Reviewed on Richard and Judy on 22 March 2006. He’s a well-known, bestselling American author of fast-paced crime but this one is a little out of the norm. It’s a fascinating insight into the workings of the American legal system, there are many such but this is very good. The devious, almost illegal, way the system can be manipulated is highly informative and enthralling. This title is also available as an Audiobook, in either CD or cassette format.
They're called Lincoln Lawyers: the bottom of the legal food chain, the criminal defence attorneys who operate out of the back of a Lincoln car, travelling between the courthouses of Los Angeles county to take whatever cases the system throws in their path.
Mickey Haller has been in the business a long time, and he knows just how to work it, how to grease the right wheels and palms, to keep the engine of justice working in his favour. When a Beverly Hills rich boy is arrested for brutally beating a woman, Haller has his first high-paying client in years. The evidence mounts on the defence's side, and he is sure this is going to be a slam-dunk. He might even be in the rare position of defending a client who is actually innocent.
But as Haller knows, criminal cases can turn on a dime; when his case starts to fall apart and neither the suspect nor the victim are quite who they seem, Haller quickly discovers that when you swim with the sharks, it's easy to wind up as prey.
Michael Connelly is a former police reporter for the LOS ANGELES TIMES and the international bestselling author of the Harry Bosch thriller series. He is the author of several standalones, including the highly acclaimed legal thriller, THE LINCOLN LAWYER, which was selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club. BOSCH, the TV series based on Michael's novels, is the most watched original series on Amazon Prime Instant Video and has just been commissioned for a second series. His novel Blood Work was adapted into a film in 2002 with a screenplay by Brian Helgeland and direction by Clint Eastwood, who also played the lead role. Connelly's novel The Lincoln Lawyer was made into a film in 2011, with Matthew McConaughey playing defense lawyer Michael "Mickey" Haller. He occasionally makes guest appearances as himself in the ABC comedy/drama TV series Castle.
His books have been translated into 31 languages and have won awards all over the world, including the EDGAR and ANTHONY AWARDS. Fifty-eight million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and he has been translated into thirty-nine foreign languages.
