With Alonzo being sixteen, living in the projects and dealing drugs, the story of how society created a killer almost writes itself. That is until Jack realizes the kid is innocent and was used by a serial killer as a scapegoat.
Society did create a serial killer. Not the teenager, at least not yet, but someone else who can use the internet and the digital world to track victims and his hunters.
With frequent heart felt observations about the demise of newspapers, author Michal Connelly, aims a spotlight at what is happening today. Unfortunately, though a variety of suspects have been named in the drive by attack on newspapers, no one has been charged with a crime. The victims remain on life support, slipping a little each day, and the end is near.
Against that backdrop, Connelly has weaved together a good mystery using clichéd pieces of the super smart computer guy who is a killer, nothing is safe online, and that a romance interrupted but meant to be can be rekindled. Each of the elements is a bit hackneyed and yet they all work together in the novel. Quickly the reader is pulled into the fictional world and despite the author's occasional heavy handed allusion to reality in the form of references to his own writing career; the overall read is a good one.
Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2009
Book Review: Far-Fetched
Summary: 2 Stars
The closer you get, "The Scarecrow" doesn't hold the fear factor--just like the real thing.
For a Connelly submission, I'd file this under "just okay."
Connelly is a former reporter--and so am I (twenty years worth). The newsroom tidbits are good and so is the idea of writing about a newsroom veteran on his way through the downsizing wringer. The "newspapers in decline" backdrop is nifty--and immediately sets up a terrific timeframe for the book, that our hero has only two weeks (until his job expires) to report and write a story that will light the city on fire.
The idea of "springing an innocent" during his final run has considerable appeal, of course, and Jack McEvoy has just the "case" he needs--a wrongly accused inner city kid.
But it's not a "case" and that's where I think Connelly has McEvoy approach things too much like a cop (hello, Harry Bosch) and not much at all like a reporter. McEvoy's methods, approach, mobility and style are much more cop-like than reporter-like, even given the loose license McEvoy is given in his final stretch of work. "This is getting pretty far- fetched, isn't it?" McEvoy asks at one point when thinking about how many firewalls and computer systems the bad guy would have had to crash in order to wreak so much havoc within the L.A. Times network. The answer is, "yes, pretty far-fetched."
The plot feels baked up out of a random series of cookie cutters. The bad guy's warped sense of humanity is sprung from the familiar turf of psycho/sexual perversions. The bad guy saddles up next to McEvoy at a bar--without McEvoy knowing it's him. FBI agent Rachel Walling loses her badge and then regains it, just in the nick of time. The bad guy is a mentor for others and his students have to "prove" their worth to the master. The ticking clock near the end--the most thought and action ever recorded in a 45-seconds span--is straight pulp.
But--it's Connelly. The writing is crisp, McEvoy's struggles are palpable, the book is hard to put down. Two lines in particular made me think Connelly had a good idea for this book and then mailed it in.
Quote number one from McEvoy: "The thought chilled me to the center of my soul."
Quote number two: "I was part of the story again--I had killed one of the people the story was about."
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.