The Scarecrow

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Overview

The instant #1 bestseller from author Michael Connelly—"the best mystery writer in the world" (GQ)—brings back the hero of The Poet in a terrifying new thriller.

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

Jack McEvoy, the driving force of Michael Connelly's 2002 The Poet, is back. Times have not been good for this street-savvy crime journalist. Forced into an upcoming buyout by the struggling Los Angeles Times, he's determined to go out with a bang and a Pulitzer. He's certain that his ticket for fame is Alonzo Winslow, a teenage drug dealer trying to scrape his way out of a homicide and rape indictment. Eager to show how society spawned this killer, McEvoy starts probing more deeply into the case, beginning with Winslow's repudiated confession. The more he finds, the more he's convinced that the real killer is still out there.

Janet Maslin

The Scarecrow, a return to form for Mr. Connelly and his sharpest book since The Lincoln Lawyer, pivots energetically among its subplots, often returning affectionately to the newspaper world.
—The New York Times

More Reviews (5) Fewer Reviews

Marilyn Stasio

Connelly, who has the nerve and timing of a whole SWAT team, gives Jack two weeks to find the creep who's been raping and killing attractive long-legged women and dumping their remains in car trunks—if his young replacement doesn't beat him to the story.
—The New York Times Book Review

Maureen Corrigan

Sure, the human serial killer grabs the headlines for most of this exquisitely plotted story: He's a standard-issue sicko who murders women and cleverly stages the crime so that an innocent man takes the rap. But the most inspired feature of The Scarecrow is that it's also a meditation on the consequences of the death of print journalism…With its ingenious story line and the twisted brilliance of the creeps involved, The Scarecrow holds its own with its predecessor, which was a breakthrough novel for Connelly.
—The Washington Post

Publishers Weekly

Connelly hits it out of the park with one of the best thrillers of the year. Seasoned reporter Jack McEvoy has just been laid off from his job at the Los Angeles Times and—to add insult to injury—is assigned to train his replacement, a precocious young woman who will work for half his salary with none of his experience. But McEvoy will not go gently into the land of the downsized: he still has one last story to cover featuring a killer who dumps his victims in the trunk of a car. Peter Giles brings a skilled and intimate feel to his reading without losing the chilling momentum; at one point he relays a beautifully built scene that contains one of the best “gotcha” moments in some time. A Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 30). (May)

Library Journal

Connelly has done it again. Reporter Jack McEvoy, the hero of Connelly's earlier novel, The Poet, is back in a chilling new mystery. The latest casualty of corporate downsizing at the Los Angeles Times, Jack decides to end his career with a story about a young drug dealer's arrest for and confession to murder. A phone call from an angry relative gets him to investigate the old case further, and Jack stumbles upon a high-profile serial killer case that might save his job, assuming he can survive long enough to solve it. The newspaper industry is on the verge of collapse these days, and ex-newspaperman Connelly here tackles the subject head-on while juggling an intricate mystery at the same time. He wisely focuses on McEvoy to tell the story, with the occasional interlude from the mastermind behind the attacks, making the narrative terrifying and compelling at the same time. [See Prepub Alert, LJ1/09.]
—Jeff Ayers

Kirkus Reviews

Downsized from the Los Angeles Times, crime reporter Jack McEvoy decides to ride one last big story to the moon. There's no mystery about who suffocated stripper Denise Babbit and stuffed her corpse into the trunk of her car, since Alonzo Winslow, 16, confessed to the murder after the LAPD found his fingerprint on the car's mirror. But when Alonzo's mother-or maybe it's his grandmother, or both-nags just-fired Jack to look into the case, he quickly realizes that Alonzo's confession isn't a confession at all. And Angela Cook, the twinkie barracuda Jack's been asked to groom as his replacement, alerts him to the earlier murder of Las Vegas showgirl Sharon Oglevy that has all the earmarks of this one, even though her ex-husband's already locked up for it. Clearly there's a serial killer at work, and clearly, though Jack doesn't realize it, it's Wesley Carver, a computer-security expert whose ability to track everyone on earth through cyberspace makes him uniquely sensitive to who might be on his case, and uniquely empowered to neutralize them. After losing his bank balance and his credit cards to identity theft, however, Jack is rescued by Rachel Walling, the FBI agent whose torrid affair with him enlivened his last big story (The Poet, 1996). The ensuing cat-and-mouse game, duly played out in chapters alternately presented from the viewpoints of Jack and Carver, is accomplished but not especially suspenseful for readers who've seen it before. Despite his cyber-powers, Carver isn't an especially scary villain, nor does Jack shine as a sleuth. But Connelly (The Brass Verdict, 2008, etc.), who's nothing if not professional, keeps the twists coming and provides column-inches of backgroundexpertise-perhaps more than the story needs-on the hard business of hard news and a realistic preview of Jack's likely fate. Middling among the distinguished author's score of thrillers. New fans hooked by this one will be happy to know that his backlist is even richer. Author tour to Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Nashville

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780446401203
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: 1/26/2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 576
Sales rank: 82,657
Series: Jack McEvoy Series
Product dimensions: 4.20 (w) x 7.50 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Meet the Author

Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of the Harry Bosch series of novels as well as The Poet, Blood Work, Void Moon, Chasing the Dime, and the #1 New York Times bestseller The Lincoln Lawyer. He is a former newspaper reporter who has won numerous awards for his journalism and his novels. He spends his time in California and Florida.

Biography

Best known for his dark police procedurals featuring the tough, complex and emotionally scarred LAPD detective, Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch, Michael Connelly has been called "infernally ingenious" (The New York Times), "one of those masters...who can keep driving the story forward in runaway locomotive style" (USA Today) and "the top rank of a new generation of crime writers" (The Los Angeles Times).

Consistently exquisite prose and engrossing storylines play an integral role in his swelling success. However, Connelly believes that solid character development is the most important key. As he explained to MagnaCumMurder.com, "I think books with weak or translucent plots can survive if the character being drawn along the path is rich, interesting and multi-faceted. The opposite is not true."

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connelly attended the University of Florida; there he discovered the works of Raymond Chandler -- author of many classic Los Angeles-based noir dramas such as The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye, and Farewell, My Lovely. The cases of Philip Marlowe inspired Connelly to be a crime novelist -- and by studying journalism, he put himself in the perfect position. "I went into journalism to learn the craft of writing and to get close to the world I wanted to write about -- police and criminals, the criminal justice system," he told MagnaCumMurder.com.

After graduation, Connelly worked the crime beat for two Florida newspapers. When a story he and a colleague wrote about the disastrous 1985 crash of Delta Flight 191 was short-listed for the Pulitzer, Connelly landed a gig in Marlowe's backyard, covering crime for one of the nation's largest newspapers -- The Los Angeles Times. Three years later, Harry Bosch was introduced in The Black Echo, which earned Connelly the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Connelly has since won every major mystery honor, including the Anthony (The Poet, Blood Work) and the Macavity Award (Blood Work).

While Connelly has written stand-alone novels that don't feature his tragic protagonist Harry Bosch, he is best identified by his rigid, contentious and fiery -- but also immensely skilled and compassionate -- detective. According to The Boston Globe, the Bosch series "raises the hard-boiled detective novel to a new level...adding substance and depth to modern crime fiction."

Called "one of the most compelling, complex protagonists in recent crime fiction" (Newsweek) and "a terrific...wonderful, old-fashioned hero who isn't afraid to walk through the flames -- and suffer the pain for the rest of us" (The New York Times Book Review), Bosch faces unforgettable horrors every day -- either on the street or in his own mind. "Bosch is making up for wrongs done to him when he rights wrongs as a homicide detective," Connelly explained in an interview with his publisher. "In a way, he is an avenging angel."

Bosch is clearly a product of his deadly, unforgiving environment. "The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote that when you look into the darkness of the abyss the abyss looks into you. Probably no other line or thought more inspires or informs my work," said Connelly in the same interview. With each passing novel, Bosch looks deeper and deeper into the abyss; and readers continue to return to see just how far he will gaze.

Good To Know

Michael Connelly received a huge career boost in 1994 when then President Bill Clinton was photographed walking out of a Washington bookstore with a copy of The Concrete Blonde under his arm. Connelly remarked to USA Today, "In the six years I've been writing books, that is the biggest thrill I've had."

Real events have always inspired Connelly's plots. His novel Blood Work was inspired by a friend who underwent transplant surgery and was coping with survivor's guilt, knowing someone had died in order for him to live. The book was later developed into a feature film starring Clint Eastwood, Angelica Huston, and Jeff Daniels.

One of Connelly's writing professors at the University of Florida was cult novelist Harry Crews.

Connelly named his most famous character after the 15th Century Dutch painter, Hieronymous Bosch. As he told Bookends UK in an interview, Bosch "created richly detailed landscapes of debauchery and violence and human defilement. There is a ‘world gone mad' feel to many of his works, including one called ‘Hell' -- of which a print hangs on the wall over the computer where I write." Some interesting outtakes from our interview with Connelly:

"I wrote a mystery story as a class paper in high school. It was called The Perfect Murder. The protagonist's named was McEvoy, a name I later used for the protagonist in The Poet. Being a witness to a crime when I was 16 was what made me interested in crime novels and mystery stories."

"I wrote my first real murder story as a journalist for the Daytona Beach News Journal in 1980. It was about a body found in the woods. Later, the murder was linked to a serial killer who was later caught and executed for his crimes."

"Everything I want people to know about me is in my books."

1. Hometown:
  
  Sarasota, Florida
1. Date of Birth:
  
  July 21, 1956
2. Place of Birth:
  
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1. Education:
  
  B.A. in Journalism, University of Florida, 1980
2. Website:
  
  http://www.michaelconnelly.com

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SteveKna

Posted October 8, 2009

Horrible, Halfbaked and a Rip-off Of JEFFERY DEAVER. CONNELLY HAS REALLY LOST HIS MOJO - BIG TIME.

Michael Connelly really disappoints. All of those reviews lauding him as the greatest crime writer are outdated and in the past. He is not a great crime writer - this book is about as disjointed as a Ferrari engine running on a Ford Transmission. The two themes of the dying newspaper industry and our technology dependence did not jive with the murder plot. It was always so obvious when Connelly sprinkled in his sour opinions on the fate of newspapers, so obvious that it felt ill-placed in the book to the point that he was beating readers over the head with his viewpoints.
Connelly claims to explore his characters in depth, but Jack McEvoy and Rachel Walling were about as one dimensional as James Patterson's characters. In fact, at points I thought I was reading a Patterson novel.

Connelly has really lost his touch. And he created a book that felt rushed to print, full of cardboard characters, unbelievable plotlines that jump around and result in more unbelievable reactions from the characters.

And the book strangely just - ENDED. There was no clever wrap-up except for an epilogue that read like a Reader's Digest snippet. Leaving so many unanswered questions and so many missed opportunities to explore the plot and the characters further. Too much energy focused on the dying newspapers that at some point, you almost wanted to turn the book over, look at Connelly's picture and say to it "Who cares Connelly, GET OVER IT AND GET ON WITH YOUR BOOK!"

It was also very second-rate that this book was a rip-off of JEFFERY DEAVER's The Broken Window, published a year before the Scarecrow. The similarities were so obvious and striking that the dust jackets could almost have been interchanged with readers not being able to tell the two apart. It seems as though Connelly wanted to vent on his newspaper views, then became a story idea thief and used Deaver's plot as a schematic for his poorly written, half-baked imitation.

And there is no explanation on the implausible antagonist. Why he does what he does is blown over with some strange child-abuse, one paragraph mentioning. It would have been more of a story to explore this guy called Carver then to read about McEvoy and his dying newspapers, or Rachel Walling and her childish on-again off-again association with the FBI. That stuff really does not happen that way. Do your research Connelly.

HERE IS A NEWSFLASH FOR ALL OF YOU PROSPECTIVE READERS: The newspapers are one their way out, and so, too, is Michael Connelly. Pathetic writing and half-baked, copied ideas make this an unsatisfying, grossly overrated book - a sin and a let down to the craft of writing.

Connelly can't get it together anymore.

11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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BellalunaCA

Posted July 24, 2009

Skip it!

I have read other books of Michael Connelly's and enjoyed them a lot more than this one. This one wanders all over and it was a chore to get through. He constantly refers to his previous book the Poet, which is unnecessary in my opinion. This book is not what I expected from the title and I was disappointed in it. A lot of the plot was just plain silly, especially about the FBI agent who gets fired, and then just rehired again. So in a word, skip it!!

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted July 19, 2009

A satisfying literary potato chip

I read Scarecrow in one night. It was satisfying, engaging and completely forgettable. Like a potato chip, Scarecrow is a pleasure but has no nutritional value whatsoever. Also like a potato chip, it makes no promise it can't keep.

6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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harstan

Posted April 2, 2009

more from this reviewer

Mr. Connelly will have his fans up late with THE SCARECROW.

The L.A. Times pinked reporter Jack McEvoy giving him two weeks notice instead of the usual instant RIF that he is being axed if he agrees to train his replacement Angela Cook. Jack decides to remind his editor what he will lose when he is gone by chasing after a final headline news story.----------------

Jack investigates the arrest of sixteen year old drug dealer Alonzo Winslow, who confessed to the rape and murder of an exotic dancer. However, to his shock, Jack begins to uncover proof that the nasty teen could not have committed either crime. Meanwhile Angela does a search that leads to a place in Arizona called the "Farm". Those at the farm realize someone has discovered them so they must be eliminated; they send assassins to kill Jack and Angela. Jack turns to FBI agent Rachel Walling whom he met on the POET case years ago to help him with the gangbanger inquiry and with the killers coming for him.--------------

Moving back and forth between first and third person voice, Michael Connelly provides an exhilarating journalistic investigative thriller. The story line is action-packed and fast-paced from the moment that Jack decides to go out with a big bang and never decelerates. Jack is terrific as he mentors his replacement while working the Farm inquiry that places him and Angela in lethal danger. Mr. Connelly will have his fans up late with THE SCARECROW.-------

Harriet Klausner

5 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted April 18, 2010

The Scarecrow will keep you turning the pages.

Michael Connelly weaves a tale of intrigue and murder using the high tech skills of a geek with a very serious personality dissorder. His murdering rampage has gone unnoticed until recent events lead a reporter to believe that there is a connection between the murder of two girls. Additional investigaion discovers that there may be many more than two, and that the common thread has been unnoticed for a very long time. Now that it has come to light, the killer has gone into high gear to cover up his trail. This book is hard to put down. There is some new twist or turn with every new page.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Cats505

Posted July 25, 2009

The Scarecrow

Actually, I did not like this book. It was too slow getting started and I lost interest in it. In fact, I never finished it and will probably give it away...

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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edofarrell

Posted June 20, 2009

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Another serial killer -- YAWN!

Connelly writes a good book and this is a good book. However the plot is pretty trite and I, for one, am getting tired of serial killers with near supernatural powers. Here we have a killer able to hack into any computer system in the world and wreak havoc.
I work in the computer industry. This kind of childish fantasy just doesn't do it for me. It can't happen in the real world.
But if you can sort of squinch your eyes at that kind of nonsense you do find an entertaining if overblown book.
Hopefully Connelly will write a better, more believeable book the next time out.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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christytilleryfrench

Posted November 3, 2009

more from this reviewer

Reviewed for Midwest Book Review

Jack McEvoy became a national bestselling author when he wrote a book about his experience with a serial killer named the Poet, and since then, he's worked as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times. The Times, facing financial woes, decides to lay off 100 employees and Jack's number 99. Jack decides to make a grand exit by writing a book about a 16-year-old drug dealer who claims he did not confess to strangling a young woman and stuffing her in the trunk of her car, although the police investigators state otherwise. Jack's research connects this murder to one of a similar nature in Las Vegas, at which time, he notifies FBI agent Rachel Walling, whose arrival saves Jack's life from a serial murderer enraged that Jack has "outed" him and means to stop Jack from further investigating.

Fans of The Poet will enjoy Jack McEvoy's reappearance in this book. Connelly takes his reader into the world of print newspapers, emphasizing their continuing decline due to the internet and cable news programs. McEvoy is a character with flaws, which makes him all the more interesting. He teams up with Rachel Walling, who played a part in The Poet, and the two are a strong team as they track the killer, a computer whiz who has stayed below the radar for years while killing and isn't too happy someone is trying to stop him.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted August 1, 2009

So-So.

Not Connelly's best work. Seemed to go on forever - and usually when I like a book, I don't want it to end . . .
It certainly didn't seem worth paying the price for it - wait til it hits bargain price.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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PeggyBrooks

Posted July 18, 2009

Typical Connelly

Scarerow is typical Michael Connelly. Interesting enough to keep you reading, but not a page turner.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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adunlea

Posted June 16, 2009

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Fast Paced Thriller

The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly is now available in hardback. Its ISBN is 075287585X. The protagonist Jack Mc Evoy is losing his job on his paper due to recessionary cuts. Before he leaves he has two weeks to train in a fresh grad into his job. Jack decides he is going to go out with a blaze of glory and write the crime story of his career.He decides to write a story on a 16 year old boy Alonzo Winslow who raped and strangled a woman. Jack receives a phone call from the kids mum saying he is innocent. With a little bit of old fashioned detective work he discovers the kid did not murder the woman. Whats worst he connects this murder to an earlier one in Las Vegas. He soon realizes there is a murderer on the lose and people are in jail for his crimes.The murderer is nicknamed The Scarecrow. The Scarecrow is a criminal who works on tha computer farm securing top secret data that must remain secure and he is prepared to kill to keep his secrets. Jack and his trainee Rachael has let off a digital tripwire and the killer knows he is on to him and he is waiting for him. In this fast paced thriller Jack joins up with his ex lover Rachael an FBI agent to catch The Scarecrow. They rush to stay alive and find the murderer and convict him. Will Jack and Rachael keep their jobs? This is a fast paced murder thiller that is a real page turner. The message of the novel is there is a dark side to technology it can work for or against you. Connolly fans and crime thriller readers will love this novel. Reviewed by Annette Dunlea author of Always and Forever and The Honey Trap.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted June 16, 2009

Not his best! His books are always worth the read...but, this one is lacking meat!

Always enjoy Michael Connelly's books......but, this was a bit slow....good but, not up to his usual standards.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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NancyT

Posted June 4, 2009

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Connelly Does it Again!

I don't just read Michael Connelly's books...I devour them. The Scarecrow took me just 2 days to read, and it held my interest every minute. It was great having Rachel and Jack back and the storyline was exciting and timely. I have found that I enjoy Connelly much more than James Patterson. You do not want to miss this thriller!

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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GranT

Posted June 4, 2009

One of Connelly's best!!!

Connelly is a master of the genre. This book is one not to miss. The McEvoy/Walling characters are strong and the plot is carefully constructed to produce an excellent read!

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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mysterywomannc

Posted June 6, 2010

I Also Recommend:

One of the best books I've ever read!

I've long been a Michael Connelly fan but I particularly loved this book. My husband and I listened to it in the audio version and were spell bound. It made the trip go so much faster. The characters were believable and the story holds your interest to the very end. Highly recommend this book!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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LAWS

Posted January 30, 2010

GREAT and thrilling entertainment!

Always enjoy reading Michael Connelly

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Lou44

Posted October 26, 2009

I Also Recommend:

Didn't want to put it down.

It took some time before I connected the "Scarecrow" in the title.
Jack McEvoy keeps you guessing, and stays on the move. I found myself skimming some parts, because I was anxious to see what happened next.

1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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BKC10013

Posted September 13, 2009

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really enjoyed it

I am a huge MC fan and this book did not disappoint. It was a great Saturday/Sunday read, great page turner in my opinion. I hope the duo gets to work on another case soon - very much looking forward to another MC thriller.

1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Fiction_Addict

Posted July 1, 2009

more from this reviewer

Jack is Back!

Jack McEvoy made headlines when he helped track down a deadly serial killer early in his career. These days he is being forced out of the Los Angeles Times because of budget cuts. It seems the world has forgotten about the hero reporter who avenged his brother's death. Just as Jack is ready to throw in the towel, he catches wind of a story that might just allow him to go out with a bang. As Jack digs deeper he soon discovers that the newspaper may be done with him, but a deadly new killer is certainly not.

We first met Jack McEvoy in Michael Connelly's highly acclaimed novel, The Poet. Many consider that first introduction of the character to be Connelly's finest work, surpassing even the dearly loved Harry Bosch novels. Thankfully, Connelly decided to prove to us all that Jack McEvoy is anything but a one hit wonder.

The Scarecrow is the perfect blend of vintage Connelly with a welcome dose of tech savvy thriller. While The Poet dealt much more with the daily life of a beat reporter, this time around we get more action layered with the perfect amount of detail. One of Connelly's trademarks is his thoroughness, giving the audience an all access pass into the lives of his characters. While that element is still strong throughout here, it almost feels like Connelly holds back just enough to let the characters tell the story. The Scarecrow has a much tighter, fast paced feel that makes for an even better read than The Poet.

Rachel Walling is of course back and Connelly does a masterful job of portraying the ache of old flames and the hope of what might be. Jack and Rachel have both matured in different ways, yet they can't deny the spark that never died. Their relationship feels like a natural overflow of the story and even helps carry the tension along as the plot unfolds.

The Scarecrow himself is a deeply disturbing villain whose weapon is the one thing that makes us all vulnerable: technology. This is a whole new frightening breed of serial killer, and Connelly wondrously brings this character to life through some riveting third person narrative.

What sets The Scarecrow apart from the rest is the character of Jack McEvoy. Michael Connelly nails every aspect of this veteran reporter with an unyielding sense of justice. The use of the first person is second to none here and the switching from first to third person throughout works as a clever storytelling device.

Millions of Michael Connelly fans wait with bated breath for the next Harry Bosch novel, and rightly so. I, however, can't help but hope that we haven't seen the last of Jack McEvoy.

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Nancsu

Posted June 13, 2009

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Slow start with some spark

Slow start with a lot of poor me, but when you get to the half way point
that's where it really picks up. Usually, I read a Micheal Connelly book in two days this took a week, a lot of computer education is given to the reader. I skipped a lot of paragraphs. I did like the bed room action, found it kind of funny on the warp side of humor.

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