The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
I had no idea when I began reading The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly that it was such a highly regarded mystery novel. I had heard of the movie starring Matthew McMcConaughey, so when the ebook went on sale for $2.99 I figured it was a pretty safe bet to be entertaining. It was all that and more. It’s no wonder that in 2006 it was awarded the Shamus Award and the Macavity Award for best mystery novel and, in 2010 was nominated for the Best Mystery Novel of the Decade.
The central character is defense attorney Mickey Haller, whose office is a Lincoln Town Car driven around L.A. by a former client who owes him legal fees. When Haller takes on a wealthy client who is accused of sexual assault and attempted murder, what begins as an easy case turns into something much more twisted and sinister.
The Lincoln Lawyer takes the reader into the morally complex world of the defense attorney, and Connelly does an admirable job of immersing the reader into Haller’s life.
I enjoyed the book immensely and couldn’t put it down. It’s definitely gritty and dark, but it also has strong character development, compelling courtroom drama, and enough plot twists to keep you guessing until the very end.
Fans of Michael Connelly probably already know this, but Mickey Haller is related to Connelly’s other major character, Harry Bosch. If The Lincoln Lawyer is representative of Connelly’s other novels, then I’ll definitely be looking to read more of his books.
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005
Print length: 528 pages
