Sun 14 Feb 2021
MICHAEL CONNELLY – The Poet. [Jack McEvoy #1.] Little Brown, hardcover, 1996. Grand Central, paperback, 1997.
A question that most of us rarely have reason or take time to consider is, do we like a series most because we like the character, or because we like the prose? Then someone like Connelly writes his first non-series book, and we have a chance to see. You’ll have to wait a while, though; this has a publication date of January, 1996, but I’d bet [it will be out by] Christmas.
Jack McEvoy is a Denver reporter. His twin brother was a Denver cop, until he killed himself. Jack begins a story on police suicides as a way of dealing with his grief, and discovers a pattern that stretches across the country, and points to a serial killer who is preying on policemen as well as the victims of the crimes they are investigating. Jack seems to be ahead of other reporters and the FBI, but he’s not ahead of the killer.
The [rating of a] double-smiley-plus is for the first 95% of the book, and the frown is for the ending. Connelly is simply an excellent writer in terms of pacing, dialog, and characterization.
I even thought the serial killer was well done, and I’m not much at all for serial killers. This was well on its way to making my best few of the year list, and then came the denouement. Of course I can’t give it away and tell you exactly what the problems were, but I can and will say that there was a double plot twist at the end, and that I found neither necessary and the last just not credible at all.
Why in the hell Connelly thought he needed to do that I do not understand. It didn’t absolutely ruin the book for me, but it left a bad taste in my mouth, and kept it off my “best†list.
February 14th, 2021 at 10:17 pm
I hate when a good book goes offtrack for no real reason but the writer trying to show off and not pulling it off.
February 14th, 2021 at 11:04 pm
Barry was not the only one put off my the ending. Here’s part of what someone on Goodreads said about the book:
“The first climax of this book was acceptable, but then, as Connelly often writes, there is a twist. Then another, then another, with the final resolution not being a resolution at all. […]
“A roller-coaster of a mess. Ugh.”
February 14th, 2021 at 11:07 pm
Among other things I’ve discovered about the book is that it’s the first of a trilogy. Obviously Barry did not know that when he wrote the review, but I have no excuse. Here’s the list:
Jack McEvoy:
1. The Poet (1996)
2. The Scarecrow (2009)
3. Fair Warning (2020)
I’ll go back to the review and patch this in.
February 15th, 2021 at 7:48 am
I love Connelly’s books as a rule (with a couple of exceptions), but the double twist ending of this one had me metaphorically throwing it across the room. It absolutely ruined the book for me. I tried the new McEvoy book but disliked it too.
February 15th, 2021 at 8:32 am
A consensus is pulling itself together here.
February 17th, 2021 at 10:14 am
Another Mystery*File review by Ray O’Leary of this work; from 2009: https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=1670
February 17th, 2021 at 1:11 pm
Thanks, Bill. Another old review with a missing image, which thankfully I was able to replace. Notable in what Ray had to say was this:
“…I felt Connelly may have gone overboard with the twists at the end.”