Customer Reviews

The Scarecrow

5 star:		(104)
4 star:		(91)
3 star:		(41)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Michael Connelly is easily one of the best crime fiction authors working today and The Scarecrow is a solid read, although I have to admit that after a great start the ending is a bit of let down. It isn't that the ending is bad (it isn't) - it's just that it follows a standard formula and was just too 'ordinary'.

The first half of The Scarecrow is exceptionally good. Connelly gives readers an insider's look at the inner workings of the newspaper business and the devastating effect that the internet and 24 hour cable news is having on it. I appreciated that our hero, reporter Jack McEvoy, starts chasing a story for reasons that are not entirely noble. When the grandmother of a gang member charged with murder insists her grandson is innocent, Jack follows up, not intending to prove the boy innocent, but rather to gain access to the family so he can profile the mind of a young killer. Of course, he does find evidence that leads the story in a different direction.

The greatest strength of Connelly's fiction is how thorough he is as a writer. For example: the killer is planning to frame someone (I don't want to give too much away) and Connelly has him address any holes in his plan, like the transportation of a firearm. Lesser authors would simply ignore the problem(s) and assume that readers wouldn't notice or would be willing to overlook the inconsistancies. Connelly though has his killer find a solution so that his plan is as realistic as possible. I appeciate that. I also appreciate that McEvoy and his partner FBI agent Rachel Walling don't just stumble around - they actually investigate, detect, and solve things. The criminals are intelligent too, which makes for a refreshingly smart read.

Unfortunately, after an exceptional start, it's as if Connelly switches onto autopilot for the second half of the novel and follows the Serial Killer Novel Playbook to the letter. Connelly uses one of the standard ploys of crime fiction: notably the `hero realizes the truth when he sees, hears, or says something unrelated to the crime that triggers a sudden epiphany, allowing him to save the day at the last possible moment." The other issue that I had with the final part of the novel is the behavior of the killer when he realizes that Jack and Rachel are onto him. He's been so cool and calculating throughout the novel but then over-reacts faced with Jack's flimsy `evidence'.

Is The Scarecrow worth reading? Absolutely. True, the ending was a bit of a let down after such a great start, but at least there was a great start and it wasn't that big of a let down. 3 ¾ stars.

The Scarecrow
Michael Connelly can write, and in the first half of his "the Scarecrow" much of his ability comes out. The start of the story moves well, suspense builds and the character development works. Cyber stalking kicks in and I was "trapped" in the suspense of how powerful - and powerless Jack McEvoy became with the abilities of the stalker to literally shut out the reporter from society; financially, identity theft and literally a man out in the cold. Now comes the big Disappointment: 1/2 way throught the book everything grinds to a halt. Connelly could not decide whether this story was about cyber-stalking, cold blooded (and brutal) murder, or an egomaniac of a criminal. The plot drags. Is predictable and I quickly lost interest in reading. The ending is one that has been rehashed over and over. I suggest reading some of his earlier works or another author's work...

I added this up last night and discovered that I have read more books by Michael Connelly (15) than any other author I've read. So I guess one could say I'm a huge fan. The amazing thing is that they were all five star books (except for Chasing The Dime, of course). I find this almost hard to believe but it's true. And I'm actually one of the readers who started reading Connelly before his real fame came into being with the publication of The Poet.

I guess it's only fair then that his latest offering features journalist Jack McEvoy....the same Jack McEvoy who appeared in The Poet. Connelly's true fans have been awaiting a reappearance by one of their favorite characters for years now and in The Scarecrow, Jack's return does not disappoint for one minute. I loved this book from the beginning to the end.

Having started his career as a journalist, I'm sure this book is close to Connelly's heart as he watches the slow demise of the newspaper industry. The fact that technology is killing newspapers becomes only too clear as the book starts off with Jack getting a pink slip from the LA Times. But "our" Jack is intent on going out with a bang and makes it his business to come up with one last story that will be Pulitzer prizeworthy. He will set out to prove that a sixteen year old gang member is not guilty of the murder for which he is being accused. The good news to Jack's fans is that he will need to ask FBI agent Rachel Walling for her help as he starts to get too close to the answer to the mystery and much too close to The Scarecrow. Their "coupling" in this book is well worth the wait as they make such a great team.

We learn at the beginning of the book who the real villain is and I enjoy when an author does this because I then get to follow the thoughts of the "bad guy" right up front. As Jack is closing in on The Scarecrow, we get to view this villain as he becomes a bird being scared by a scarecrow as opposed to the opposite way around. I enjoyed all of the Wizard of Oz references in the book as well. At one point, music is playing in the background and it's Eric Clapton in concert singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." In addition, the city editor of the LA Times where Jack works is "Dorothy" Fowler and guess where's she originally from....you guessed right...Kansas. I also love when an author references one of his other books within the book I'm reading. In this case, Jack mentions reading a series of stories about a lawyer who did his business out of a Lincoln. Nice shoutout to Mickey Haller of The Lincoln Lawyer fame.

Unlike other authors who don't have Connelly's talent, he doesn't have to make his stories so convoluted that you can't even understand them. He also doesn't resort to having the villain be one of the investigators as so many other authors "cop out" and do. He writes a clear-cut story from start to finish and it's always one you can't put down. I always comment that I read very few books in a given year that would get a "10" rating from me. In the mystery/thriller category, this is one for 2009, a "Big 10". The only other two books in this genre that I've read this year and have also received a "10" rating from me were The Lincoln Lawyer and The Brass Verdict. Surprise, surprise, they were also written by Connelly. This is obviously one satisfied fan.

Admittedly, this is not the topnotch writing that I've come to expect from my favorite author, but I liked the story just the same. Yes, this is no "Poet", but for me he's entitled to stumble once. And it was a minor stumble, because for the first time this story wasn't as compelling as the many other novels by Mr Connelly. And I've read them all. And I anxiously wait for the next.

I have been reading and enjoying Michael Connelly's novels for many years. However, this is the first time I really had to work at getting through one of his stories. The plot was very predictable: there is a sociopathic killer with bizarre fetishes. Our heroes go after him. The rest is pure formula and very predictable. FBI Agent Rachel Walling was particularly cardboard. And McEvoy was indistinct from Connelly's Harry Bosch character--- the dialogue and thoughts could have been written for either character. I'm hoping that Mr. Connelly's next book is a little more creative. What was worthwhile were the descriptions of life in the moribund newspaper business. These were the book's saving grace.

Big Connelly/Bosch fan. Maybe cause for feeling less than fulfilled with McEvoy at the end. Racheal and FBI cohorts seem inept. Above average quick read delivered from almost anyone else, but I expect more from Connelly.

THE SETUP
Jack McEvoy, a newspaper crime writer has just been fired, but has two weeks to train his replacement. He decides on a parting "screw-you" in the form of an article that the newspaper will be compelled to submit for a Pulitzer Prize. The story will be about a black teenager accused of murder. Jack does not believe the young man to be innocent--rather the story will be about how he got into the situation. Of course, the young man is innocent, and Jack is forced into a serious effort to clear him---or at least to find the real serial killer for the sake of authoring a sensational story. That's the setup.

COMMENTS
If I were teaching a course in popular fiction writing, "The Scarecrow" would be a case study in how to do it right. Almost as important as getting everything right, "The Scarecrow"t is free of the sloppy writing and gaffs that plague most popular novels in the general action/intrigue/suspense genre.

There is NO annoying teaser. The purpose of this loathsome device (which has become "standard" in most popular novels) is to snag potential purchasers, who are skimming first chapters in bookstores, with up-front action. Often such teasers have virtually nothing to do with the story. More typically, they only become comprehensible to the reader near the end of the novel, by which time the details have been forgotten. THANK YOU Michael Connelly

There is no filler to pad the page count. The main characters are few and easily identifiable. Although the plot has turns and twists, it is easy to follow. The two principal "good guy" characters are appropriately developed for the genre and easy to relate to and root for. The sex scenes are few and tasteful.

I disagree with some other reviewers. I found nothing gruesome whatsoever in the novel.

True, "The Scarecrow" has a fairly sedate pace--it is NOT one of those novels which grabs you by the throat and won't let go until you've read the last page. However, I appreciate a novel I can enjoy without risking a cardiac event.

THE VERDICT
"The Scarecrow" is superbly written, captivating and entertaining.

What a pleasure Michael Connelly is - this his 20 novel. Only one real dud, his penultimate writing, as of now, The Brass Ring. But his skills are sharp in his return with The Scarecrow. His character development and his plot are both good and the pace is terrific for a summer read. I must admit I do have have trouble taking as great a mystery writer as Connelly is when both protagonists say to one another, within 100 short pages, "you saved my life". He is better than such cliche. But, alas, I am looking for the weakness. The strength is the enjoyability of his writings. This is not Norris, Navakov or Tolstoy after all. Just one of the best in this genre. Practicing his trade with greatness. Nice work. I look forward to October's release.

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!

One of the things I've always liked about Connelly's books is that his characters seem so realistic, reacting to real-life situations the way we'd expect real-life people to act. "Scarecrow" has that same, real-life feel.

Jack McEvoy is a former ace-reporter, whose recent career has not lived up to his earlier achievements; and he works for the L.A. Times, a newspaper whose former glory is fading too, just like Jack's. Connelly, a former newsman himself, gives a vivid description of the devastating impact that competition from internet and cable news providers has had on print media. The impact on the L.A. Times was so great that they imposed a reduction-in-force, and Jack is the 99th person to be laid off. Even worse, Jack has to train his own replacement. Connelly does an outstanding job describing Jack's inner turmoil as he tries to deal with his humiliating circumstances.

Jack has two weeks to train his replacement, and he resolves to use that time to write one last story, a story that will make such a splash that the paper will have no choice but to keep him on. Jack's last-chance story involves a black teenager accused of brutally raping and killing a young white stripper. Jack thinks he can weasel his way into the boy's confidence and get enough material for a Pulitzer-level, "mind of a young black killer" story, but there are three small problems.

First, Jack's ambitious, young replacement may try to steal the story from him.

Second, Jack's editor may have the hots for the replacement, who happens to be an extremely attractive young woman.

Third, the young black boy sitting in jail may not actually have killed that stripper after all.

And that's when the story really gets interesting.

Jack faces numerous challenges in his search for the truth, his quest for a Pulitzer Prize, and his fight for his job; and the little details that Connelly throws in make each page seem so true-to-life that you feel like you're actually watching it happen yourself.

This is a really good story told by a real master.