The Poet by Michael ConnellyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Jack McEvoy and Rachel Walling both show up in later novels, so, being the completist that I am, I had to come back and read this. It is gripping and horrifying: pedophiles and serial killers are the stuff of nightmares. It is not as good as the best Bosch novels, but as good as the better ones. McEvoy has some of the briskness and impatience of Bosch, but otherwise he is more introspective and emotional. His motives, being torn between the story and hunting the killer, also give the story a different tenor than Bosch novels.
One of the more fascinating elements of going back to this book is how much technology has changed. Fax machines, pay phones, dial-up internet, flip phones. It's kind of crazy; and how much these changes affect the way mysteries/thrillers are told: the investigation here would be so different in today's world. It would be all encrypted cell phones, dark web, and bitcoin. Not pay phones, bulletin boards, and wire transfers.
I think given how this book ends up fitting into the Bosch universe, the red herring and twist is less surprising. Yet, Connelly is so good at creating tension and suspense, even knowing what is going to unfold, it is still heart pounding.
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