Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 2/23/2024 + 1187 more book reviews

Another superior thriller from Michael Connelly! This is his third book featuring Jack McEvoy, the reporter who had taken down killers in Connelly's previous books, THE POET and THE SCARECROW. In this one, Jack works for a consumer watchdog website called FairWarning. It has a small staff but is dedicated to looking after the consumer. Then out of the blue, the police arrive at Jack's door telling him he is a suspect in the murder of a woman he had a one-night stand with. The woman died in a brutal way where her neck was broken so that she is decapitated from within. Because Jack is accused of a crime he didn't commit, he decides to look further into this and discovers that there are more women across the country that died in the same way. He also discovers that these woman had all sent in their DNA for hereditary analysis to the same lab. So what's the connection? Jack discusses this with his former lover and former FBI agent, Rachel Walling, who is drawn into the case. This all leads to discovering that a serial killer is out there called "The Shrike" who uses DNA profiles to target susceptible women.

I have read and enjoyed several suspense thrillers from Connelly including some of his Bosch novels. Connelly is a very prolific writer and he is able to keep up on the latest in police procedure and technology. In FAIR WARNING he shows the pitfalls of DNA technology and its possible abuse on the dark web. This was a great page-turner that I read in a couple of days and now I am definitely looking forward to reading THE SCARECROW. I read THE POET several years ago and remember thinking it was one of his best. Hopefully Connelly will write more about McEvoy but I know he is busy with Bosch, Renee Ballard, and the Lincoln Lawyer. In the meantime, I definitely need to read more of his Bosch series.

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