When Mickey Haller leaves the bar that night, his only thought was of the case he just won which had been the cause of celebration. When the police lights come on behind him, his first instinct was irritation. When the policeman says his license plate is missing, Haller finds it hard to believe and is starting to think that the policeman had pulled him because he knew Haller was a defense attorney. The policeman inquires about whether Mickey had been drinking, but he had been on the wagon for several years. Yet the policeman asks him to get out of the car and then says he needs to open the trunk. By now, Haller is pretty sure he is being targeted by someone he has made angry. He refuses to open the trunk but then the policeman sees something dripping and insists. Haller is as shocked as the policeman when the open trunk reveals a body.

Now Mickey is in prison and trying to put together his defense on a murder charge. The victim is a former client who Mickey had represented several times until the client stopped paying his bills. He is facing years in prison and a prosecutor who is absolutely convinced that Mickey is a murderer. Can he win his most important case?

This is the sixth novel in the Lincoln Lawyer series. Characters from the other novels appear here also: Haller's ex-wife, Maggie, his other ex-wife and secretary, Lorna, Cisco his investigator and his daughter Haley. Readers will get an inside look at the defense side of a trial and the legal maneuvers that Haller performs in order to prepare and present his case. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

I’m a huge Michael Connelly fan and thought this book was great. Keep them coming! Thank you for the opportunity to read/review.

Mickey Haller gets pulled over by police only to find out that he has a dead body of a former client in his trunk. Michael Connelly crafts a page turning novel that keep you hoping Mickey will find a way to prove his innocence (knowing he has been framed). The action never ceases and the staging of events bring you to the feel of real life crime drama as well as what goes on in prison when someone who is normally “on the other side of the jail cell” ends up inside. Great author and great read.

Mickey Haller is accused of murder but says that he is innocent. He decides to defend himself with the help of co-council, and seems to be blocked at every turn by the prosecutor who is convinced that he is guilty. Harry Bosch is also in this book, and agrees to help investigate the case against Haller to help him prove his innocence. Mickey doesn't just want a Not Guilty, he wants to name the guilty party to clear his name. This book was a great courtroom thriller that kept me guessing.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Another solid courtroom room thriller from Michael Connelly. I love that he included the COVID-19 pandemic (unnamed) as well as oblique references to the ineptitude of the current president. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Wonderful escape

I had forgotten how much I like Michael Connelly 's books. I happened across this latest Lincoln Lawyer episode on Netgalley and read it almost non-stop! Now I have to go find the books that I have missed!! A bit violent, a bit cynical about the system, with lots of twists and turns, this book will definitely be a wonderful escape!

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time limited e-arc via netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.

Michael Connelly is one of my favorite authors and he does not ever disappoint. On the night he celebrates a big win, defense attorney Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer, is pulled over by police, who find the body of a former client in the trunk of his Lincoln. Haller is immediately charged with murder but can’t post bail. Mickey decides to represent himself and has to mount his defense from his jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles. He has to watch his back because as a lawyer, he has made plenty of enemies. Haller knows he was framed but he has to prove it. As his trusted team, including his half-brother, Harry Bosch, investigates, Haller must use his courtroom skills to counter the damning evidence against him. I love the combination of Haller and Bosch.

Published by Little, Brown and Company on November 10, 2020

The lawyer novels that I most enjoy reflect the drama that is inherent in a trial and indict the frailties of our criminal justice system. Michael Connelly delivers the drama and seasons it with a stinging but accurate look at how police and prosecutors subvert justice to achieve their own ends.

Michael Haller (known as the Lincoln lawyer because he practices law from his small fleet of Lincolns) is pulled over by a cop for a missing license plate. The cop forces him to open his trunk and finds a dead body. The corpse turns out to be an ex-client who didn’t pay his bill.

The “lawyer as defendant” plot has been done before — Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent remains the gold standard — but Connelly gives it a twist by having Haller defend himself. Yes, Haller has a fool for a client, but he also has his own firm and a couple of investigators working with him (including Harry Bosch) and eventually gains the help of an ex-wife who takes a leave as a prosecutor to join his defense team.

In Haller’s view, the “law of innocence” requires him not just to raise a reasonable doubt, but to prove that a specific suspect committed the murder and framed him. Nothing else will restore his reputation and allow him to continue making decent money.

Haller is handicapped by being in jail during much of the time he’s preparing his defense because, as Connelly demonstrates, the bail system isn’t fair. When Haller finally makes bail, the prosecutor amends the charge to send him back to jail because that’s exactly the kind of sleaze that defense lawyers have come to expect from win-at-all-cost prosecutors. The prosecution also withholds critical evidence because that’s what win-at-all-cost prosecutors do. The Law of Innocence is fiction but it serves as a fair introduction to the perils that defendants face when a prosecutor is really out to get them.

The plot works for a few reasons. First, the story allows the reader to follow Haller’s investigators as they sift through evidence, concoct theories about who might have wanted to frame Haller, and chase down leads that eventually solidify one of those theories. The mystery comes to a credible resolution.

Second, it’s easy to sympathize with Haller as he sits in jail, paying inmates for protection but enduring a couple of beatings because jailers have little incentive to protect a guy they regard as the enemy. Haller suspects that at least one attack is tied to his case, along with the death of a man who might have been a useful witness.

Third, every courtroom drama rises and falls on the courtroom scenes. The inside skinny on strategy, both in cross-examination and in working the judge, are the lawyer novel equivalent of tradecraft in a spy novel. Haller comes up with some clever strategies that are unique to his defense. The novel is less melodramatic than Perry Mason — the real killer doesn’t confess from the witness stand — but courtroom drama builds incrementally as the reader begins to wonder whether Haller will be unjustly convicted. I love reading about fictional defense lawyers using their skill to outwit self-righteous prosecutors who have little regard for due process.

There were, I thought, some dangling loose ends regarding the way in which the crime was actually committed and the specific ways in which the police were used to frame Haller. But those are quibbles in a smart novel that moves quickly and maintains suspense from beginning to end. Connelly provides enough characterization to make Haller seem like a real person with real problems, but the novel is driven by plot more than characterization. The plot’s strength makes The Law of Innocence a good choice for fans of lawyer novels.

RECOMMENDED

THE LAW OF INNOCENCE: A Lincoln Lawyer Novel
Michael Connelly
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN 978-0-316-48562-3
Hardcover
Thriller/Mystery

It has been seven years or so --- excluding some crossover appearances in the Harry Bosch series --- since Michael Connelly has favored us with an extended visit from Mickey Haller, better known as the “Lincoln Lawyer.” The nickname, for those few who might be unfamiliar with the character, is the result of Haller running his criminal defense attorney practice literally out of the back seat of a Lincoln Towncar. It’s not so much due to an eccentricity as a practicality --- well, maybe a bit of both --- but it attracts attention, as we learn almost immediately in THE LAW OF INNOCENCE, the seventh (counting THE CROSSING in the Bosch series) of the Lincoln Lawyer novels and one of Connelly’s best to date.

About that beginning. It’s a good one, setting the level of suspense at a high mark that cranks upward with nary a dip throughout the story. Haller has just left a celebratory party which he had hosting when he is subjected to what at first seems to be an ordinary traffic stop. Things quickly go bottoms up, however, when a dead body is discovered in the trunk of Haller’s Lincoln. It is truly a what-the-heck moment, made even more so by the fact that the corpse is a former client of Haller’s --- one who still owed Haller a significant amount of past due legal fees --- and that his death was occasioned by a gunshot wound. Haller in short order finds himself on the wrong side of jailhouse bars, where he spends some time dispensing legal advice to inmates but more time preparing to represent himself in the trial of his life. This is made more difficult by the fact that Haller, being a defense attorney, has of course not exactly endeared himself to law enforcement, so that he is in as much danger from prison guards as prisoners. Haller has some help from places both expected (a certain former LAPD homicide investigator) and unexpected (you will have to buy THE LAW OF INNOCENCE and read it to find out who, but it will be worth it). The real meat of the book, however, is in the courtroom, where Haller is up against an extremely aggressive, vindictive, and vengeful adversary. Trial procedure is only half of the equation, however. It is not enough for Haller to establish that he is “not guilty,” as that term is used in jurisprudence. He must also show that he is innocent, and to do that he must discover why he was set up, and by whom. Haller instinctively reaches back into his past cases for an answer and finds a few of them, but knowing and proving are two different things. Even establishing both may not be enough as THE LAW OF INNOCENCE makes clear.

THE LAW OF INNOCENCE is a continuation of a return to form for Connelly which was initiated earlier this year in FAIR WARNING. Bosch fans who have been disappointed with that character’s slow fade into the background of his own series will find much to love here, what with Haller, the main character, being front and center but with a number of appearances by his older, more straight-arrow brother. The plot and its trimmings also provide a sobering look at the criminal justice system, warts and all, one that will cause you to add a criminal defense attorney’s number to your speed dial every time you leave home. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2020, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Lincoln Lawyer is back in action! This time, Mickey Haller is defending his most important client yet--himself. After being framed for murder, he must mount the ultimate defense to clear his name and point the finger in the rightful direction.

The book is fast paced and grabbed my attention from the start. At every turn, Mickey discovered he was up against more and more challenges. I wanted to know what happened next, what was discovered next, and whether or not he would succeed in proving his innocence.

As with all of Michael Connelly's books, I was engaged and couldn't wait to read more. I recommend this book if you like thrillers, particularly legal thrillers.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Lincoln lawyer is back, defending himself against a murder charge. Mickey Haller is charged with murder after a body was found in his trunk. Haller is sent to prison awaiting a speedy trial in which he will defend himself against the charges. I liked the fact that the book brings back familiar characters from other Lincoln Lawyer books who help Haller during the trial. Courtroom drama at it’s best!

Mickey Haller is in a literal fight for his life when a dead body is found in the trunk of his car. It turns out to be a former client who has made a career of running scams of a despicable nature and who owes Haller money. Haller is arrested and put on trial for murder. Incarcerated in one of LA's unpleasant jails he prepares for the trial of his life.

This book brings out Harry Bosch for needed help and former clients and even an ex-girlfriend. His ex-wife, Maggie, returns as co-counsel. His other ex-wife, Lorna, continues to work for him. The police don't fight fair which really ties into our current climate of distrust of them. The jail scenes with sheriff deputies is enough to make you want to campaign for reform. The district attorney is not much better.

The trial takes more turns and runs into an FBI investigation of a huge scam of the government. It seems that Haller meets roadblock after roadblock. It makes you wonder how an average citizen gets justice when an experienced defense attorney has such a hard time of being treated fairly. I was a little miffed at the legal system by the time I finished this.

It was a great read and kept me captivated. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next.
Thanks to Net Galley and Little, Brown and Company for a copy of this book in exchange for a free review.

Mickey Haller has been set up. When the police stop him, he discovers his vanity plate is missing and there’s blood leaking from the trunk. Overwhelming evidence sends Haller to Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown LA because he can’t pay the $5 million bond. His defense team helps him gather evidence as he prepares his case. And with someone like Harry Bosch helping him, the reader will find some relief in knowing that Harry’s defense in safe hand. Connelly writes with authority whether he’s writing about the legal field or the inside workings of the LAPD. This thriller is proof of that. It’s hard to put down once you start reading.

The Lincoln Lawyer is back and this time he’s in jail preparing for the case of his life - literally. Old clients come back to haunt Mickey as he is set up for a murder charge. The prosecution is happy, in fact determined, to put him away. He wants his speedy trial so tension caused by time constraints in intense. Add to this the difficulty of mounting a defense from inside the prison and you’ve got a pretty gripping story. FYI- The trial is set for February 2020 so there are some virus allusions in the later pages. Enjoy!

Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer, is pulled over by police and a body is found in his trunk. The victim is a former client of Haller's and still owes him money. Haller is arrested for murder and has to build his defense from jail.

With the help of Harry Bosch and others, he pieces together the story behind the murder. Someone wants Mickey to go down for this murder, and will stop at nothing for this to happen.

This is a five-star Connelly book, and you will want to read in one sitting.

Does anyone write a tighter, more suspenseful mystery than Michael Connelly? I don't think so.

One of the joys of Michael Connelly is his continuing characters and I'm so glad he brings back Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller in The Law of Innocence.. Connelly wastes no time at all in getting Haller in a jam. When a dead ,body is found in his trunk, Haller is soon fighting for his own life. The case against him seems pretty airtight, pretty solid, but once Connelly does what Connelly does best, Haller begins the fight of his life in the most ingenious ways.

The courtroom scenes are superb, and always innovative. I love the familiar characters we encounter along the way: Bosch, Cisco, the children, they're all here. I even love that Connelly finds a way to weave in very contemporary and current events into story.

This is an easy five stars for me; I have to love Connelly always staying fresh and constantly delivering a winner time and time again. Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown & Company for the ARC.

Mickey Haller is back, with his most important capital murder client yet .... Mickey Haller.

I tell you, I have loved Michael Connelly for years and when he has a SECOND new book out this year, AND I get to preview it early, it is like Christmas coming early. And though I usually prefer the Bosch books, I dare to say that this is Connelly’s best Mickey Haller book yet. I mean, is there a better setup than the police pulling over the Lincoln Lawyer only to find a body in his famous trunk? And that’s just the beginning!

The story from there is Connelly’s usual brand of fantastic, but with even more intensity and higher stakes, because this time the life Mickey is saving in court is his own. Connelly lays out his usual perfectly written and fastidiously researched tale. As a former criminal lawyer, I can tell you that not only I, but many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle comprise an ongoing fanclub for Connelly for just how right he always gets criminal procedure, police procedure, and the law and justice in general. I sure wish every cop I ever worked with was like Harry Bosch and I also wish I had an opportunity to go up against (and probably be wrecked in court by) the great Mickey Haller.

This is a great, nuanced work with cameos from all of our favorites (Bosch, Cisco) and some particularly wonderful scenes. I loved watching Mickey pick his own jury and also loved a totally ingenious bail argument that I’m sure defense attorneys around the country will soon be stealing. But most of all I loved the reinvigoration of an old relationship of Mickey’s. No spoilers, but if you know you know and you’ll love it as I did. Though this isn’t the first Lincoln Lawyer book, it works perfectly as a standalone and is, in my opinion, even better than the original first Lincoln Lawyer book.

An easy five stars, and one of my favorite books this year — this book has heart, gravity and import. You will learn and feel as you read about the wrongful accusation against a character you know and love. It is also amazing, and equally compelling, how Connelly worked the pandemic into the plot. Highly recommended to both new readers and Connelly fans.

Huge thanks to Little, Brown, NetGalley, and the amazing Michael Connelly for his brilliant ongoing perspective on justice and the law.

The drama in The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly was exceptional. The stakes were high, but Haller and his "family" came through.

This book was received as an ARC from Little, Brown and Company in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have been craving a good mystery and Michael Connelly never disappoints. I am familiar with the first two books of this series and I love how determined he makes the characters to solve the greatest mysteries and prove that the truth will set you free. I couldn't help but be really invested with Mickey's story and the case that the body was found in the trunk of his car and he will stop at nothing to prove his innocence no matter what it takes. This is just what the doctor ordered and it could not have come at a better time.

We will consider adding this title to our Mystery collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Michael Connelly is one of my favorite authors - I’m a fan of each of his main characters. This is the first time we’ve heard from Micky Haller in a while (although he’s made appearances in others of MC’s series). This time, he’s in quite a fix. He’s pulled over for a traffic stop and a body is found in the trunk of his car. He’s obviously being framed, but by whom?
The book moves at a super swift pace. With Connelly, you never know where he’s going to take you. It’s never a straight line to the finish. And even as he hones in on who may be to blame, how will he prove it? Because let’s face it, just because he’s innocent won’t mean he couldn’t be found guilty. “The only way to prove I didn’t do it is to prove who did...that’s the law of innocence.”
Harry Bosch even makes an appearance, investigating angles to help his half brother.
There’s lots of legal meat here in addition to the mystery aspect. It worked perfectly to keep my interest (no mean feat these days). I tore through this book in less than two days. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an engrossing legal thriller.
In an interesting turn, this is the first fiction I’ve read that incorporates the Corona-19 Virus. It makes me wonder how many more will as time goes on.