The Scarecrow
McEvoy encountered The Poet, and nearly lost his life for the pleasure, when he was a rookie reporter. Now, a “victim of the internet”, he is serving two weeks’ notice and training in his ambitious replacement who is a true child of the communications revolution, and also willing to work for a pittance.
However, Angela Cook’s zeal for success gets the better of her when the reporters probe the imprisonment of a young drug dealer for killing a showgirl. McEvoy finds a link between this killing and the horrific killing of a stripper in another state.
Both victims suffered extreme torture and rape with a foreign object before their heads were covered with plastic bags and tied at the neck.
Angela’s blog uncovers a dark side to the young reporter and her disappearance creates no panic in the office. However, when her trussed body turns up at McEvoy’s home, her head covered with plastic and tied at the neck.
The manner of the killing finally identifies a serial killer’s signature. Enter FBI agent Rachel Walling and, with the dynamic interaction between agent and reporter, Connelly has the device through which clue and counter-clue are processed and acted upon.
The child of the modern hi-tech era and the fossil of the glorious age of newspapers begin a quest that leads them to a data collocation company in the desert. Such companies operate as secure storage facilities for companies all over the world.
Extreme security is the selling point of this burgeoning industry, but what of the humans who operate the service?
What of the scarecrows who fend off the attempts of hackers and competitors to infiltrate the maze? Ultimately, in the clash between tradition and science, man is the weak link, but a weak link which Connelly transforms into gripping and compulsive entertainment.
