Rating: 
Summary: A very good book
Review: I have just re-read "The Poet", which is the book that got me onto Michael Connelly, and I see again why I liked it the first time around. I remember thinking at the time that the ending was "Hollywood", in that it seemed that the author wanted a film made out of it. Not necessarily bad; just different. You can't expect an author to bring out perfection every time, and the variety you get from trying out these sorts of things is usually a good thing.What's good about the book? Great gritty descriptions; interesting characters; great dialogue; very interesting plot. It's the sort of thing that will captivate you if you're interested. And you have to pay attention. Some reviewers have bitched about the book, saying "people can't kill or hurt someone else while under hypnosis". That's true. But, if you read carefully, no-one in the book does. Other people complain about the ending being totally "fake" or "unpredictable". If you pay attention as you read, you'll notice a number of subtle clues that point the way. Probably too subtle for some. Re-reading this book is like watching "Basic Instinct" or "The Usual Suspects" a second time; you get a lot more out of it. And some people complain that the plot has holes -- on reflection, I can't agree. I thought it was very tightly (and very well) plotted. Things pull together at the end, not apart. The bad parts? There aren't many. .... All in all, grab this book. If you like it, or even if you like most of the book but not the ending, you will like Connelly's others.
Rating:
Summary: Just as good the second time around.
Review: It had been about five years since I first read "The Poet." At that time I thought it was the finest mystery novel I had read. That judgement still stands. I was compelled to reread it after reading Mr. Connelly's "A Darkness More Than Night," as protagonist Jack McEvoy appears in both novels. My only regret is that I did not reread "The Poet" prior to reading "ADMTN", as I had forgotten how the McEvoy character had changed and evolved as "The Poet" progressed, and was surprised to find him so cynical in "ADMTN." In any event, "The Poet" can stand stand on its own. It was impossible to relax as the plot unfolded. Trying to deduce who's the villain, is quite an exercise and keeps you guessing and constantly changing your mind. Just as challenging is figuring out who among those who appearto be allies are truly foes. It is complex, but not Byzantine. Pretty amazing that five years later I was just as hooked rereading it as I was on my initial read. Do not miss this one.
Rating:
Summary: What a GREAT whodunnit/murder/mystery/thriller!!
Review: This was my very first foray into the literary world of Michael Connelly...and I would have to say that I chose a really great story to start off with. We start off as most murder/mysteries do, with a murder, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, however the police and it seems everyone else associated with this crime immediately dub it suicide and let it drop...however the deceased twin has other thoughts. Not under ANY possible conditions would his brother do himself in...but everyone continues to tell him that thoughts to the contrary are a complete waste of his time. His job as a journalist has instilled in him a desire to dig a bit further, and the more he digs, the more he is convinced that his brother was in fact murdered. As the plot unfolds he uncovers more and more evidence (one wonders after a while how inept the police could be to have missed it all...but anyway...) what HAD been a suicide now becomes a homicide. After a bit more digging around he discovers that this isn't the only murder our 'Poet' has undertaken. I also wondered a bit how in this day of shared information with computers how on earth these multiple murders with pretty much the exact M.O. could go without notice? Despite this glaringly obvious error (in MY opinion) this story was well written and compellingly so. I felt that I HAD to finish this novel as quickly as I could, if for no other reason than to solve this crime and get it overwith. I disagree with at least one other reviewer who felt that the story was too 'Scooby Doo' like...WHERE on EARTH did he get THAT IDEA??? Maybe this guy should be out there writing best-sellers if he can critique these books and have the gall to tell the author exactly HOW to write his books. Writing a story is difficult, but to make it good enough to make a living at is almost impossible, and takes a LOT more skill than most people realize, and 'The Poet' is a great story no matter WHAT was said by other reviewers--at least it was to THIS reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Poetic Justice
Review: I am becoming a Connelly fan. I have read 'Blood Work', 'The Black Echo', 'The Concrete Blonde' and now 'The Poet'. All of Connelly's books involve interesting characters and a solid mystery that makes you anxious to read on. I wasn't as big of fan of Jack McEvoy compared to McCaleb and Bosch but that makes it interesting too to have a different personality to follow.
Rating:
Summary: Read this in one sitting!
Review: I waited SO LONG for this book to finally get into my hands that I thought 'this has got to be great' and I was not disappointed! The thing that I like most about Connelly is the way he can write excellent crime thrillers without having to rely on one character throughout his books. I do love Harry Bosch but Connelly is such a talented writer that every book of his is better than the last, Bosch or no Bosch! 'The Poet' centers around the apparent suicide of a cop, Sean, who has left behind a note that is written on his windshield, it is a line from an Edgar Allen Poe poem, and nobody can quite figure it out. Enter his brother, Jack, a reporter, who is convinced that his brother definately did not committ suicide and soon learns of other cops that died exactly the same way. Jack gets involved with the FBI and soon everybody his trying to hunt down 'The Poet'. With insight into the killers mind & life throughout the book, this makes a truly excellent and riveting read for those who love Connelly's work or love crime fiction. There are a few twists in the ending to keep you the reader guessing and coming back for more Connelly!
Rating:
Summary: Michael Connelly is amazing!
Review: I have read this book and BLOOD WORK and I am eager now to dive into the Harry Bosch books. THE POET is meticulously plotted, totally involving, and impossible to put down. I am beginning to like Connelly more than Jeffrey Deaver, which I thought would not be possible. This is the sort of book that you want to finish because it is so gripping, but you are so sorry when the book is over because you want to stay enthralled. Read this one for sure!
Rating:
Summary: Simply 'Poetic'
Review: We meet Jack McEvoy, crime reporter, as he and a car full of police are headed up to inform his sister-in-law that her husband, Jack's twin brother, Sean is dead of an apparent suicide with a mysterious Poe quote smeared in blood on the windshield. As Jack begins to investigate the crime, he discovers more 'suicides' across the country with the same types of quotes found at the scene. Teaming up with the FBI to catch this 'poet', Jack gets further and further into the dangerous game that someone is playing, as they struggle to save the next victim. This book was a real page turner and I was up very late trying to finish this book in one sitting. **Pandora
Rating:
Summary: My First Connelly Novel, And Definitely Not My Last!
Review: I enojoed this novel the whole way through. I read the whole thing in two days, I just couldn't stop! The book was well-written, had great characters, and many other great attributes. I was shocked about the ending, but it turned out real well. I am going to the bookstore and I'm going to buy some more Connelly novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Out of SPACE, Out of TIME¿Full of IDEAS but Out of STYLE
Review: The Poet is not a bad book, not by a long shot, but likewise it is not a particularly good book. A first-person perspective story, we follow crime reporter Jack McEvoy's investigation into the apparent suicide of his homicide detective brother. The premise - a cop killer who makes it look like his victims committed suicide by leaving suicide notes comprised of lines from Edgar Allan Poe poems - is a very creative idea, as is the notion that the cop-killing serial killer is following another serial killer across the country without his knowledge and killing in tandem with him. The execution of the story, however, is decidedly lacking in both style and empathy, and towards the end you couldn't care less about who lives or dies. The story begins suitably darkly...As a result, [McEvoy] is a difficult character to engage with, and as it is his story, it does not inspire us to rush onwards to the end. Furthermore, at various points we follow the first serial killer in a third-person perspective, which has a completely different style to McEvoy. Though this obviously displays talent on the part of Connolly, the sudden changes in tone disrupt the flow of the story, making it feel disjointed in places....Add to this a thoroughly unsatisfactory and inconclusive ending, and a far from believable twist on hypnosis, and the climax of the book does not sit well on the potential of the premise outlined above. It just feels like Connolly had a great outline for a novel, but [he failed in] making the ideas concrete...Perhaps it is only a personal criticism, but as a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, I found the usage of his poetry very painted on. Such an enigma surrounds the life and writings of Poe, his feelings, his manic-depression and periodic bouts of madness, that I thought much more could have been made of it, but instead the poems were used, it seemed, only because they were easily applicable to suicide notes. Also, dropping Edgar Allan Poe, master of darkness, into a story which is not all that dark, makes it feel misplaced. If the novel had maintained the darkness and poignancy of the opening few chapters it would have been much better, but as it stands it feels like Connolly is trying to emulate James Patterson and falling short. On ideas it is very good, but those ideas mutate as the story progresses into things which never really come to light, leaving you entirely unsatisfied. And one final criticism: what's wrong with a bunch of people hunting a killer? Why does the killer so often have to be one of the hunters? It has been done and double-done. Maybe traditional crime has just gone out of style.
Rating:
Summary: And someone thought this comparable to Silence of the Lambs?
Review: The Amazon reviewers are far more on-target than the ones in the mainstream press who compared this to Silence of the Lambs. Hello? The only thing this book has in common with Silence is a female FBI agent and grisly murders. And just because the plot and characters mimic Silence, it doesn't make them "comparable". The ending is totally unsatisfying and asks more questions than it answers. But most of what precedes the final pages is entertaining and definitely a fast read.
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