Starred review from May 2, 2011
Attorney Mickey Haller, who's making his fourth appearance in Connelly's April novel, The Fifth Witness, got his start in this 2005 legal thriller, the audio version of which is being reprised to tie in with the Lionsgate film adaptation. Its return is welcome. The book about a defense attorney who uses a Lincoln town car for an office is richly plotted, humorous, suspenseful, and full of surprisingly human touches. It's also populated by a large cast of colorful characters that allow Adam Grupper the opportunity to strut his stuff, shifting effortlessly from gruff, hardcore bikers to Beverly Hills society matrons. But he really shines during the poignant scenes involving Haller and the client whose trial he lost and the highly charged confrontation scenes between him and the homicidal socialite playboy Louis Roulet whose trial he fears he may win. A Grand Central hardcover.
Starred review from September 5, 2005
Veteran bestseller Connelly enters the crowded legal thriller field with flash and panache. Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller regularly represents lowlifes, but he's no slickster trolling for loopholes in the ethics laws. He's haunted by how he mishandled the case of (probably innocent) Jesus Menendez, and, though twice divorced, he's on good terms with his ex-wives; one of them manages his office, and the other, an ambitious assistant DA, occasionally tumbles back into bed with him. When Mickey signs on to defend young real estate agent Louis Roulet against charges of assault, he can't help seeing dollar signs: Roulet's imperious mother will spend any amount to prove her beloved son's innocence. But probing the details of the case, Mickey and private investigator Raul Levin dig up a far darker picture of Roulet's personality and his past. Levin's murder and a new connection to the Menendez case make Mickey wonder if he's in over his head, and his defense of Roulet becomes a question of morality as well as a test of his own survival. After Connelly spends the book's first half involving the reader in Mickey's complex world, he thrusts his hero in the middle of two high-stakes duels, against the state and his own client, for heart-stopping twists and topflight storytelling.
Starred review from December 5, 2005
Connelly's first legal thriller has gotten virtually universal raves for its courage, plotting and humor—and those qualities also make the audio version a triumph. Grupper vividly brings to life Connelly's large cast of characters: from the shrewd, hard-working criminal defense lawyer Mickey Haller—whose office is the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car and who spends his advertising budget in the Yellow Pages—to the sleazy collection of biker outlaws, con artists and prostitutes who make up most of his clients. Grupper is especially subtle as he reads the words of Louis Ross Roulet, a Beverly Hills real estate agent charged with attempted murder—a character whose guilt and motives darken at every appearance. Haller distrusts Roulet almost immediately, but he also sees the man's wealthy mother as the source of the long-running financial franchise every criminal lawyer longs for. Grupper's take on Connelly's scenes between Haller and Roulet is taut and fascinating: an audio tour-de-force of the highest order. Equally compelling are Haller's scenes with his two ex-wives; his friend and investigator; and a compelling client from the past who went to prison because Mickey couldn't believe he was innocent. Simultaneous release with the Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, Sept. 5).