Two Thriller Novels – A Review
When I included the category “Curated – books” for this blog, I envisioned book reviews on books like David Brooks’ The Second Mountain and Scott Peck’s The Road Less Traveled, or even Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle, all of which I will summarize and review one day. I never thought I would include a review of a murder mystery or spy thriller. It has been a long time since I’ve picked up a mystery/thriller to read for pure entertainment. The last such book may have been a John Grisham novel years ago.
While visiting Jack’s in-laws, the Holloways a weekend ago at their beach house in Sandbridge, Virginia, I noticed several books on the bedstand in our room. The books were dog-eared and were probably left there for renters to read during rental season. I picked one up late one night and started reading it. It was Michael Connelly’s The Scarecrow. I did not want to put it down. However, we had a busy stay and I did not finish it, so I took it with me, knowing I would return it through my daughter-in-law Olivia.
I finished it while staying in Boston. Like the early Ken Follet and Robert Ludlum novels, I savored it. Set in Los Angeles, the quick pace of the novel also moves to Las Vegas and Arizona. The plot follows the story of an experienced and gifted LA Times reporter, who gets fired because the paper is downsizing due to a lack of profitability. However, during his last two weeks as a police beat reporter, beginning with investigating a black teen’s arrest in the projects to investigating a seemingly unrelated event that occurred in Las Vegas several years earlier, our protagonist stumbles upon an MIT educated serial killer, who Connelly deftly develops as a multi-dimensional antagonist, a must for every exceptional narrative. In summary, the novel is clever, fast-paced, with fully developed characters. I loved this book and plan on reading more books by Michael Connelly. You should too and start with this one.
I finished The Scarecrow early in our trip to Boston. So, having developed an appetite for this genre of literature, Elizabeth gave me one of her books that she planned to read on the trip – Betrayed by Lisa Scottoline. The cover of Betrayed includes a quote by Michael Connelly. It reads, “Lisa Scottoline is one of the very best writers at work today.” So, needless to say, I was excited to read this book. I was very disappointed.
Like the protagonist in The Scarecrow, the protagonist in Betrayed exposes misjustice. She stumbles upon a murder that police determine is an accident. However, that is where the similarities end. Betrayed’s characters are one-dimensional. Even the protagonist, a young female lawyer trying to figure out her life, is flat. Unlike the protagonist in The Scarecrow, I never connected with her. Even her relationships with other characters in the novel were uninteresting and flat, although the relationship with her mom appeared promising at first. This was especially disappointing because the topic of breast cancer, although a secondary story line in the novel, had the opportunity to bring the reader closer to the protagonist, who, by the way, did not have breast cancer.
If Betrayed is indicative of her work, I would not recommend anything by Lisa Scottoline. However, to be fair, she may have gone the route of the formerly mentioned John Grisham, where his best work was his early work, including The Painted House. It just goes to show, there are great thriller novels out there to read. However, there is also a lot of trash. Thankfully, Michael Connelly is a much better writer than a critic.
