BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
(Print: 11/10/2020; 9780316485623; Little, Brown and Company; 432 pages.)
Audio: 11/10/2020; Hachette Book Group; 9781549107481; Duration 12:28
(Digital: Yes)
(Film/TV: No.)

SERIES:
Mickey Haller Book 6; (35th novel by the author)

MAIN CHARACTERS:
Mickey Haller -- Defense lawyer
Lorna Taylor - Mickie’s 2nd X-wife and current case manager
Dennis (Cisco) Wojciechowski– private investigator and Lorna's spouse
Jennifer (Bullocks) Aronson – lawyer - Mickie’s newest hire
Maggie McFearson – Mickey’s X wife
Kendall Roberts – love interest
Harry Bosch-LAPD detective
Hayley Haller – Mickey’s daughter
Bishop -- New driver

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
All of the Mickey Haller books have a lot of courtroom drama, but I think this one has more than most. Great plot and characters and pulling-in of current events as always—don’t want to give anything away.

AUTHOR:
Michael Connelly (7/21/56). From Connelly’s website—"Born in Philadelphia, AP. Moved to Florida at the age of 12 (so that’d be 1968?) Inspired by the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Chose the major of journalism with a minor in creative writing. One of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews. Graduated in 1980. Worked at newspapers in Daytona and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, specializing mostly in the crime beat. A magazine article he co-wrote elevated his stature for the likes of the Los Angeles Times, which brought him here to California.”
NARRATOR: Peter Giles. According to Books on Tape, “Peter Giles is an actor and voice-over artist originally from Vancouver, Canada. His credits as an actor include The Life & Times of Tim, Portlandia, and Man Seeking Woman.”

GENRE:
Mystery, fiction, suspense, thriller

LOCATIONS:
Los Angeles; Nevada

SUBJECTS:
Murder, prison, court drama

NARRATIVE STYLE
First person

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter 1
“It had been a good day for the defense. I had walked a man right out of the courtroom. I had turned a felony battery charge into a righteous case of self-defense in front of the jury. The so-called victim had a history of violence of his own that both prosecution and defense witnesses, including an ex-wife, were eager to describe on cross-examination. I delivered the knockout punch when I recalled him to the witness stand and led him down a path of questioning that put him over the edge. He lost his cool and threatened me, said he’d like to meet me out in the street, where it would be just him and me.
‘Would you then claim I attacked you, like you have with the defendant in this case?’ I asked.
The prosecutor objected and the judge sustained. But that was all it took. The judge knew it. The prosecutor knew it. Everybody in the courtroom knew it. I notched the NG after less than half an hour of jury deliberation. It wasn’t my quickest verdict ever, but it came close.”

RATING:
I gave this book 5 stars for the usual reasons. ( )

That was kind of an all-over-the-place mess. Sometimes Connelly inserts puffery and Hollywood into his writing and it's darn annoying. In the early days of Bosch there was an edge. Even the first Haller book had a small rebel thing going. Now there's no grit or noir left in these books. There's not much of the night left in them. It's all daylight, well scrubbed environments and well worn routes.

I know I won't stay away from the books when they come out, I just had to get that out there. ( )

I really appreciated how the author must have gone back and added in the bits about COVID. I don't *think* he could have been such a fast writer that COVID was happening as he wrote the book. Super enjoyable Mickey Haller novel. Having Bosch show up always helps me get over the fact that he won't be around forever. ( )

Fast-paced and interesting. The beginnings of Covid are in the background. I'm not aware of any mystery; it seemed to be a straight procedural with lots of inside information about how defense lawyers operate. I think there was a loose end and I'm curious to see if there will be any followup in a future story. The policeman who pulled Mickey over got a text message right before he started to go after Mickey; who sent it to him and why? ( )

I mistakenly thought I would close out the year with a book by Michael Connelly, assuming it would be a good book to end the year with.
Unfortunately the book lasted less than 24 hours.
Outstanding!!!!
I don’t know how this author keeps pumping out such amazing stories.
You could read this without having read the rest of the series but why? Every book in the Lincoln Lawyer series is 5 stars and while this could be the last one it was quite possibly the best one.
Read this series and you will see why this author is so popular.
( )