The Scarecrow

by Michael Connelly

This is the second book featuring the main character from "The Poet", Los Angeles Times reporter Jack McEvoy and it's every bit as good as all Michael Connelly novels. It begins with Jack getting laid off due to the rise of lower paid college graduates and than to his frustration having to train his own replacement. That very day he receives a phone call from an irate lady who believes his last story wrongly accused her son of murder. At first he dismisses her as just being biased in favor of her son until a key point in her complaint gets him interested in investigating. Soon his last two weeks are filled with another murder case like "The Poet" with its every danger and hopefully it's same reward since that last case bought him a house. The book also features the return of FBI agent Rachel Walling who comes and goes out of the Harry Bosch novels as well. This book has a scary villain since the age of computers leaves us vulnerable in ways like never before and this bad guy knows all and isn't afraid to exploit that knowledge to keep himself out of jail. This was a terrific book, I particularly enjoyed seeing the inside of the modern day newspaper business. Another winner for Michael Connelly.