John Sandford and Michael Connelly have been writing thrillers for decades, but after a combined forty plus books, they still manage to keep it fresh.
Wicked Prey
John Sandford’s “Wicked Prey” is the 19th Lucas Davenport thriller. It’s set in September of 2008 during the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
For most of the delegates, guests, reporters, and locals, it's a festive event, an occasion for having a good time and experiencing a unique moment in history. For law enforcement officials, however, it offers a grab-bag of potentially embarrassing dangers, from small-fry con men to major stickup artists.
For Lucas Davenport, this teeming, suddenly raucous city harbors one special threat: A psychopath with a poisoned memory, a gun, and a plan. And it turns out that he's not the only crazy person out there.
As usual, there’s plenty of action and suspense, and though Lucas is aging, slowing a step, this only adds to the richness of the character and the series. And that’s the appeal of these kinds of books—the chance to spend a little time (over the course of a lifetime) with an old familiar friend. Sure, it’s entertaining to take the chilling, suspenseful ride with him, but it’s Lucas and the supporting cast that keeps me coming back, not the sociopath of the month or the crime he or she is up to.
The Scarecrow
Michael Connelly’s “The Scarecrow” is truly scary, but not for the reasons you might imagine. Sure it has the normal thrills and chills of a good suspense novel, but the scariest aspects of “The Scarecrow” don’t involve serial killers, nor even the victims of murder. Like recent movie, “State of Play,” the scariest parts of “The Scarecrow” are those dealing with the demise of newspapers and print journalism.
Forced out of the “Los Angeles Times” amid the latest budget cuts, newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paper to write the definitive murder story of his career.
He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as he delves into the story, Jack realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. The kid might actually be innocent.
Jack is soon running with his biggest story since The Poet made his career years ago. He is tracking a killer who operates completely below police radar--and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. Including Jack's.
Michael Connelly began his writing career as a reporter, and though a novelist for the past two decades, he continues to report. His richly textured, well researched novels are exciting and entertaining, but not just—they also provide illumination and insight into a corner of our culture most readers are unaware of, making Mr.
Connelly the perfect blend of reporter and novelist.
Using his journalistic eye for detail, his research is impeccable, filling each book with what’s actually happening in the Los Angeles Police Department, the legal system, or, this time, the newspaper business.
Using his reporter’s instinct for a story with legs, Mr. Connelly takes readers on a twisting, suspenseful journey, but with an underlying realism and credibility many commercial thrillers lack.
In many ways, Michael Connelly is like the Alfred Hitchcock of crime novels—providing readers with thoughtful, well executed suspense and receiving both critical acclaim and commercial success for his efforts.
Michael Connelly, the #1 New York Times bestseller, is coming to Panama City. He will be the keynote speaker of The 10th Annual Gulf Coast Writers Conference on September, 19, 2009 at Gulf Coast Community College. He is joining us for our special 10th anniversary celebration. If you’d like to join us for the conference or just for the luncheon featuring Mr. Connelly, you register at www.GulfCoastWritersConference.com Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to meet Michael Connelly.
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