THE SCARECROW (JACK MCEVOY #2) by Michael Connelly ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Original review written December 27, 2020)

One last quick read to get my book count to a fitting total of 20 for 2020. What a surge at the end!

I gave this four stars because, while maybe not amazed, there’s nothing I can think to nitpick here, and it did the job I was looking for: a shorter, faster novel to roll through and actually maintain interest in. This is the first I’ve read of Connelly’s, but I was reasonably confident it would fit in that Flynn/Baldacci/Brown/Patterson genre of airport and vacation dramas. That it did.

Pleasantly surprised by the LA Times reporter perspective and the character of McEvoy, which seems to be legit coming from Connelly’s own life, and the riveting, if at times predictable, murderer chase. This guy’s got the mystery chops promised on the back cover, and I’ll definitely be hitting The Poet and Bosch books eventually.

These short-chapter speed reads (especially this one) are always a breather from the pressures of extra long or extra dense book experiences, almost a literary palate cleanser in some funny way. Not always a winner, but you usually avoid the sunk cost fallacy by the time it’s over. And good or bad, it’ll get you ready to jump back in the deep end of Classics and Epics. Best to keep around as many as possible.