I was intrigued by this book sometime last year when I heard Michael Connelly plugging the hardback edition on the Simon Mayo book panel. A regular Thursday afternoon fixture, authors face the potentially tricky prospect of sitting in the studio while a couple of invited guests and some listeners critique their books practically to their faces. What happens if they really don’t like a title?
Anyway Connelly’s novel was well reviewed and having ignored his name regularly appearing high in paperback fiction charts, I finally succumbed and picked up a copy of The Lincoln Lawyer. He’s called that because Mickey Haller is a defence lawyer who doesn’t have an office as such – instead he deals with most of his unsavoury clients from the back of his Lincoln town car (it turns out that he bought a fleet of four in one go to get a good price). He spends his time driving around Californian court houses.
The character’s well drawn with ex-wives scattered about the place, as well as believable investigators, police and bail bondsmen. I can honestly say I learnt plenty about the Californian legal system reading this book.
The plot at first seems straightforward, and you almost despair that the book seems to run to over 500 pages to clear up such a simple case. A woman has been viciously beaten, and a well-to-do young man is being charged with the crime. He seems innocent, but he’s definitely a victim of circumstance. Who’s set him up.
But as the book the goes on, the plot twists as all plots tend to, and you’re kept gripped wondering how everything’s going to resolve itself. Great fun and perfect for a beach read.
Just a word of warning: Richard & Judy picked this book for one of their programmes (or rather their producer who actually choses the titles did), and you will need to swiftly remove the sticker from the book’s cover.