The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

It's not a good day for Jack McEvoy.  A crime reporter at the L.A. Times for twenty years, he has just been told that he will be laid off in two weeks.  Jack decides to go out with one last good story.  He has been contacted by the grandmother of a sixteen year old gang member who has been arrested for a grisly murder the media is calling The Trunk Murder.  She insists her grandson is innocent, and Jack decides to look into the story. 

As Jack starts to investigate, he quickly realises that not only is the teenager innocent, but the reason he is not guilty is that there is a serial killer out there who has been killing women in different states and leaving them in car trunks.  He starts an investigation, aided by FBI Agent Rachel Walling.   He worked with Rachel on his biggest story years before.  That story was the detection and capture of The Poet, another killer. 

This time is different however.  The killer is investigating Jack and Rachel as intently as they are investigating him, and is targeting them as his next victims.  Along with the chase, the reader learns about how technology plays into both the killer's targeting of his victims, and the investigation into his crime.

Michael Connelly readers will not be disappointed in The Scarecrow.  It delivers what one expects from Connelly, a page-turner with enough twists and turns to keep the plot moving.  The story is taut and the reader is involved in the investigation.  The love interest between Jack and Rachel adds another dimension.  This book is recommended for mystery readers and Connelly fans.  Although it is another in a Jack McEvoy series, it can easily stand on its own.