(Print: 5/26/2009; 9780316043670; Little, Brown and Company; Large type / Large print edition; 672 pages.)
Audio: 5/26/2009; 9781415964606; Books on Tape; duration 11:15:32
(Feature Film: No).

SERIES:
Jack McEvoy, book 2; Bosch Universe, book 20.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
Jack McEvoy-Newspaper Journalist-Crime beat, Los Angeles Times
Rachel Walling-FBI

SUMMARY/EVALUATION:
In the same way that we get to peer inside the police department with Harry Bosch and the courts and legal offices with Mickey Haller, we get to learn a bit about the newsroom with Jack.
Jack and Rachel have met before, when they were trying to find the Poet and this situation proves no less intense.
I always enjoy how this author refers back to the other stories—the rest of the Bosch universe.

AUTHOR:
Michael Connelly (7/21/56) began his education in building construction, but luckily for us, shifted to journalism and creative writing.
His subsequent career saw him first as a crime beat journalist for the Daytona Beach News Journal, then for the Fort Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel, and finally for the Los Angeles Times before retiring to become a full-time Novelist.
Therefore, one suspects the author feels closest to Jack McEvoy.

NARRATOR:
Peter Giles (2/15/1971). According to IMDb, Peter Giles was born “in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is known for his work on The Life & Times of Tim (2008), Into the Dark (2018) and Portlandia (2011).”
He has many roles to his credit--some of his other narrations:
(2011) “The Fifth Witness" by Michael Connelly
(2010) "Witch and Wizard: The Gift" by James Patterson
(2010) "The Reversal" by Michael Connelly
He’s a bit whispery, but once I turn the volume up a little I enjoy Peter Giles narrations.

GENRE:
Mystery, Crime, Thriller

LOCATIONS:
Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Mesa, AZ

SUBJECTS:
Journalists, Server technology, murder

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1, "The Farm":
"All the while he spoke, Carver was thinking about the intruder they had been chasing. Out there somewhere, not expecting the comeuppance that was speeding toward him. Carver and his young disciples would loot his personal bank accounts, take his identity and hide photos of men having sex with eight-year-old boys on his work computer. Then he would crash it with a replicating virus. When the intruder couldn't fix it he would call in an expert. The photos would be found and the police would be called.
The intruder would no longer be a concern. Another threat kept away by the Scarecrow.
'Wesley?' McGinnis said.
Carver came out of the reverie. The suit had asked a question. Carver had already forgotten his name.
'Excuse me?'
'Mr. Wyeth asked if the colocation center had ever been breached.'
McGinnis was smiling, already knowing the answer.
'No, sir, we've never been breached. To be honest, there have been a few attempts. But they have failed, resulting in disastrous consequences for those who tried.'"

RATING:
I gave this book 5 stars. Connelly still holds my interest all the way in and through this 20th book, and it has to be getting more complicated for him to recall all of the previous characters and situations he is so adept at weaving into the newest novel.
( )

Connelly is a fairly new author for me and this Jack McEvoy and Rachel Waling book was a winner. It’s a fast moving action thriller even though the plot required substantial suspension of disbelief. McEvoy is a journalist who is being let go because not only has the delivery of news changed, but he costs more than the new kids in the business. Together with Waling, an FBI agent, they pair work on identifying the murderer responsible for a grisly series of murdered women. McEvoy believes he has the makings of a great story and the paper will beg him to come back. Complex and gripping. ( )

A good example of Connelly's writing style. You are in the story form the first page, no mucking around. ( )

I'm not sure if it's the "reporter pretending to be a detective" theme or the main characters having a job then not having a job then having a job again (maybe) or if it's just the large number of flights to and from different places that I find tiring. It's not a bad story, and the data security piece is interesting enough, but how everything unfolds feels a little tedious. ( )

This was a pleasant surprise; I read The Poet a while back, and enjoyed it, but not really as much as some of his other books. This one, however, was outstanding. I had trouble putting it down. Fortunately, it was an audiobook, so I could spend a lot of time with it.

Much of what happens in the book is realistic to me, and could conceivably happen. I thought it shows a good understanding of how the web works, especially the way the villain was able to find out when someone was possibly on to him. This villain was pretty scary mainly because he was clever, and was often a step or two ahead of his adversaries, although not quite as ahead as he hoped. ( )