The Poet

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Buck Schirner

Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE HARRY BOSCH AND LINCOLN LAWYER SERIES

An electrifying standalone thriller that breaks all the rules!

Death is reporter Jack McEvoy's beat: his calling, his obsession. But this time, death brings McEvoy the story he never wanted to write - and the mystery he desperately needs to solve. A serial killer of unprecedented savagery and cunning is at large. His targets: homicide cops, each haunted by a murder case he couldn't crack. The killer's calling card: a quotation from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. His latest victim is McEvoy's own brother. And his last...may be McEvoy himself.

©1996 by Michael Connelly. (P)1996 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Barely finished this book

I first put down this book because suicide is a sensitive topic and I had a hard time making it through the first half hour of dwelling over suicide/depression etc.
After that I kept getting fed up with the 'getting the story' aspect of the book. The journalist gets criticized for being a journalist and sometimes he does act kind of sleazy trying to get his story.

If you can make it through that there is a good murder mystery with some good plot twists.

Another great summer read!

Well written, creepy, exciting, satisfying great performance by Mr. Schirner. Perfect for the beach or backyards

Fabulous as ever with Michael Connelly

I've enjoyed so much of Connelly's work and this novel was as always outstanding work.

Not one of Connelly’s best

The female love interest seems way too two dimensional and the narration was over the top. The voices the narrator used for the different characters were done well, however, and nearly made up for the over dramatization of the main character’s first person perspective.

nothisbestwork

But then he was a young author. The hero was actually a naive and bumbling boon who falsely accused every character and is somewhat responsible for several deaths. 3-4 endings of the book lster, I ran out of patience. Still, it makes me appreciate the stellar author who is Today's mr. Connelly.

Disappointed

What did you like best about The Poet? What did you like least?

I had high expectations - I usually really like Michael Connelly. However, this story is somehow disjointed, with a really weird ending. I wish I had spent the 20 hours doing something else. Well read though.

Was The Poet worth the listening time?

No

Not so good.

Not nearly as good as the Bosch or Mickey Haller books. Plotting alternates between the obvious and the arbitrary. Narration not up to snuff with poorly delineated characters.

Like Michael Connely but this one not for me

Interesting story. Liked first person account. But too predictable. Left too many questions unanswered. Why did the killer kill and why in the way that he did? Needs one more chapter to plug the holes and fill in the answers.

Not enough Poe

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes. Although I would have liked to see the Poe connection elaborated on a bit more the story was good and kept me interested.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes

Any additional comments?

a bit too much character development not enough action.

Rollercoaster Thriller

Just when you. think the story is going in particular direction, it takes a hairpin turn. I. Couldn't wait to listen to the next sequence of events. The book is loaded with mystery, romance, intrigue with the plot leading to an unpredicted corkscrew ending.