4 ½ stars. Entertaining and engaging crime solving mystery thriller (serial killer). Likeable lead characters.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
What a talented writer. I was engaged and enjoyed this all the way through – except for one minor thing close to the end which is why I gave it 4 ½ stars instead of 5 stars. It’s a logic issue. Everyone believes the serial killer is A. Then Jack sees something and concludes the killer is B. To me what Jack saw could implicate B, C, or others. I wasn’t sold on the way Jack assumed it was B and no one else. I also wanted more explanation about the killer’s past. How many times did he kill? Did he do things differently? Aside from that, the story was a fun escape. I liked the characters Jack and Rachel. The killer’s computer abilities and actions frightened me. Connelly is a full writer. The scenes, dialogue, build up, events - everything is done fully. He shows. He doesn’t tell the way weak writers do.

There was a scene I loved. It’s one of the reasons I liked Jack so much. He and Rachel both lost their jobs. He jokingly suggests they form a private investigating firm called Walling and McEvoy. She smiles and says something about him putting her name first. He says “I’ll always place you first Rachel, always.” (**sigh**)

OTHER BOOKS:
I like Connelly’s Mickey Haller and Jack McEvoy series because I like and/or admire at least a few different characters (leads plus supporting characters). As I was writing this review I was a fourth of the way into Connelly’s first Harry Bosch novel. I’m not enjoying that story as much because too many people are mean, unpleasant, and unlikeable: his boss, other cops, internal affairs, the FBI. I don’t want to spend a lot of time watching meanness. I’m fine watching bad guys being mean, but not all the other supporting characters.

NARRATOR:
The narrator Peter Giles was good. He had a slight accent but I didn’t mind it. It reminded me of teenage-surfer-dude-valley-speak trying to sound grown-up. He was pleasant to listen to but the “valley-speak” didn’t fit middle-aged crime reporter Jack. It wasn’t bad – it just wasn’t the best fit. The book is told in first person from Jack’s point of view and third person for others.

STORY BRIEF:
A dead woman is found in the trunk of a car. She was sexually tortured and suffocated with a plastic bag over her head. A teenage gang member stole the car and drove it to another location before he opened the trunk. He ran off, but the police arrest him due to his fingerprints. Jack is a reporter for the Times. He has just been laid off and given two weeks’ notice. The Times replaced him with Angela a recent college graduate and asked him to train her. Together they investigate the murder.

The killer is a computer genius who discovers Angela and Jack investigating. He gets into their email accounts, puts spyware on Angela’s computer, cancels Jack’s credit cards, and other things.

DATA:
Unabridged audiobook length: 11 hrs and 16 mins. Narrator: Peter Giles. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: none. Sex scenes: one, told not shown. Setting: 2009 Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. Book copyright: 2009. Genre: crime mystery thriller.