The Poet (novel)

Infobox Book
name = The Poet


image_caption = "Every rhyme means death"
author = Michael Connelly
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = crime novel
publisher = Warner Books Paperback (USA) & Orion Paperback (UK)
release_date = 1996
media_type = Print (Paperback), audiobook, e-book [http://www.michaelconnelly.com/Book_Collection/The_Poet/the_poet.html "The Poet" at MichaelConnelly.com] Novel listing on the official website of author Michael Connelly; Accessed on June 2, 2007]
pages =
isbn = N0446602612 (USA); 0752809261 (UK)

"The Poet" is a novel written by award-winning American author Michael Connelly. [http://www.michaelconnelly.com/Book_Collection/The_Poet/the_poet.html "The Poet" at MichaelConnelly.com] Novel listing on the official website of author Michael Connelly; Accessed on June 2, 2007] It was first published in 1996; a sequel, "The Narrows", was published in 2004. [http://www.michaelconnelly.com/Book_Collection/Narrows/narrows.html "The Narrows" at MichaelConnelly.com] Novel listing on the official website of author Michael Connelly; Accessed on June 2, 2007] "The Poet" won the 1997 Dilys Award.

The story is told in first-person narrative from the perspective of reporter Jack McEvoy. At times, the first-person narrative is used for a mysterious character. But, while narrating about William Gladden, Connelly uses a third-person narrative. The book also features FBI agent Rachel Walling (a recurring character in Connelly's novels).

In April 2004, "The Poet" was reissued in paperback with an introduction by Stephen King. [http://www.michaelconnelly.com/Book_Collection/The_Poet/the_poet.html "The Poet" at MichaelConnelly.com] Novel listing on the official website of author Michael Connelly; Accessed on June 2, 2007]

Plot

The books starts with Jack McEvoy relating how the news of his brother's death was broken to him. His brother, Sean, was a homicide cop, with the Denver Police, and was found dead in his car in a parking lot. Initially, the death was ruled a suicide and amongst the "clues" found was a "suicide note".

Jack McEvoy, though, was reluctant to accept that his brother had succumbed to depression resulting from his investigations, the last one being particularly brutal. Theresa Lofton, a young college student, was found in a park in two pieces.

After much investigation, Jack realizes that his brother's death was simply "made" to look like a suicide, and, through connecting the notes of Sean's death and that of a cop in Chicago to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Jack realizes that the killer is specifically targeting homicide detectives... and may still be on the prowl.

Awards and nominations

"The Poet" won the 1997 Dilys Award presented by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.cite web |url=http://www.mysterybooksellers.com/dilys.html |title=The Dilys Award |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/5aMnQELWH|archivedate= 2008-08-26|quote= |accessdate=2008-08-26]

Footnotes