BOOK REVIEW TIME

And He's Not Even From Nebraska!!!!!

Am I the only person in the world who had no idea what a "Lincoln" lawyer was until I read this book? I thought perhaps he lived in Nebraska or else had studied the great works of that famous president Abraham. What a surprise it was for me to find out that the word "Lincoln" had to do with the car in which this lawyer was chauffered around. Not only did he get driven around in this car, it was also his office. He handled his cases out of the backseat. I guess there's not a lot of overhead for these attorneys.

It's great not only to read a good book but to also learn something along the way. I've never thought of Connelly as a teacher before but he taught me something new in The Lincoln Lawyer and kudos to him for doing so.

In this book, we're introduced to a new character, Mickey Haller, attorney at law and attorney who has a fleet of Lincolns. There's no one better at character development than Michael Connelly and the reader is immediately drawn to Haller and, not only understands his way of working, but respects it as well. I just love it when an attorney has that moment in court where he's able to corner the witness -- it reminds me of having the best hand in poker and your opponent doesn't know it yet. This seems to be Haller's forte and Connelly gives Haller ample opportunity to show his wares and reward the reader with the outcome.

This is Connelly's first foray into the defense side of the law. Fans of his Harry Bosch series are used to being on the prosecution side and credit Connelly with writing great police procedurals. This is the author's debut legal thriller and, with just one book, he has proven that he is now a master at both sides of the table.

Another thing I learned from this novel is the importance of a "franchise" case. This is a case that will bring in so much money enabling the attorney to be working in the black.....and some. Thus is the case with Mickey's newest client Louis Roulet, a real estate agent but, more importantly, a rich "Momma's boy". One of Haller's nightmares is that of having an innocent client and not being able to get him acquitted. Louis Roulet, accused of assault and rape, might just be that innocent client Mickey has dreamt about. But believe me when I say, Connelly will not allow it to be this easy. This book is masterfully intricate and the ending is the grand finale to these proceedings. If Mickey had nightmares before this case began, he clearly won't be getting any sleep when all is said and done.

When I finished this book, I was excited to hear that there was a second Connelly book featuring Mickey Haller and picking up where we left off with The Lincoln Lawyer. That was great news to me. What was even better news was the fact that Harry Bosch would team up with Mickey Haller in this next book, The Brass Verdict. As I'm typing this, I'm one hundred pages into it and am just as satisfied as I was when I started The Lincoln Lawyer. There's nothing better than being enmeshed in a great book and I'm convinced that any book, with the name Michael Connelly on the cover, is going to be a winner. He's one author who has NEVER disappointed me. Ooops....I forgot about Chasing the Dime. Oh well, only disappointed once.