Thank you for this thoughtful take on the book(s). I hope
Haller's return in the next one is up to snuff. I think it is
of the opposite construction. The last 200 pages qualify it
as a legal thriller.
--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "logan keith (keith)"
<keith@...> wrote:
>
> Yes, this book does fly! For a 500-pager it goes
quickly.
>
> While I have long been an ardent fan of Connelly's
Harry Bosch series, I have also felt
that his non-series books have left a lot to be desired (with
the exception of The Poet). So when I sat down with The
Lincoln Lawyer, my expectations were not high; a legal
thriller, to boot! Imagine my surprise when I discovered this
to be one of Connelly's best-written books.
>
> From paragraph one the author slides details in with
wit and grace: Mickey Haller likes
to keep the window in his office open, yet by page 3 we
realize that he is in a car. Hence the office is his car, a
unique situation to be sure, but Connelly lets this curious
information out quite subtly instead of making a big
production about it. The first sign that this is a
winner.
>
> On page 5 Haller thinks about Jesus Menendez, a
pivotal character who we only actually
meet around page 200. But he is mentioned a few times, to set
the stage, again nothing dramatic, very subtle. It is the
first indication that this novel will be become a search for
doing the right thing, to set things straight; Haller spends
a significant amount of time justifying his actions as a
defence attorney, that someone has to do the job and that he
does it as well as anyone and feels no guilt about it.
>
> This is an extremely well-structured novel, with
many twists. Until page 200 it is a
straight legal thriller, with Haller building a case to save
his client, Louis Roulet. Then he discovers something that
leads him to believe that Roulet is guilty, and we are
finally introduced to Menendez. So the novel shifts, and
becomes about Haller somehow trying to implicate his own
client, and free a former client, all without endangering his
status as a lawyer.
>
> Along the way we have met other important characters
like Raul Levin, an investigator/
friend of Haller's. Another small yet cool detail has Levin
bringing some uneaten steaks home to his dog, a dog whose
barking on a phone message later helps pinpoint a time of
death. Small things like this just show how well-structured
this book is. Haller's relationship with his first ex-wife is
key, as she slips some essential evidence out during a weak
moment. Maggie is a prosecuting attorney, and the
oppositional nature of their jobs is fodder for some
reflections on Haller's part, again justifying his role in
trying hard to get obviously guilty people as light a
sentence as possible. Also Haller's relationship with his
daughter, all off-stage, is a driving force for his wanting
to do the right thing. Which of course is what transforms
Haller after discovering Menendez's innocence.
>
> So the book goes from a straight legal thriller to a
quest for vindication to a revenge
story, with many twists. With many more twists! Heck, 20
pages from the end we still have not received an explanation
for how Roulet committed a key murder, and therein lies a
final, bitter twist that I, for one, did not see coming at
all. Great writing. highly engaging and engrossing, one of
those "could not put it down, read it in one sitting" type
books. A rare bird.
>
> With The Lincoln Lawyer Michael Connelly proved to
me that he can write. Period. Not
just Harry Bosch. I am consequently a bigger fan than ever,
and that's saying a lot since I've been around since The
Black Ice (got a signed arc on my shelf) and I consider the
one- two combo of The Conrete Blonde and The Last Coyote to
be modern classics in the crime fiction genre. Imagine how
thrilled I am that in Connelly's next novel Bosch and Haller
meet! Connelly remains one of my few must have hardcover
purchases, except now that includes his non-Bosch
books.
>
> Thanks, Michael, for so many hours of great
entertainment.
>
> Keith Logan
>
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