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35th out of 3,396 books
—
7,819 voters
The Poet (Jack McEvoy #1)
by
Michael Connelly (Goodreads Author)
Denver crime-beat reporter Jack McEvoy specializes in violent death. So when his homicide detective brother kills himself, McEvoy copes in the only way he knows how--he decides to write the story. But his research leads him to suspect a serial killer is at work--a devious murderer who's killing cops and leaving a trail of poetic clues. It's the news story of a lifetime, if...more
Paperback, 510 pages
Published
July 1st 2002
by Grand Central Publishing
(first published 1995)
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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.
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 lik...more
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 lik...more
Kesinlikle hayatım boyunca okuduğum en iyi seri katil temalı polisiye kitaplardan birisi.Michael Connelly'nin usta işi anlatımı ve olay örgüsü ile okuyucuyu her sayfasında biraz daha içine çeken,sayfalar ilerledikçe gerdikçe geren ve kitabın sonuna gelindiğinde ise okuyucuya tokat gibi inen sürpriz finali ile kusursuz bir kitap.Ayrıca Harry Bosch serisinin aksine yazarın burada biraz kendine benzeyen bir karekter kullanmasıda ayrıca ilgi çekici olmuş.
Polisiyenin en mükemmel hali...
(Bu kitabı oku...more
Polisiyenin en mükemmel hali...
(Bu kitabı oku...more
"The Poet" shows that Michael Connelly is certainly a very capable writer. The first half of the book is an incredibly interesting read despite some elements you can see coming a mile away. That may be intentional -- a nod to the Miss Marple in all of us who exclaim "AHA, skullduggery afoot!". The twists and turns of the story are handled expertly enough, yet the second half of the book still falls apart. Much of that is due to the odd murder scenario which seems to belong more to a supernatural...more
I really liked this book. It has a strong beginning and a lot of credible characters. What I liked most was the fact that it seemed to end on page 450. I thought: Ok, not a bad solution, but a bit obvious. But then I noticed there were still 100 pages to go. Finally I realized the end was not the end, but only a fake end, and then the "real story" was about to begin. Very strong and surprising until the very last page.
11 likes · like · see review
When reporter Jack McEvoy learns his twin brother, a police detective, has committed suicide, he starts to notice some "hoaky" details. Those details soon lead him to discover that Sean's death was only made to look like a suicide - in reality it was murder, part of a nation-wide serial spree by a Poe-quoting killer. Jack sets off to find his brother's killer and the story of a lifetime.
I was convinced that Connelly was going to let me down on this book. It was getting to the end of the novel an...more
I was convinced that Connelly was going to let me down on this book. It was getting to the end of the novel an...more
Aug 09, 2007
Jack
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
thriller / crime lovers
Shelves:
jackrecommends
There are a lot lot of serial killer novels out there. Michael Connelly's "The Poet" rests a cut above much of the slasher genre. "Poet" tells the story of Jack McEvoy, a crime reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, in Denver. His twin brother Sean, a homicide detective for the Denver police has just committed suicide, despondent over his inability to solve a grisly murder.
Connelly crafts his story with quiet force - in the hearse traveling to the funeral with Sean's widowed wife Riley, Jack thi...more
Connelly crafts his story with quiet force - in the hearse traveling to the funeral with Sean's widowed wife Riley, Jack thi...more
In catching up on some Connelly I'd missed, I came across this, what I believe is the first of the McEvoy novels. Mid stream, I turned to my wife and confessed that I was taking it slow because this book, was candy. Connelly is a great writer, a great character sketcher and this book bears testament to that. What it doesn't bear testament to is the sensible finishes that Connelly generally includes. I don't mean that you're left with unfinished business, just that by the time I hit the end of th...more
A satisfying "police" procedural from 1996. Crime journalist Jack McEvoy teams up with FBI agent Rachel Walling to solve the mystery of his brother's murder, which was staged to look like a suicide. Soon it apears they are dealing with a dangerous and crafy serial killer. Great pacing, dialog, and narrative tension. Among the best of the 20 Connelly books I have read. It took him 13 years to bring back McEvoy and Walling back in 2009's "Scarecrow", another worthy read.
Mar 08, 2008
Tracy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
mystery lovers
This review is for the abridged audio cassette version of the book. You don't need another description of the plot, because you can find it in multiple reviews already.
This was a good read (listen). Abridging the novel to approx. 3 hours was a bit severe - there were quite a few jumps in "detection" that were probably explained more believably in the book.
I can see how this has the potential to be pretty creepy in its full figure.
The reader was not intrusive - I didn't find myself noting empha...more
This was a good read (listen). Abridging the novel to approx. 3 hours was a bit severe - there were quite a few jumps in "detection" that were probably explained more believably in the book.
I can see how this has the potential to be pretty creepy in its full figure.
The reader was not intrusive - I didn't find myself noting empha...more
2 likes · like · see review
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
For years I've been following Susan Dennis' mystery reviews website.
It was through there that I had first heard of Michael Connelly. His Heironymous Bosch series is excellent and I urge you to read them, starting with Black Echo.
Now, The Poet is a departure from this series, this time the lead character is a crime reporter (Connelly's profession; write what you know, right?). This novel is about a killer who leaves clues referring to Edgar Allan Poe. There's also an extremely creepy pedophile an...more
It was through there that I had first heard of Michael Connelly. His Heironymous Bosch series is excellent and I urge you to read them, starting with Black Echo.
Now, The Poet is a departure from this series, this time the lead character is a crime reporter (Connelly's profession; write what you know, right?). This novel is about a killer who leaves clues referring to Edgar Allan Poe. There's also an extremely creepy pedophile an...more
He's my favorite mystery/thriller writer. His most featured protagonist, Harry Bosch, is the most human of lead characters in this genre; less video-game like mow-'em-down violence, more cerebral of an approach.
This is a compelling drama: the search is on for a vicious killer who leaves poetic clues behind. A lot of twists and turns. High energy unfolding.
I won't give away anything. The only caveat I have, which I have with a lot in this genre, is that endings can have too many twists and turns...more
This is a compelling drama: the search is on for a vicious killer who leaves poetic clues behind. A lot of twists and turns. High energy unfolding.
I won't give away anything. The only caveat I have, which I have with a lot in this genre, is that endings can have too many twists and turns...more
Woah, I guess I should have expected a massive plot kick at the end but this one really took me by surprise. He is such a good writer. Wish Goodreads allowed 4 1/2 stars!
(Spoilers alert) Mr. Connelly wrote The Poet in a straight-forward, no drama-queen exaggerated sentences, different from the other crime-thriller novel genre, and I admired him greatly as he wants us to understand the progress of the characters in no BS level. The story starts with Jack McEvoy the crime reporter from Rocky Mountain News, in disbelief of his twin brother's suicide news. However, being a reporter has it's downside - people think that you're going to write a story about it even if...more
This is a reasonably well-written book and, in places, a true page-turner with a solid premise. That said, ultimately I couldn't get past the book's weaknesses. For one, it's simply implausible that the victims -- homicide detectives, no less -- could be rendered helpless by such innocuous substances as cough syrup (seriously?) combined with hypnosis (of all things)? I had a problem with this, as I did with key character McEvoy's unrealistic involvement with the FBI investigation.
Was anyone else...more
Was anyone else...more
Narrated by Buck Schirner
15 hrs and 21 mins
Publisher's Summary
With his four Harry Bosch novels, Michael Connelly joined "the top rank of a new generation of crime writers" (Los Angeles Times). Now Connelly returns with his most searing thriller yet - a major new departure that recalls the best work of Thomas Harris (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs) and James Patterson (Along Came a Spider)
Our hero is Jack McEvoy, a Rocky Mountain News crime-beat reporter. As the story opens, Jack's twin brother...more
15 hrs and 21 mins
Publisher's Summary
With his four Harry Bosch novels, Michael Connelly joined "the top rank of a new generation of crime writers" (Los Angeles Times). Now Connelly returns with his most searing thriller yet - a major new departure that recalls the best work of Thomas Harris (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs) and James Patterson (Along Came a Spider)
Our hero is Jack McEvoy, a Rocky Mountain News crime-beat reporter. As the story opens, Jack's twin brother...more
The bad thing about this novel: A little too graphic for my taste
The good things about this novel: (1)I liked the plot, and even I couldn't figure out "whodunit," although I felt I "just knew" from an encounter between Jack and one of the FBI agents in a scene with elements similar to ones from his brother's suicide turned out to be murder. (2) Connelly kept us on track, not repeating too much, but with a smooth flow. (3) I think the use of Poe's poetry was great. Poe is really a creepy writer.
J...more
The good things about this novel: (1)I liked the plot, and even I couldn't figure out "whodunit," although I felt I "just knew" from an encounter between Jack and one of the FBI agents in a scene with elements similar to ones from his brother's suicide turned out to be murder. (2) Connelly kept us on track, not repeating too much, but with a smooth flow. (3) I think the use of Poe's poetry was great. Poe is really a creepy writer.
J...more
Audio book read by Buck Schirner
Jack McEvoy is the ace crime reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, so he’s used to dealing with violent death. But when his twin brother, a homicide detective, commits suicide he just cannot let it rest. Trying to come to grips with how Sean could become so despondent, Jack begins to research suicide among law enforcement officers and notices an unusual pattern.
Connelly is a master at crafting a suspenseful thriller / mystery. There are plenty of clues – and misc...more
Jack McEvoy is the ace crime reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, so he’s used to dealing with violent death. But when his twin brother, a homicide detective, commits suicide he just cannot let it rest. Trying to come to grips with how Sean could become so despondent, Jack begins to research suicide among law enforcement officers and notices an unusual pattern.
Connelly is a master at crafting a suspenseful thriller / mystery. There are plenty of clues – and misc...more
Ok, before you read "The Narrows" with Harry Bosch, you have to read this book. "The Poet" tells all that is happening before, which I didn't know. I read all the Harry Bosch series and then decided to stay with Michael Connelly and read the Jack McEvoy series (i'm a little obsessed with Connelly right now-he is a good writer and his books are keeping me hooked, even at night when I am exhausted and just want to sleep, but no I read). Anyway, I was bummed because I knew who the culprit was as so...more
“Death is my beat. I make my living from it.” That’s the first sentence of this riveting crime mystery. Riveting? I spent only three days reading its 501 pages. The first-person narrator is a crime reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, and his brother a detective with the Denver Police Department. The author is Michael Connelly, a former newspaper crime reporter, who is better known as the author of the Harry Bosch novels and "Blood Work," made into a movie by Clint Eastwood.
"The Poet," publi...more
"The Poet," publi...more
Rating: 3.5 very pleased stars of five
Connelly's Harry Bosch series will either make you want to read this book, or run from it. I liked the Harry Bosch mysteries well enough, but I really respond more to Jack McEvoy, Denver journalist and crusader for the rights of victims of crime.
This is the first appearance by McEvoy. He's hot on the trail of a cop-killer, one whose talent for murder makes him able to turn a crime scene into a suicide scene. Jack's brother, a homicide cop, is dead...and natu...more
Connelly's Harry Bosch series will either make you want to read this book, or run from it. I liked the Harry Bosch mysteries well enough, but I really respond more to Jack McEvoy, Denver journalist and crusader for the rights of victims of crime.
This is the first appearance by McEvoy. He's hot on the trail of a cop-killer, one whose talent for murder makes him able to turn a crime scene into a suicide scene. Jack's brother, a homicide cop, is dead...and natu...more
9 likes · like · see review
Jul 31, 2011
Jane Stewart
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-suspense,
5-star-other
5 stars for the book. Excellent mystery suspense. I didn’t want to stop reading. 2 stars for the “narrator” of the audiobook.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This is wonderful. I never wanted to stop reading (listening). I was engaged all the way through. The minute I finished the book I purchased the sequel, because I wanted to keep going with more about Jack. I understand Jack is a minor character in some other books, but only one sequel has him as the main character (The Scarecrow).
My one problem was the n...more
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This is wonderful. I never wanted to stop reading (listening). I was engaged all the way through. The minute I finished the book I purchased the sequel, because I wanted to keep going with more about Jack. I understand Jack is a minor character in some other books, but only one sequel has him as the main character (The Scarecrow).
My one problem was the n...more
1 like · like · see review
One of the more disturbing and occasionally creepy of Connelly's crime novels, this one introduces reporter Jack McEvoy and FBI agent Rachel Walling, both of whom will return in later books, even meeting up with Connelly's mainstay character Detective Harry Bosch. In the present work, McEvoy tries to come to grips with the apparent suicide of his twin brother, a Denver detective who was investigating a horrific murder. It leads him to delve into nationwide police suicides where he begins to find...more
One of the best I've read of Connelly's suspense thrillers. This is not a Harry Bosch novel, but one featuring both Bosch's sometimes FBI girlfriend Rachel Walling and recurring reporter Jack McEvoy. The suspense sizzles from beginning to end and it is not without Connelly's typical plot twists and surprises either. McEvoy is a likable character who is struggling with the supposed suicide of his twin brother and determined to get to the bottom of it. He does, but in the process exposes himself a...more
"The Poet is 100% Brilliant - a Crime Fiction Masterpiece"
"The Poet" is a Stunning and Suspenseful Psychological Thriller
Jack McEvoy is a crime reporter working for the Rocky Mountain News. His only brother is a homicide detective, that committed suicide, because of depression from a traumatizing case. In hot pursuit of the truth, relating to his brother's death, Jack becomes involved in a stellar pursuit of a killer called "The Poet".
A killer of detectives, who's calling card is leaving lines f...more
I did not enjoy this book. The early Bosch novels feel like they're powered mostly by mystery and by the main character's need to solve all of these crimes. This book -- well, its main character is a reporter whose brother was a police officer. After said twin brother commits suicide, the main character, Jack McEvoy, gets suspicious of the circumstances and ends up launching a nationwide investigation into a serial killer. THAT ALONE would have been fascinating and an intriguing story to follow...more
1 like · like · see review
The first Michael Connelly book I read was the Black Echo, starring Harry Bosch. My husband moved swiftly on to Black Ice, Concrete Blonde and beyond, but I stalled on book one—not that I didn’t enjoy it; it just felt too long and hard to follow as I read between tasks during the day. Blood Work was good, but I still wasn’t hooked. But now The Poet has won. I shall be raiding my husband’s bookshelves for months to come, catching up on all I’ve missed.
The fact that Stephen King wrote the introduc...more
The fact that Stephen King wrote the introduc...more
I am undoubtedly a Michael Connelly fan, however I have tended to read the books out of sequence so references to the poet didn't mean a whole lot before.
I have greatly enjoyed his books but few have lived up entirely to the promise of the first one I read "Chasing the Dime". That is until I read this one, it is vintage Connelly, providing lots of detail and imagery and getting you thinking that you know where it's going, even having the characters agree with you that you are right only to find...more
Fine standalone police thriller -- but one too many endings!
Our book club recently introduced ourselves to Michael Connelly with his (non-Harry Bosch) great crime thriller "Void Moon", so we've been busy catching up on some of his earlier work, including this also non-series novel "The Poet". While it takes a little background work to lay out the premise, we do get hooked hard and then it's off to the races to see what happens. When Denver reporter Jack McEvoy gets the call that his twin brother...more
Our book club recently introduced ourselves to Michael Connelly with his (non-Harry Bosch) great crime thriller "Void Moon", so we've been busy catching up on some of his earlier work, including this also non-series novel "The Poet". While it takes a little background work to lay out the premise, we do get hooked hard and then it's off to the races to see what happens. When Denver reporter Jack McEvoy gets the call that his twin brother...more
Michael Connelly- The Poet (Warner Books 2004) 3.75 Stars
Jack McEvoy has a comfortable position in the newspaper he works for. He gets to cover death and picks his own stories. Suddenly police brother dies and it is ruled suicide, but that just doesn’t add up for Jack. Now he is choosing to write a story about police deaths, which means he can investigate the circumstances around his brother’s death. He quickly discovers that his suspicions were actually fact, his brother was murdered and now he...more
Jack McEvoy has a comfortable position in the newspaper he works for. He gets to cover death and picks his own stories. Suddenly police brother dies and it is ruled suicide, but that just doesn’t add up for Jack. Now he is choosing to write a story about police deaths, which means he can investigate the circumstances around his brother’s death. He quickly discovers that his suspicions were actually fact, his brother was murdered and now he...more
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Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teache...more
More about Michael Connelly...
Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teache...more
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“In the long run, all wrongs are righted, every minus is equalized with a plus, the columns are totaled and the totals are found correct. But that's in the long run. We must live in the short run and matters are often unjust there. The compensating for us of the universe makes all the accounts come out even, but they grind down the good as well as the wicked in the process.”
—
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