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Jack McEvoy is a newspaper reporter who mainly handles big murder cases. He has always been slightly removed from the horror and trauma of this type of event, until one story hits home. His twin brother Sean apparently committed suicide. Sean was a cop, who was hung up on the case of Theresa Lofton. Although they did not get anywhere with the investigation, Sean refused to allow it to remain on the back burner. Out for an interview, Sean is found dead in his car. Jack is devastated, especially when Sean's death is ruled as a suicide. In order to come to grips with Sean's death, Jack decides to investigate suicide rates among police officers. As he begins his research, he realizes that Sean's death might have been murder and that someone might be preying on police detectives. There have been several cases where the suicide note contains a passage by Edgar Allen Poe - too many instances to be merely a coincidence. Jack takes his information to the FBI and they reluctantly allow him to remain part of the investigation. Jack and FBI Agent Rachel Walling must find the Poet before another cop is murdered. Jack McEvoy is an incredibly interesting character. Due to the nature of his work, he sees the helplessness of every day life. Jack knows that life is not always happy or pretty. Throughout THE POET, Jack realizes that not only can life be ugly it can also be down right grotesque as well. As the book is told through Jack's point of view, it is obvious that Jack is the only character that is truly developed. The other characters remain somewhat remote. It is impossible to get a true understanding of Rachel Walling's motivation in life, as she remains aloof and mysterious. In fact, this book does not provide much motivation for the killer either. This could be due to the fact that Jack, as an outsider, would not have much to do with the investigation once the killer is caught or because regardless of the theories no one truly knows why someone kills. Either way, it does leave one or two questions in the mind of the reader. THE POET takes one well-known poet - Edgar Allen Poe - and allows him to become the symbol of hopelessness and despair. Poe's poems were slightly macabre and did explore his own dissatisfaction with certain elements of life. While it is very true that Poe was mentally ill and depressive, it seems almost unfair to equate him with suicide. Yet, given Poe's own history it might be fitting. The use of Poe gives this serial killer a hidden depth and truly demonstrates his mental state-of-being. With the release of THE NARROWS, which continues the story of several of these characters, Time Warner has re-released the book that started the story.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, June 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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