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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good thriller, 13 Jun 2008
Connelly breaks away from his highly-accomplished Bosch series to tell the tale of a reporter Jack McEvoy who's brother(a detective) has apparently taken his own life. McEvoy eventually works out it was homicide,sees links to other suspicious cases and convinces the FBI there's a serial killer at work(lines from poems by Edgar Allan Poe are found on all the victims - hence the nickname) He then inveigles his way into the investigation.The story fairly rattles along giving good insight into the world of tabloid reporters,as well as the skills used in the Bureau task force.Tension builds up nicely as the force gets closer to the killer, and twists and false trails abound.Most of these are predictable, and the ending is a little too convenient.Despite obvious cliches this is still a very good read and is strongly recommended.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A good book as far as it goes, but, 22 Feb 2009
marred by a completely unnecessary, implausible, deus ex machina ending, which made me feel let down and cheated.
[The plot is described in any number of other reviews, so I'll go directly to my impression of the novel.]
Yes, a good book in its genre, and a very ably constructed one (notwithstanding a description of the FBI that probably is as far from reality as it could possibly be).
Why do we read? I think either to learn something, or for distraction. From this story youll'get the latter, in spades. It's very well written (you get to care for the two main characters), some grammatical mistakes notwithstanding, and a real page turner (I devoured it in two nights, and stayed awake until five AM to finish it). Unfortunately, it has two final twists, the first really excellent and somber, but the last out of the blue, possible but totally unexplained, and even ruining the first, which had been so carefully woven into the plot, to which it adds an unanswered question (how did the character surmount the emotional handicap?).
A real pity. If I were the author, for the second edition I would edit the story taking out the last few pages. They feel artificially tacked on, and I can't understand why he added them.
So, keeping in mind that this thriller is purely reading-to-pass-the-time, I'll rate it four stars without the last pages (say, until p. 473 of the MMP ed), and zero stars for the rest (say, from 474 to 501).
If you're able to stop at 473, by all means buy and enjoy the product. You read it to the real end at you peril.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pacey!! , 20 Aug 2007
I enjoyed 'The Poet' because it had a very strong 'can't put downable' quality. It had a fast pace and it was exciting to read.
'The poet' was the second book I read written by Michael Connelly (the first being 'The Lincoln Lawyer') because having read one of his books, I concluded that he wrote well. In this sense, 'The Poet' didn't dissappoint. Connelly writes clearly and is able to keep the reader in suspense throughout the book. Connelly creates characters and their personalities well - he gives the characters that 'likeable' quality - which adds to the story. The plot is exciting and is clear enough to be understandable but is still able to suprise the reader, using twists and turns.
I enjoyed reading 'The poet' - it entertained me and was able to do so throughout the book (despite the fact that it is fairly lengthy, I was kept in suspense throughtout). I would reccomend this book to people who enjoy thrillers and books with a fast pace. Perhaps people who are keen on James Patterson but maybe feel like 'slight change of scenary!'
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