Michael Connelly's Scarecrow ~ Reviewed

The Scarecrow
Michael Connelly
Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (February 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 044640120X

Book Description:

Forced out of the Los Angeles Times amid the latest budget cuts, newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paper to write the definitive murder story of his career.

He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as he delves into the story, Jack realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. The kid might actually be innocent.

Jack is soon running with his biggest story since The Poet made his career years ago. He is tracking a killer who operates completely below police radar--and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. Including Jack's.

Review:


The Scarecrow was my first Michael Connelly novel and probably not my last. A book that delves into the sick mind that relishes a specific torture/murder scenario should be fairly graphic. However, Connelly keeps the gore and horror fairly low-key, hinting at most of it, which was refreshing because it doesn't take much to hit overkill.

Crime scene aficionados, creepy bad guy collectors, fractured mind fans, police procedural junkies, cyber-crime masterminds, and lone-wolf, and outside-the-law-hero lovers should find something to devour in Scarecrow.

A romantic thread was a little lukewarm -- I didn't buy into the passion between the characters. Content warning: Scarecrow is less graphic than I expected but the creepy guy is truly creepy and there are some disturbing "images." Also the F-Bomb makes lots of appearances, not on every page, but several scenes are riddled with it.

Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer