Kill Her Madly

In January Magazine today, contributing editor Anthony Rainone applauds Michael Connelly’s latest Jack McEvoy adventure, The Scarecrow, as “a tense, taut thriller that never exhausts itself of surprises for the reader.” Of the plot, he writes:

Los Angeles Times cop beat reporter Jack McEvoy becomes another victim of downsizing when the paper gives him his Reduction in Force notice--aka “pink slip.” But that doesn’t take the charge out of McEvoy’s instincts for a good story, especially if it means he can go out with a bang and leave some egg on his bosses’ faces. And McEvoy has just the article in mind.

Sixteen-year-old Alonzo Winslow stands accused of a trunk murder--killing 23-year-old stripper Denise Babbit and stuffing her body into the trunk of her car. LAPD detectives claim that Winslow confessed to the killing, and the authorities are set to charge him as an adult. Winslow’s mother, though, calls McEvoy and challenges him to do the right thing--namely, clear her gang-banger son of a murder he didn’t commit. Although McEvoy first envisioned the article as a lengthy exposé on how a young man is turned into a killer, he is subsequently convinced of Winslow’s innocence.

In addition to reviewing this novel, Rainone asks the author himself a few questions about The Scarecrow. You’ll find it all here.