About this title: Following the suicide of his police detective brother, journalist Jack McEvoy decides to exorcise his grief by writing a feature on police suicides. Researching his story, Jack stumbles on a shocking federal investigation that leads him to the most terrifying elements on the Internet. In grabbing hold of the story of a lifetime, Jack knows that he is making himself the most visible target for a brilliant killer who has eluded the best investigators in the country.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Warner Books
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780446602617ISBN:0446602612
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Tight binding; clean pages; no marks; creased spine; bright, glossy cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 528 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Warner Books
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780446602617ISBN:0446602612
Description: Poor. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, lightly read, light shelf wear to cover, light creases on spine, 3 pages loose from binding but present, slight slant to book, stk #2352s7. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 528 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Warner Books
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780446602617ISBN:0446602612
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Cover has a small tear on front covercorner, binding is creased, interior clean, no marks or underlines. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 528 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN-13:9780446602617ISBN:0446602612
Description: Good. 0446602612 SS--This mass market paperback book is in good shape! FIRST EDITION! FULL NUMBER LINE--10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1! ! ! A solid, intact copy with some creasing of spine & wear on covers/edges--signs of having been read and enjoyed a time or two--BUT COMPLETELY INTACT! Has store stamp on top border. SMOKE FREE HOME! Do not settle for worn, torn, throwaways. Pay a few pennies more for a solid copy! read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN-13:9780446602617ISBN:0446602612
Description: Very Good. 0446602612 This mass market paperback book is in REAL GOOD SHAPE! ! Some creasing of the spine and minor signs of wear from reading--nothing major! SMOKE FREE HOME! Do not settle for worn, torn, throwaways. Pay a few pennies more for a book that looks a wrinkle or two away from near new! read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN-13:9780446602617ISBN:0446602612
Description: Very Good. 0446602612 Great condition paperback book, clean pages, mild creases to spine, some edge/corner rubs, this book is GREAT! Shop & Save With US. read more
Binding: MASS MARKET PAPERBACK
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN-13:9780446602617ISBN:0446602612
Description: Fine. 0446602612 Excellent condition paperback book, clean pages, NO creases to spine, this book is Near NEW! Shop & Save With US. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780446602617ISBN:0446602612
Description: Good. 0446602612 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780446602617ISBN:0446602612
Description: Good. 0446602612 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
"Oh, mid-'90s, how quaint you seem in this book published in '96 with your dial-up internet connections, faxes, pagers, landline phones, and new-fangled digital cameras. It's like we were all Amish as we walked around in our flannel shirts and work boots.
Perhaps the thing dating this the most is the idea that The Rocky Mountain News editors' biggest concern is that they'll get scooped by another newspaper in the fast paced world of print journalism, and not that their entire industry will collapse and they'll be out of business by 2009.
Of course, if all their reporters acted like Jack McEvoy, it's no wonder they went broke. Jack's twin brother was a cop who apparently shot himself, but when Jack decides to exploit his tragic death by writing a story about police suicides, the research indicates that a serial killer has been stalking cops across the country and making it look like they killed themselves. Soon Jack has blackmailed his way onto an FBI task force chasing the killer by ruthlessly threatening to expose the hunt and maybe spooking the guy, but letting his brother's murderer potentially go free is a small price to pay to get a really righteous scoop. He runs up a huge expense account bill by tagging along as the FBI tracks the killer across the country, and he never really does give the Denver paper the juicy exclusives they're expecting. So it seems like the old Rocky Mountain News had some pretty sloppy business practices going on when it came to covering stories.
You can probably tell that I wasn't overly fond of Jack as a character. I found him self-absorbed and incredibly stupid at times. It's too bad, because this was a better than average serial killer story with new take on the premise and lots of good twists and turns to keep it interesting. If I would have found Jack more sympathetic, I probably would have liked it more."
I prefer Connelly's series with the Harry Bosch character. This mystery had a "gotcha" quality to it that irritated me. The narrative kept setting you up to believe the 'mole' was one character, then he kept cutting them down and the final reveal was a character that was given no background within the "clues" part of the novel. I expect that to happen in a TV show, but I expect more honesty from a novel. Also, the device of the killer using Poe as the clues at the scene was never tied in after the reveal of the killer. Seemed to have nothing to do with the motivation. Seemed like the author wasted some pages on nonessentials and did not treat the issues the reader would want to have explained. Given the detail level of the rest of the book, this seemed wanting to me. This narrator had too deep a voice for me to enjoy. Makes me feel like an avalanche is going to happen at any moment. Too rumbling."
The plot leaves so many threads unresolved that it feels like Connelly just cheated. I usually don't notice things like this, so it must be pretty egregious.
Whatever speaks to me about Harry Bosch, Jack McEvoy ain't got it. I think the Bosch books work better because the mysteries are so intertwined with Bosch's experiences. There's an attempt to set up the same situation here with McEvoy's sister, but it fell flat for me.
Finally, the book is about a pedophile, which is an automatic one-star deduction.
On an unrelated note, it's fun to read books written between 1993 and 2000. Before '93, authors could pretty much ignore cell phones and the internet. After '00 you have to assume that Google exists. In between is a netherworld. This book breathlessly describes digital cameras and email like the reader might not know what they are. To find out of a phrase exists in a Poe poem, McEvoy has to stay up all night reading Poe! Crazy stuff.
I wonder if disliking this book will affect my reading of the next Bosch book. We shall see!"
"Being the first time i have ever read Michael Connelly (being a James Patterson fan) I found it to be a bit slow in the first chapter but once this guy gets it in 4th gear ...strap in and hold on....This books had me ziggin and zaggin all the way to the last page....Never think you know the ending because he will throw you a curve every time...Great Book...im going to buy all of his books"
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