Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Work!
Review: I loved this book! It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I liked the way the ending went.
Rating: 
Summary: Contrived and complicated
Review: A group of friends selected this book for a monthly book club and only two could bear to finish it. We all agreed that the story was entirely too contrived and the text not especially well-written. The ending would have been more plausible if it had stopped at naming the female agent as the culprit. Her personal history made it more likely. By making it on the older agent, it appears as if at the last minute an editor decided it would too unpopular for the female to be the murderer, and the author just added on to the end. It would have been a better novel had it ended with the female.
Rating:
Summary: Great reading, but lacking credibility
Review: I read this book during my summer vacations and finished it in two days. The writing is intense and gripping, and I can really recommend the book. What I did not like was the lack of motive. I think crime writers' recent preoccupation with serial killers grows a bit boring meanwhile and increasingly lacks psychological plausibility. That some people do evil things because they are simply evil (or some other evil person did something evil to them when they were a child) reminds me of the nursery bigotries of my childhood. Maybe some of the simple souls (who also enjoy the happy ending when the evil is destroyed) are content with this, but I would prefer more credibility in characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Thanks for the positives, I understand the negatives.
Review: I just wanted to comment on some of the people who reviewed The Poet and didn't like the ending. I've never done this before but like the idea of explaining what I was doing with the book. If you haven't read the novel and intend to, DON'T read further. I write a crime novel series featuring an LAPD detective. This is my main interest as a writer. But in order to keep that series fresh, I will occasionally write non-series novels. The Poet was one of these. Since it was intended as a one book diversion I decided to tweak the mystery/thriller genre a little bit by writing a novel that was more akin to real life than adhering to genre rules. In real life, no matter how hard the FBI works they never really know why a serial killer does what he does--i.e. Andrew Cunanan, Ted Bundy, et al. So I decided to write a serial killer novel that would hopefully be fulfilling to the reader yet still have these questions unresolved. I would tell the who and what but leave only obscure clues as to the why. Secondly, I live and write in L.A. where the justice system seems damaged at best. It is a place where killers in highly public fashion get away. I wanted to write this book to be more reflective of this reality, to be both fulfilling to the reader yet have the killer get away. People think that I wrote it this way because I am just setting up a sequel. I am not. The killer got away in The Poet and in my fictional world, he'll always be out there. So to those reviewers who said the ending was a letdown, perhaps it was a dose of reality causing them this frustarion. But the ending wasn't written by a 10 year old, as suggested, and I didn't run out of gas. It was actually more carefully thought out than my other novels. I think the fact that the ending stimulated debate here and in other venues indicates I did something well. Of course this may sound like an absurd suggestion but I would urge those who didn't like the end to read the book again. There are actually several small and hidden clues throughout the book as to the identity of The Poet. I think--rather immodestly I might add--that the book flows so quickly that many of these clues are not picked up. On a second reading you may find them. But whether you liked the book or not, I thank you for giving it a try.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant start, middle lags, great revival, then ok ending.
Review: I started this book one night in a bookstore but had no cash on me. Recommended it to my mother. Bought it later, started it. Really liked it -- and my wife stole it. She couldn't put it down, and I couldn't get it back. I now know why. I've read all the reviews posted here, and there is some truth in each of them. The beginning is brilliant, terrific stuff as the protagonist and the reader begin sorting out the clues. A real thrill! By the time the hero links up with the FBI, the tone changes tremendously, partially because the central character is no longer leading, he is following the action, which is always dangerous for a writer to attempt. What keeps you alive in the middle of the story is the gnawing suspicion that you know more than anyone else. (As a reader you'll sense it's coming too easy for everyone.) Finally when the hero reasserts himself the thrill comes alive again, especially at the trap for the pedophile. While I found the web-pedophile story almost engaging, I sensed the author did not care enough about this character; he was the thinnest character in the book, when he needed depth. The female FBI agent, Rachel, was sexually appealing, and more emotionally layered than I expected. As for the ending, I had expected the vast majority of it -- if for no other reason than that every other answer/ending was too easy and lots of mysteries/thrillers try to be too tricky. Usually less tricks, more flesh is better (easier said than done, I know). But all in all a great summer read
Rating:
Summary: Stayed awake nights reading, looking forward to the ending..
Review: This was my first Michael Connelly book, given to me by a friend with a strong recommendation. I wholeheartedly concurred, right up to the ending. What happened, Michael?? Run out of time? Oh well, it's my understanding this ending is an anomaly rather than the norm, so I'm gonna go buy another Connelly book and see what happens
Rating:
Summary: HARRY BOSCH FANS WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!
Review: At first I was worried. How would Connelly pull off a new character? I'm a big Harry Bosch fan and viewed this new volume with some suspicion. Well, Connelly knows his craft. The book grabs you right from the beginning. There is very good character and plot development in this offering from Connally.
Like a roller coaster, the book takes you through turns and dips, chills and spills. There is a nice magnetic "pull" that carries you along through these pages. Lastly, I truly believe that in keeping with the flavor of the title-Connally truly writes this volume in an almost lyical sense. This is a solid book all the way through. A spine tingler
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping stuff; shame about the ending
Review: This book kept me up into the wee-hours three days running. I ended up feeling as frustrated as Jack himself when the plot twisted unexpectedly against him. Very well written with at times gruesome, yet believable detail. I have to admit though, it ended with a fizzle rather than a bang. The unbelievable, unexplained and unfortunately unsatisfying ending stopped this being a really good book. Swap the last thirty pages and... who knows
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read that won't prepare you for the end!
Review: As the first book I've read by Connelly, it came highly recommended by fellow avid readers. The story was fantastic. A true page turner; I couldn't put it down without continuing to dwell on the drawn out characterizations. Unfortunately, this was also the reason for my great disappointment in the ending. I could have written a more satisfying ending myself! Now if his characters continue to evolve in future books, like Patricia Cornwell's, then maybe Donnelly can reprieve himself with his readers.
Rating:
Summary: Almost a great book
Review: This is the first book of his I've read and I was impressedwith his writing skill and his characterisations. It's great to read athriller by someone who really has the gift with words. The plot is clever and satisfyingly complex. For 90% of the time this book is great, but the ending is sadly a letdown. I'll nevertheless definitely read more of his books because I get the impression from other reviews that the ending is atypical of his work.
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