Amazon.com Review 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.
Michael Connelly and Janet Evanovich: Author One-to-One In this Amazon exclusive, we brought together blockbuster authors Michael Connelly and Janet Evanovich and asked them to interview each other. Find out what two of the top authors of their genres have to say about their characters, writing process, and more. Janet Evanovich is the bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, including Finger Lickin' Fifteen, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels, and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author. Read on to see Janet Evanovich's questions for Michael Connelly, or turn the tables to see what Connelly asked Evanovich.
Evanovich: So dude,... Okay, you're back in Florida. Do you ever get to the beach? And when and if you get to the beach...is Harry Bosch with you? And what kind of beachwear are you guys sporting? Flip-flops? Crocs? Speedo? Board shorts?
Connelly: I go to the beach often on weekends. Board shorts are required and I wear flip-flops with the built in bottle opener. Comes in handy. In Florida we rarely have waves, unless there is a hurricane in the Gulf. So I have taken up paddle-boarding, which essentially involves a big surfboard that you stand on and paddle. Still a balancing act, but easier than surfing, and you don't need waves.
Evanovich: What will a bookstore look like in 2020? Will we all be downloading?
Connelly: Good question. Since it is only eleven years from now, I think there will still be a solid population of "old school" readers who need the book in their hands. The question is, will they get it at a bookstore or will we have a Kindle 9.0 device that manufactures a book for you at home, complete with photo of author in a bomber jacket.
Evanovich: If everybody is downloading in 2020 what the heck will we be signing on book tour? Body parts? Kindle cases?
Connelly: I signed two Kindles yesterday. One person asked me to leave room for signatures from you and Dennis Lehane. So next time you're in Seattle she'll be in your line.
Evanovich: Do you eat when you write? Beer nuts? M&Ms? Just coffee? What keeps you from falling out of the chair in a narcoleptic stupor?
Connelly: Have you ever seen what eating Cheetos can do to a keyboard? I have to say I am addicted to Coke. I always have a glass of it nearby. I eat a lot of candy, too. Keeps me going. Smarties are a great writing tool. I often need to raid my daughter's stash and then there is trouble on the home front.
Evanovich: Are you a messy guy or a neat guy? Do you keep clutter on your desk? In your head? Are there soda cans and crumpled fast food wrappers rolling around on the floor of your car?
Connelly: I keep a clean car but a desk that gets progressively messier as I write a book. When I am finished with the book, I clean up the desk—and eat all the stray Smarties found under the paperwork. The clean desk then promotes the start of the next book.
Evanovich: The new book, The Scarecrow sounds terrific, and I know it's followed by Harry Bosch in Nine Dragons in the fall. Does your publisher prefer one series over another? And do you find one series to be more commercially viable than another?
Connelly: They let me do what I want. I like writing about Harry Bosch and he's pretty popular, but usually when I write a standalone it widens the audience a bit.
Evanovich: Want to meet me in a bar in Ft. Myers? Is that halfway?
Connelly: Name the place.
Product 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 paperto 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 Poetmade 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. Bonus materials include an in-depth interview with the author about writing "The Scarecrow" along with his exciting travel photos-plus a link to an online promotional video and links within the text to a fictitious website based on the novel and a teaser chapter from his next book, "Nine Dragons."
A Waste of MoneyJuly 29, 2010 ReadsALot I read a book by another author where it was obvious he just discovered flying by private jet. The book seemed to be a vehicle for showing that he knew the life-style and the lingo to the point where it was a throw-away. Connelly does the same thing here with what must be new-found knowledge of data protection environments. Then, he beats it to death. It got very tedious very fast. The entire book was shallow and trite. In fact, the book reads like a plot for a movie for teenagers.
Definitely not even close to his prior work.
It's not perfect, It's not Vintage, but It's darn closeJuly 23, 2010 Burgmicester(Pittsburgh) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Michael Connelly is probably my favorite author for crime novels and has been for many years. He stays in that position because unlike many of my other favorite authors, he has overcome "the wall" and brought himself back to close to his old form in his latest novels. While Sanford, Robinson, Crais, Flynn, Grisham, have begun to fade, Connelly proves that he still has it.
Putting Team Bosch aside for this novel and bringing out Team McEvoy/Wallings, Connelly shows his depth of field and penchant for attempting something a little different. Having read a total clunker just before The Scarecrow, I was simply blown away by the first 150 pages. Connelly was on his game and it showed. The writing was crisp, the characters were vivid and bringing back Jack McEvoy from The Poet was a terrific idea. Connelly really knows his way around the newsroom and the opening storyline was excellent - Jack gets canned after a high profile career to make way for a young, budding beauty by the name of Angela Cook. I was captivated from the start. From there it settles into a fast paced serial chase and never lets up.
Why the 4 star instead of 5 star, then? Well, I can't go into detail without giving up too much of the story, but it will suffice to say that Connelly puts a little too much faith in the coincidence or artistic license - in this reader's opinion. At one point, Connelly even mentions some of the "luck" in order to let the reader know that it might be a little too much. But it's not out of the realm of the possible, so I'll let it slide to some degree. Also, as the chase concludes, there are a couple of open ended issues that I didn't care for.
However, that said, this is a terrific book and one that will keep the reader flying through the pages.
Dissaointing sequelJuly 14, 2010 E. Connell(NY City) Weak, by the numbers follow up to the vastly superior The Poet. Where The Poet had thrills and surprises, The Scarecrow is utterly predictable once you get past the first 100 pages. Where the relationship with the FBI agent worked in The Poet, here it felt as if it were inserted to satisfy a focus group.
Promising start, then it's Attack of the Giant Plot HolesJuly 14, 2010 S. Armstrong I had fairly high hopes after all the glowing media reviews & seeing it make Amazon's Best of 2009. The bad guy is a credible hacker type, and Connelly seems to know his way around techspeak and the vulnerabilities of the Internet, as well as the downward spiral of print news media. Then the Huh? moments start. The two ostensibly intelligent leads start doing incredibly dumb things, despite what they know about the bad guy & his methods, apparently because that's the only way to advance the plot. An FBI agent is kicked out for misuse of government funds, and is magically restored to her prior position in the course of two days. (I work for the Feds, & I can tell you this would never, EVER happen, however big a break on a case an ex-agent unearthed. Some SSA at the Bureau would take all the credit, and leave them high & dry). A functioning 'throwaway' cell phone in an underground bunker, or the middle of the Nevada desert? I don't think so. And so on. If you're not prone to asking questions about why characters do what they do, and aren't bothered if it makes no sense given the prior setup, go for it. But I have to say I just couldn't buy it. Amazon got suckered on this one. Go for 'The Lincoln Lawyer' instead.
Google "crap" and get 100000 hits for this bookJune 12, 2010 monkeytot(USA) 2 out of 6 found this review helpful
Remember the movie from the 90s staring America's sweetheart Sandra Bullock called The Net and the movie called Unlawful Entry where in both movies the villian is a computer genius and freezed all teh heroeses' accounts and credit cards and all that? Well the same thing happens in this book FIFTEEN years later!! This book might be fun for senior citizens who never use a computer and think EMAIl will steal there soul. If you, like the chareacters int his book think "Googling" is some strange and magical event like in Harry Potter, then you will be fascinated by this crap.
Evanovich: So dude,... Okay, you're back in Florida. Do you ever get to the beach? And when and if you get to the beach...is Harry Bosch with you? And what kind of beachwear are you guys sporting? Flip-flops? Crocs? Speedo? Board shorts?
