The book begins with McEvoy learning that he is being laid off and that for the two weeks that he has left, he must spend his time training his replacement. From there, the book addresses many of the issues currently facing the newspaper industry and its employees.

As a former crime reporter, Connelly brings his knowledge of the industry to the novel and brings the newsroom alive. Maybe it is because I find the study of the decline of the newspaper industry fascinating, but I found this story more interesting than the actual plot of the novel.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the book. The plot was typical Connelly (this is a good thing in my book) with plenty of action to keep things moving and a bad guy that was certainly creepy.

One of the things that made this book less creepy, however, was that, like The Poet (the novel where McEvoy first appears) the story is told from both McEvoy’s and the bad guy’s point of view. This means that, even when McEvoy thinks he has everything figured out, you know that he doesn’t.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the time I spent reading the book and would not hesitate to suggest it to anyone who likes Connelly’s books.

On a related note, there are two other aspects about this book that I really enjoyed. First, there is a book trailer that gives some back story into events that happen before the book starts. You can find chapter one, chapter two, and chapter three, all on YouTube. I thoroughly enjoyed the movies. I also picked up on two two (admittedly inconsequential) inconstancies between the book and the movies. However, I recommend that you check them out. They contain no spoilers, so feel free to watch them before you read the book.

The second thing was that there are a number of websites referenced in the book. Those sites take you to secret locations on Connelly’s website that include additional background information about things in the book. As an added bonus, if you read the book on a Kindle (as I did), the hyperlinks are active and you can easily navigate to the sites with a simple click.

You can buy the book in hardcover

Or in a Kindle edition.

The basic premise of True Evil is that a divorce attorney is providing a service to the super wealthy in which, instead of divorcing their spouse, the doctor arranges for the spouse to be murdered. The twist is that the spouse in murdered by causing her (or in some cases him) succumb to cancer or a stroke. By ensuring that the spouse dies from a disease such as cancer, no one suspects that the spouse has been murdered.

Alex Morse, an FBI agent with a series of personal problems, discovers this plot after her sister tells her that the stroke she suffered was caused by her husband. Alex becomes convinced that, Chris Shepard, a doctor in Mississippi, is the next target of the murdering divorce lawyer.

Given the far fetched nature of the allegations, Alex is unable to convince anyone to believe her that the deaths she has identified are murders. Iles does an excellent job in the first half of the book of keeping the reader unsure as to whether Dr. Shepard’s wife actually is trying to kill him.

The second half of the book takes off as Morse and Shepard begin to learn more about the murder plots and as the attorney and his partner become more paranoid and begin plotting their escapes.

The final third of the book contains some great action scenes as well as just enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. One of my favorite scenes occurs near in the end of the book in which the lawyer’s wife chooses to exact revenge rather than save herself.

If you like thrillers or have liked other books by Greg Iles, then you should check out this book.