Feb 18, 2008 Posted by Nancy Williams on Feb 18, 2008 in 888 Challenge, Books read, Crime Fiction | 0 comments

The Lincoln Lawyer – Michael Connelly

Mickey Haller’s office is the back of his car. He conducts his business as a defence attorney from the back seat of his Lincoln, defending criminals of all shades – drug dealers, prostitutes, rapists and thieves. And then Louis Roulet, arrested for assault, specifically asks for Haller to defend him. Suddenly, the Lincoln Lawyer is forced to question whether he can even spot innocence, and how deeply his career choice has taken him over to the side of his clients.

Having studied Law at university (and not having a particularly enjoyable time of it) I came to this book with mixed feelings. Would I have picked it up had it not been one of my reading group books this month? I am not sure. But having read several of  Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series, I was happy to give it a try. I wasn’t disappointed. In contrast to Patterson’s book, I found the storyline more intricate. I both liked and disliked Haller which made him very real.  And although I had to force my way through the courtroom drama a little, I did enjoy it enough to get it finished within three days of starting!

What I enjoyed so much about this book was that each vital plot point was held together with some fascinating fabric. Although the descriptions of some of the other cases Haller was dealing with were inconsequential, they were still interesting, to the point of me not even noticing that they weren’t fundamental to the story. I also liked the fact that after the whole ordeal, rather than finding some artificial ‘new path’ and turning to a more ‘moral’ business, Haller stuck with what he knew. He was brought up a defence lawyer, and he remained a defence lawyer – his skin staying thick and his priorities firmly embedded in the reality of business rather than the confusing maze of morals. As he said, he is a fundamental part of the legal system. Without him, it wouldn’t run. That was his job, and that is what he did. No matter how flaky and manipulative his role may appear on the surface, he chose to work for a higher good. That, I respected.

Although written in the first person, I loved the way Connelly never gave anything away, even though it was in the mind of the narrator. It was difficult to see how he was going to get out of the situation, and yet at no time did you feel that the narrator was holding out on you. He’d clearly formulated a plan whilst he wasn’t narrating, which he carried out in secret. My only criticism could be that with him relying so much on what he anticipated would happen, was it perhaps a bit unlikely that it did happen exactly as he wanted it? Although having sat through numerous criminal trials myself, I know that it is not impossible for either counsel to steer the trial the way they wanted it, subtly but effectively, to produce the desired outcome.

All in all a good read from a consistently good crime author.

Rating: 7/10
ISBN: 0-75287-955-3
Publisher:  Orion
Year: 2005
Date Finished: 13th February 2008
Challenges: 2/8 of Category 1: Crime Fiction for the 888 Challenge