Scarecrow Reviewed by Matthew Netland

I was first introduced to Michael Connelly by another suspense writer, John Sandford. Known for his popular Minnesota-based Prey series, Sandford was participating in a book reading a couple of years ago at the Galleria Barnes and Noble. A woman in the audience asked what he liked to read in his spare time and, after naming a few “literary” authors (no doubt to mollify the hipster-dufus contingent), he said his favorite guilty pleasure was Michael Connelly. When I left the bookstore that evening I had two Connelly paperbacks and he quickly became one of my favorite authors.

Connelly’s latest book is called The Scarecrow which is set in Los Angeles around the fast-dying newspaper industry. Jack McEvoy, a reporter for the LA Times, has just been laid off and learns that his final assignment will be the demeaning task of training his younger and cheaper replacement. Jack had gained fame years earlier after helping the FBI catch the notorious serial killer, The Poet, and subsequently writing a best-selling book detailing the investigation.

Now, nearing the end of his prime, he finds himself being ushered out of the only profession he’s ever known. McEvoy decides that to really stick it to the newspaper he’ll need to write the story of his life and leave on a high-note. With only two weeks until his exit, he immerses himself in the grimy details of a seemingly random murder but his investigation quickly uncovers several dark secrets. Jack may have dug too deep this time…

The basic suspense template - protagonist finds himself/herself in a tricky spot and must use either guile or brute force to correct the unbelievable situation - only works if there is a foundation of solid writing skill. This is especially true when carrying the same character through many books because the plots just get more and more unbelievable (like the show 24 – how could this many outrageous things happen to one individual?). Connelly succeeds because he is a very good writer and is able to sneak innocuous details in to help ground the story.

If you are borderline OCD like me, and need to read an author’s work in chronological order, you can start with his Edgar Award winning The Black Echo.


Reviewed by Matthew James Netland – Normandale Staff




Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 26, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316166308
ISBN-13: 978-0316166300
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds