The Scarecrow

just another book
Its just another book with a murder investigation. It does not tie you down or make does not have a nail biting finish etc. I bought this because it is in Top 10 Books: Mystery & Thrillers. I was kind of disappointed and lost some credibility points for the top 10 book selection at amazon.

Jack McEvoy Returns to the Spotlight
Jack McEvoy, a newspaper reporter, was the primary character in one of Connelly's early works, The Poet. In fact, before The Poet, all Connely's books featured Harry Bosch as the main character, so Jack is really the second main character Connelly ever developed. Since The Poet, Jack played minor roles in several other Connelly books, but The Scarecrow is the first one in which he is the main character again.

In the Scarecrow, Jack finds himself a victim of the shrinking newspaper industry--they are laying him off. Determined to go out with a bang, McEvoy decides to write a Pulitzer worthy piece and begins researching his story with the help of his replacement on the crime beat at the L.A. Times, Angela. He gets more than he bargained for and finds himself up against a serial killer for the second time in his life. He calls in Rachel Walling, an FBI agent he met during the Poet case, to assist in tracking down the killer. Jack finally figures out the killer's "signature" which leads to the killer's identity being discovered...now all they need to do is catch him...easier said than done. The Scarecrow is a fast-paced read with a fairly predictable ending. Still, I would recommend The Scarecrow and hope to see Jack in another Connelly book soon!

A Rare Stinker From Connelly
Wow, what a lousy book by one of the best authors around. I guess he had to grind out a book to fulfill a contract obligation or something, but this book was lame from beginning to end. Connelly ought to stick to writing about Bosch or the Lincoln Lawyer. McEvoy seems to bring out the author's worst qualities. I found the book wanting on many fronts: unrealistic plot, lousy characterization, too much serendipitous coincidences to move the plot forward, a weak ending, and so on and so forth. It pains me to find one of my favorite authors serving up such a bomb. He can do a lot better -- a lot better!

Another Great Thriller From The Master
It's not a good day for Jack McEvoy. A crime reporter at the L.A. Times for twenty years, he has just been told that he will be laid off in two weeks. Jack decides to go out with one last good story. He has been contacted by the grandmother of a sixteen year old gang member who has been arrested for a grisly murder the media is calling The Trunk Murder. She insists her grandson is innocent, and Jack decides to look into the story.

As Jack starts to investigate, he quickly realises that not only is the teenager innocent, but the reason he is not guilty is that there is a serial killer out there who has been killing women in different states and leaving them in car trunks. He starts an investigation, aided by FBI Agent Rachel Walling. He worked with Rachel on his biggest story years before. That story was the detection and capture of The Poet, another killer.

This time is different however. The killer is investigating Jack and Rachel as intently as they are investigating him, and is targeting them as his next victims. Along with the chase, the reader learns about how technology plays into both the killer's targeting of his victims, and the investigation into his crime.

Michael Connelly readers will not be disappointed in The Scarecrow. It delivers what one expects from Connelly, a page-turner with enough twists and turns to keep the plot moving. The story is taut and the reader is involved in the investigation. The love interest between Jack and Rachel adds another dimension. This book is recommended for mystery readers and Connelly fans. Although it is another in a Jack McEvoy series, it can easily stand on its own.