This is a book that I may have read before. I have certainly seen the movie, so the story was pretty familiar. But even though I remembered, vaguely, the outcome, I decided to read it anyway. Why? Because Connelly is a damn good writer. I like reading his books, even when I have read them before.
The is #4 (of 8, currently) by Connelly featuring Mickey Haller, the “Lincoln Lawyer,” so called because he works out of the back seat and trunk of his chauffeur-driven Lincoln Towncar. Actually, in this book he rents some office space, partly because his staff has grown (an office manager who happens to be his ex-wife, an investigator who is the ex’s new husband, and a first-year legal assistant). But he also needs an office to be close to the courthouse where he is defending a woman accused of killing the banker who was foreclosing on her home. This was a huge story which garnered national attention and Haller knows that it could make or break his career.
This is basically a “courtroom drama” story – it is mostly set in the courtroom, with some side stories (Haller and his other ex-wife and daughter and Herb Dahl, a Hollywood guy who tries to cash in on the client’s fame). But it is a really good courtroom drama which provides an incisive look at how a defense attorney plots a defense.
The “fifth witness” turns out to be NOT the fifth witness to testify for the defense but rather a witness who takes the Fifth Amendment. This was a key moment and resulted in a “not guilty” verdict from the jury. I am not giving too much away by revealing that because how Haller gets to that point is fascinating and because the verdict is not the end of the story.
Great writing, a fun read. I would read it again. And probably will.
9 out of 10.