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Best-selling author Michael Connelly, whose character-driven literary mysteries have earned him a wide following, breaks from the gate in the over-crowded field of legal thrillers and leaves every other contender from Grisham to Turow in the dust with this tightly plotted, brilliantly paced, impossible-to-put-down novel.
Criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller's father was a legendary lawyer whose clients included gangster Mickey Cohen (in a nice twist, Cohen's gun, given to Dad then bequeathed to his son, plays a key role in the plot). But Dad also passed on an important piece of advice that's especially relevant when Mickey takes the case of a wealthy Los Angeles realtor accused of attempted murder: "The scariest client a lawyer will ever have is an innocent client. Because if you [screw] up and he goes to prison, it'll scar you for life."
Louis Roulet, Mickey's "franchise client" (so-called becaue he's able and willing to pay whatever his defense costs) seems to be the one his father warned him against, as well as being a few rungs higher on the socio-economic ladder than the drug dealers, homeboys, and motorcycle thugs who comprise Mickey's regular case load. But as the holes in Roulet's story tear Mickey's theory of the case to shreds, his thoughts turn more to Jesus Menendez, a former client convicted of a similar crime who's now languishing in San Quentin. Connelly tellingly delineates the code of legal ethics Mickey lives by: "It didn't matter...whether the defendant 'did it' or not. What mattered was the evidence against him--the proof--and if and how it could be neutralized. My job was to bury the proof, to color the proof a shade of gray. Gray was the color of reasonable doubt." But by the time his client goes to trial, Mickey's feeling a few very reasonable doubts of his own.
While Mickey's courtroom pyrotechnics dazzle, his behind-the-scenes machinations and manipulations are even more incendiary in this taut, gripping novel, which showcases all of Connelly's literary gifts. There's not an excess sentence or padded paragraph in it--what there is, happily, is a character who, like Harry Bosch, deserves a franchise series of his own.--Jane Adams
It was okay... For some reason this left an unfinished and disappointing ending for me. Although it was a joy to listen to and kept me occupied while doing other things, it wasn't as good as I'd expected from the reviews. I'll still try other novels by this author, but I hope some are better.Excellent Legal Thriller This book had wonderful characters, a great plot, mystery, suspense and wonderful easy to read legal jargon that I enjoyed. This book was easy to read with short chapters (think james paterson) and kept me wanting to know what the ending will be. What a great storyline and I was hooked. I find the author has a sense of humor and it came out in his writing. BRAVO!Best Mystery Thriller I Read in 2005 I read over 150 mystery/thrillers in 2005 and I considered this to be the best one I read that year.
In this legal thriller, Connelly does everything right -- plot, characters, everything. I practiced law in Los Angeles for six years, and I consider the legal procedures in this novel to be highly realistic. This book is gritty, but so is criminal law in real life. This beats anything by Grisham or Turow. The trial scene at the end of the book is tremendously well done.
In particular, I recommend the audio version of this book, read by the excellent Adam Grupper. This is, quite simply, one of the best audiobooks that I have ever listened to. I normally don't enjoy audiobooks, but this one was first-rate.
Highly recommended to anybody who enjoys legal thrillers or thrillers in general.