Product Description

Jack McEvoy is at the end of the line as a crime reporter. Forced to take a buy-out from the LA Times, he's got 30 days left on the job. His last assignment? Training his replacement, a low-cost reporter just out of J-school. But Jack has other plans for his exit. He is going to go out with a bang - a final story that will win the newspaper journalism's highest honor - a Pulitzer prize. Jack focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer from the projects who has confessed to police that he brutally raped and strangled one of his crack clients. Jack convinces Alonzo's mother to co-operate with his investigation into the possibility of her son's innocence. But Jack's real intention is to use his access to report and write a story that explains how societal dysfunction and neglect created a 16-year-old killer. But as Jack delves into the story he soon realises that Alonzo's so-called confession is bogus, and Jack is soon off and running on the biggest story he's had since The Poet crossed his path twelve years before. This time Jack is onto a killer who has worked completely below police and FBI radar. His investigation leads him into the digital world of data collocation services where server farms are watched over by techs who liken themselves to scarecrows - keeping the birds of prey off their clients' data. But Jack inadvertently set off a digital tripwire and the killer - the Scarecrow - now knows he's coming...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #963 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-12
• Released on: 2009-05-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

Review
'if crime is your bag look no further than Connelly's The Scarecrow ... a former police reporter, Connelly knows his stuff.' (Giles Foden CONDE NAST TRAVELLER )

'This summer no man's suitcase would be complete without the latest Michael Connelly novel' (SHORTLIST )

'Connelly has already proved, with his 'Lincoln Lawyer' courtroom thrillers, that there is life after his hugely successful Harry Bosch LAPD cop series. With The Scarecrow he finds yet another kind of crime fiction in which to excel' (Marcel Berlins THE TIMES )

'The greatest living American crime writer ... once again Connelly is utterly gripping.' (Henry Sutton THE MIRROR )

'Connelly takes the traditional whodunit and gives it a contemporary twist in an outstanding new thriller that is guaranteed to be one of the biggest hits of the summer.' (DAILY RECORD )

'Switching between viewpoints of McEvoy and the killers ... enables Michael Connelly to crank up the tension to an almost unbearable level.' (Mark Sanderson EVENING STANDARD )

'there's a high benchmark when it comes to Connelly novels ... this is - in many ways - the best Connelly book in some times. Detailed, meticulous, complex and intriguing ... essential reading for Connelly fans and new-comers alike, this is a highly recommended and superiour thriller.' (IMPACT (The Ultimate Action Magazine) )

'The story moves at a breathtaking pace as Connelly shows why his books fly off the shelves. Another cracker from a writer on top form.' (PA FEATURES - syndicated review )

'It's hard to believe, but Connelly just gets better.' (Carla McKay DAILY MAIL )

About the Author
A former police reporter for the LOS ANGELES TIMES, Michael Connelly is the author of the acclaimed Harry Bosch thriller series and several other bestselling novels. He lives in Tampa, Florida, with his wife and daughter.

Customer Reviews

One of the World's Best Crime Novelists Turns Out Another Excellent Work
Michael Connelly may be the most consistently brilliant crime writer in the world, and with his latest novel `The Scarecrow' he once again gives fans their money's worth.

Newspaper reporter with the L.A. Times, Jack McEvoy - who first surfaced in an early Connelly masterpiece `The Poet' - finds himself the victim of downsizing at the newspaper's offices. He's given a brief stay of execution: two weeks to train up his beautiful replacement, Angela Cook; to show her the ropes and introduce her to useful contacts. However, a story that provided him with a few column inches the previous week draws him in, and he selfishly decides he may be able to return to it and milk it for his own purposes. Little does he know that this will take him off in pursuit of a particularly intelligent serial killer (or maybe more than one).

`The Scarecrow' of the title is a brilliant computer threat specialist who works in a particularly high tech data storage centre. But I'll let Connelly tell you just how he comes by the nickname.

Once again the case reunites McEvoy with FBI Agent Rachel Walling and once again the book is full of the numerous clever touches that are Connelly's trademark. His functional prose is designed to impel the plot forward and as always, never a word is wasted (compare it to the latest Grisham hardback 'The Associate'!)

Here, Connelly employs two voices - that of Jack McEvoy in the first person, which allows the author to give an insight into the reasoning McEvoy employs as he works the details out - and a direct line into his emotions - and the much shorter passages of third person narration that he uses for additional exposition.

He's simply exceptional at adding the telling details that add a touch of verisimilitude, and his characters, largely McEvoy and Walling, are superbly drawn and strong. Connelly has that ` must read on' factor in spades, which is why I love him.

This is exciting, suspenseful and ingenious writing. It's classy and relevant. It's not MC's best book by some margin, but I still reckon there'll not be too many thrillers published this year that are superior.

I felt guilty about giving the new John Harvey novel `Far Cry' only three stars when reviewing it on Amazon earlier this week. But I'm not even giving this a five and it's a better book than Harvey's, so I no longer feel bad about it.

One caveat: it was only last October that Michael published the rather good Mickey Haller/Harry Bosch novel, `The Brass Verdict'. We only have to wait until this October for the next Harry Bosch book to be delivered. It's called `Nine Dragons' and the publishers - annoyingly - print the first two chapters at the end of `The Scarecrow'.

That makes three novels in the space of a year! Can Michael keep up the quality control? Well, I'm certainly backing him. However, at this book's conclusion he includes the now obligatory `Acknowledgments' page where he gives thanks to; "...the help of many in the research, writing and editing of this book", before going on to list seventeen names! He then thanks a further seven people after that. It makes me wonder just what their `research' consisted of. Is it just me of is Michael Connelly in danger of turning into a franchise - a la James Patterson?

I sincerely hope not.

Jack's back
Michael Connelly once worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times but it's nothing more than speculation on my part to suggest that the central character of this novel (Jack McEvoy) is loosely based on Connelly himself and his personal working experiences in the newspaper industry. I mention this because to be blunt, McEvoy isn't this author's most interesting creation as a character, but that would remind me of Tess Gerritsen who by her own admission based the character of Maura Isles on herself - and the result is rather plain vanilla, unlike the fiery fictional creation of Rizzoli. Sometimes, crime writers have a character in their novels who is based on themselves, and another based on who they would like to be. In Connelly's case, he would like to be Harry Bosch, or perhaps Mickey Haller, but in reality he's a lot like Jack McEvoy.

Anyway, it's the second time McEvoy has fronted a Connelly thriller, the first being The Poet back in 1996, and once again Jack's involved in the hunt for a highly intelligent and organised serial killer. I so nearly gave this one 5 stars but reluctantly trimmed it by one because, good as it is, it doesn't quite have that special feel to it that many of the Harry Bosch tales provide.

It could easily be one of the best thrillers of 2009, though. Connelly's a far more accomplished author these days and I would say that this is actually a better-told story than The Poet, even if The Scarecrow himself isn't as esoteric or as enigmatic as the earlier creation. Instead we are given a well-structured, pacey thriller that might defy credibility on more than one occasion but it entertains at all times and for that we get our money's worth. As a character Jack McEvoy lacks the magnetic draw of Connelly's main man Harry Bosch but his 'ordinary guy' personality will appeal to many. He teams up with FBI agent Rachel Walling who also featured in The Poet and who has had a relationship with Bosch in the past, although, tantalisingly, this is only hinted at in the dialogue here and Bosch's name is never actually mentioned. The backgrounds to the story are very topical - company downsizing, redundancy, difficulties in selling a property and on-line invasion and identity theft. It's Jack who faces the door as his newspaper faces the inevitable slide towards surrender to on-line news reporting, so he wants to go out with a bang and write a story to remember. What he doesn't realise is that he will be very much part of the story itself.

The reader knows who the killer is from the outset, and this has been a recipe for low levels of suspense in the past (from all crime fiction writers) but there are no such problems here as Connelly is one of the best at putting together a riveting story that just keeps you turning the pages. I must say though that the one big question that I was asking from an early stage was never resolved, and I suspect that Connelly tried to come up with answers but ultimately decided not to offer any. I won't go into any detail but he does address this question in a kind of epilogue, so it was a relief that he showed an awareness of it, but still slightly disappointing that he couldn't create a solution. Instead I suppose the reader has to draw their own conclusion.

It's been a busy year for Michael Connelly, with The Brass Verdict still fresh in our minds and the eagerly-awaited Bosch outing Nine Dragons later this year; perhaps another topical sign of the times is that even the writers at the top of the tree are finding the going tough in this recession and they find themselves having to publish two novels a year rather than the usual one! Or perhaps Connelly's publishers are under the knife, who knows. But the fact is, The Scarecrow is most definitely not a 'filler' in between two proper Haller & Bosch escapades, no it's a very good crime thriller on its own and more than up to the author's expectedly high standards. If you're a Connelly fan, you'll have this already. If Connelly's unknown to you and you're wondering if he's as good as you've heard, then buy this with confidence because chances are you'll want more of the same - and there's a veritable treasure chest of a back-catalogue to enjoy. I have read every single one and for me he continues to rank as one of the very best in the world of crime fiction.

Not his best
The latest work from Michael Connelly, well established as one of the foremost writers of Crime fiction. With "The Scarecrow" he revisits a theme, and the characters, from one of his earlier (and best) books, "The Poet", in which LA Times reporter Jack McEvoy played a major role in the investigation of a serial killer.

There's the usual features of a Connelly novel, the in depth research, the social commentary, this time on the nature of the news media, and the credible plot, but there's something missing for me. With a back catalogue which includes some the genre's most memorable and well developed characters, McEvoy is strangely one dimensional, and seems merely a tool for Connelly's opinions on the decline of the newspaper trade.

While the plot is credible, there are times when it is too predictable and occasionally it does creak with unlikely coincidences, the worst example being the initial encounter between Walling and McEvoy. The peripheral characters are also a little too stereotypical, while the villians suffer the same lack of character development as McEvoy. If that sounds hypercritical, it's because I have been a huge fan of Connelly's work for a number of years, and I expect him (perhaps unreasonably) to reach the heights with every book. Following "Echo Park" and "The Brass Verdict" can't be easy and at least he avoids the complete farce that was "The Overlook".

Still, an average Michael Connelly is still worth your attention, although I suggest you re-read "The Poet" now, and wait for this to come out in paperback, you wouldn't really want to spend a tenner on it.

Edit 11/6/09- just to make sure I have just re-read "The Poet" and it really was a much more satisfying read. The plot developed at a smoother pace, allowing the story line and the characters more detail, which in turn supported the twists and turns the plot took, whereas "The Scarecrow" by comparison, feels rushed, as if the writer can't wait to get to the next stage. It's doubly disappointing on reflection, that the storyline re-treads past books, and not just "The Poet". We have seen the computer expert before in "Chasing The Dime", and the "in one minute, out the next" aspect of Rachel Walling's career seems a little too like Harry Bosch's for me - my guess is that "The Scarcrow was written in a hurry, and maybe Connelly's had lot's of help, if you get my meaning. I really hope he doesn't go down the James Patterson route.