Tuesday, September 25, 2007

The Lincoln Lawyer

I'm always game for a lawyer book. Any John Grisham I can get my hands on gets devoured very quickly, so since he hasn't come out with a fiction book lately (he wrote a very upsetting, but good non-fiction book, "The Innocent Man") I went on the hunt for someone else who writes lawyer fiction. Did John Grisham invent that genre, by the way? Hmm, I might have to look into that. Anyway, Michael Connelly is a worthy substitution. He writes a series for his character Harry Bosch, an LAPD detective, but this is about Mickey Haller, a criminal defense attorney. When you think of criminal defense attorneys, you probably imagine those ethically-challenged people from Law & Order who will defend baby killers if they get paid enough. Mickey sees the law less about innocence and guilt and more about manipulation and tactics. He defends drug dealers, bikers, gangsters and general purpose bad guys. Mickey is certainly no Sunday School teacher, but he loves his ex-wife and daughter and tries to do well by them. When they are targeted by a truly evil person, he's got to rethink his theories on guilt. I thought it was interesting how he justified his career choice and the fact that his office is his Lincoln Towncar was fun. The suspense was palpable and I thought it was a riveting read. Now I have to figure out what is the first book in his Harry Bosch series.

5 comments:

  1. I have read all the Michael Connelly novels and they are all equally good. Bosch is a complex character with a mountain of internal turmoil.

    You might like John Lescroart also.

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  2. I will see if this is in our library. I have never read him, unlike Nonna who is really on top of the game!
    Funny thing though, Red, every book I request that you recommend, the library orders for their permanent copy, instead of sending me an interlibrary loan. They are interested in your blog btw.

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  3. Hi RHB,
    You might also like David Baldacchi's 'The Camel Club'. Or not. The Camel Club is a group of damaged misfits that solve crimes and conspiricies. I thought they were great, but they annoyed Annie a great deal.

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  4. I love recommendations! Thank you Nonna and Sailor!

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  5. All David Baldacci is good. Try William Bernhardt too.

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