The Scarecrow
by Michael Connelly
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Book Reviews of The Scarecrow
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: A timely thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
Michael Connelly is one of the best writers around when it comes to mysteries/police procedurals. I've long been a fan of his Harry Bosch series, and always enjoy the stand-alone works he writes. Some of these bring in a character from one of his other books, and that is the case with this one.
Jack McEvoy is about to lose his job at the LA Times and decides to go out with the biggest story of his career. His investigation into some similar murders leads him to suspect there is a serial killer that no one is aware of. While we see Jack's pursuit of this final story, we see into the life and mind of the serial killer who is a computer guru. The killer uses his access to and knowledge of computers to find out about people and destroy their lives if they are a threat to him. In a fast-paced thriller, we follow Jack's attempt to track the killer with the help of former girlfriend and FBI agent, Rachel. Some of what happens is predictable, but the back story of the demise of the print news business and the dangers of the internet, social networking sites, identity theft, etc. make this a timely and interesting tale. I couldn't put it down and started & finished it over a weekend.
I highly recommend it. It's great summer reading that will convince you to read more Michael Connelly if you aren't already a fan. If you're already a fan, you'll enjoy another well-written Connelly book though you'll miss having Harry Bosch as the main character. Even if you don't consider it his best work, Michael Connelly's writing is always some of the best reading around.
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.
Book Review: Not just a great serial killer tale, but also a scathing look at the newspaper business
Summary: 5 Stars
I discovered after finishing this that Connelly was partially inspired to return to the Jack McEvoy character (from The Poet) after watching season five of The Wire; its scathing portrait of the newspaper business and its current status made Connelly interested in visiting some of the same territory. I've long argued that Connelly isn't the greatest writer in the world, but his sense of time and place - whether the post-Rodney King LA of the Bosch novels or the increasingly downsized Los Angeles Times of this one - and his strong sense of verisimilitude more than make up for his pedestrian style. The Scarecrow is no exception, and in some ways, it may be one of his best books in a long time. The main story - about McEvoy being given his two-weeks notice, his desire to go out with a bang, and the way that leads him into the sights of a long working but unknown serial killer - is a great one, and Connelly milks the suspense for everything its worth. (His use of alternating sections between McEvoy and the killer is intriguing; not only does it allow him to add to the suspense, it adds more depth to the villain than we could otherwise get.) But the book is just as worthy for its subtext about the declining state of newspapers; while McEvoy isn't as complex or rewarding a character as Bosch, his strong commitment to journalism makes him a great character for Connelly (himself a crime reporter for many years) to write about. A great serial killer tale, a nice exploration of the media, and more, The Scarecrow is a must for any Connelly fan.