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The Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller #1)

by Michael Connelly (Goodreads Author)

3.97 · rating details · 22,952 ratings · 2,195 reviews

A New York Times Bestselling Author

New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly delivers his first legal thriller - an incendiary tale about a cynical defense attorney whose remaining spark of integrity may cost him his life.

Paperback, 432 pages

Published September 16th 2008 by Warner Books (first published January 1st 2005)

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Aug 04, 2009

jo rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller

this is my michael connelly tally so far: i have read two harry bosch and two mickey haller. i barely remember the harry bosch. the mickey haller dug a hole in my mind. this is not how things should be. harry bosch is michael connelly's hero. harry and i, though, do not connect; mickey and i are two peas in a pod. if he were real, i would very much like to be friends with mickey, though i doubt he'd want to be friends with me -- not because he wouldn't like me, but because he's the loner type an...morethis is my michael connelly tally so far: i have read two harry bosch and two mickey haller. i barely remember the harry bosch. the mickey haller dug a hole in my mind. this is not how things should be. harry bosch is michael connelly's hero. harry and i, though, do not connect; mickey and i are two peas in a pod. if he were real, i would very much like to be friends with mickey, though i doubt he'd want to be friends with me -- not because he wouldn't like me, but because he's the loner type and doesn't seem to like to hang out, unless it's for work, and i would have nothing to offer him. unless i were a client, which i most definitely would not want to be (it would involve either being a criminal or being someone who's unjustly accused of being one).

the mickey haller legal thrillers read more like hardboiled noir than legal procedurals. even the courtroom scenes are hardboiled. hardboiled feature number one: even though he's exceedingly successful as a criminal defense lawyer, mickey is considered a sleazeball, even by himself. as he tells us repeatedly, the cops don't like him and he has incurred the wrath of judges and of the california bar more than once. we, however, see nothing of this. in the novels, mickey seems ethical to a fault. the air of bad boy lingers constantly around him and we all smell it, even if we don't know where it comes from.

hardboiled feature number two: he defends shady characters and his investigative work is a key part of the action, even though in both books he farms it out to proper investigators. mickey haller may be a lawyer, but for most of the book he plays private eye.

hardboiled feature number three: he's a terrible father and he apparently seriously pissed off his first wife and mother of his daughter, even though, just like in hardboiled feature number one, we have no idea what he could possibly have done to piss her off.

well, we do have some idea. because, hardboiled feature number four, mickey is entirely his own guy: he does what he thinks he should be doing regardless of hours and time and social obligations. like a true hardboiled sociopath, he's solely focused on his work. i suppose that would make him an asshole if you were married to him. he'd be the husband you never see, who stands you up, who comes home at 3 AM but cannot tell you where he was.

also: mickey likes to drink alone. he drinks in bars and only when life is so sucky that you really have to. he drinks a lot of coffee and has breakfasts in cafes and sandwiches in his car. and here's the clincher: mickey doesn't have an office. he spends his workdays in the back of a lincoln driven by one of his deadbeat clients who is paying off a debt by being mickey's driver, or having meetings with clients in prisons, restaurants, bars, and, rarely, homes. never his.

mickey is intensely about the money. his one and only reason to practice the law is to make money. unfortunately, he's remarkably unsuccessful at it because he's, you know, nice. and ethical. and his own man.

i find mickey haller one of the most simpatico characters i have encountered in mystery fiction. i never remember what simpatico means in english but in italian it means charming and fetching and cool. likeable. i like that mickey has all these theories about the law and the practice of the law and the conduct of the lawyer and, of course, life and people in general, but at the end of the day it's also a lot of facade and the guy is always treading the thin path between the "what is right" and the "what i would like to be the case." he's a big teddy bear who likes to talk big and make himself look cool, but he can take it on the chin when things go wrong and turn his failures into jokes (though he knows how to be pathetic, too, and feel sorry for himself). i like that he is so blustery and self-assured and cocky while knowing all along that he's also a big fat loser. i like that being a big fat loser and knowing it doesn't put the slightest dent in his cockiness and self-assuredness. that's the way it should be. (less)

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Jan 21, 2008

Tony rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone who wants to see how justice is preverted and served

Shelves: crime-fiction

"You're a sleazy defense lawyer with two ex-wifes and an eight-year-old daughter and we all love you."

That's not writing, it's a regurgitating a cliche, and this book is litter with them, like confetti at New Year's Eve. The trouble is that the over use of cliched speeches and actions obscure a page turner, a novel decked out with top flight characters and scenes place it on the top shelf of its genre. Overall, the book is worth reading, but you'll have to fight the clich...more"You're a sleazy defense lawyer with two ex-wifes and an eight-year-old daughter and we all love you."

That's not writing, it's a regurgitating a cliche, and this book is litter with them, like confetti at New Year's Eve. The trouble is that the over use of cliched speeches and actions obscure a page turner, a novel decked out with top flight characters and scenes place it on the top shelf of its genre. Overall, the book is worth reading, but you'll have to fight the cliche gag reflex at least a few times.

Connelly pushes the novel along at a brisk pace, unfurling a solid mystery and introducing of to a goodly number of minor characters, who are well drawn and captivating. Even if the minor characters don't add to the plot, they fill in the details of what life must be like for a criminal defense lawyer who dreams of living the good life but finds himself stuck cutting deals for drug dealers. Those characters have a way of grounding the novel, setting it in seamy L.A., a subculture hopefully far away from most people's lives. In this, etchings from the justice scene in L.A., Connelly gets the details right, largely due to his ability to make the minor characters and their actions reflect the time and place, and more importantly give some depth to the main character. Well done there Connelly, well done.

Telling of Connelly's strength as a writer is his ability to make his leading character, criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller, seem likable even in the face of so many cops pointing out how Haller perverts the loopholes in the system to free clients, most of whom are guilty, guilty, guilty. Of course, Connelly does this by refusing to shine the good light on anyone who draws their salary from the state, the sole exception there being his ex-wife, a prosecutor who plays by the rules and pays for it by losing promotions to lesser qualified colleagues. There's a lesson there and you don't have to look hard to figure out what it is.

Connelly uses the framework of a court room procedural to background his story, a similar to the police procedural formula that's worked well for Ed McBain and his 87th Precinct series. Yes, the story does build up to a big a courtroom trial, and yes Virginia, there are couple nice twists at end that reward the reader for putting up with a phrase or two that's a stale as yesterday's meatloaf.

These more than enough here to mark me down as a Connelly fan, even if he falls into that "nobody understands how important defense lawyers are for the wheels of justice to turn evenly and fairly" claptrap. It's the only thing that drags the book down, but if crime is your genre, don't let this one get away. (less)

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Sep 20, 2011

Sam Quixote rated it

· review of another edition

I got the idea to read this from Nicholson Baker's article against Amazon's Kindle device where he said he had to finish reading this on his Kindle (despite disliking doing so on such a shoddy device) because he had to know what happened in the end. I'm not predisposed toward legal/crime thrillers as I think they're a bit too melodramatic and sensationalist (I was thinking of John Grisham). However it's an unfair generalisation as I hadn't read any books from this genre. So I picked it up not ex...more

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Oct 14, 2011

Bill rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense

It's been a very long time since I last read Michael Connelly. Way back
when he was virtually unknown I had somehow heard about him and loved
his first Harry Bosch novel The Black Echo. In fact, I still have a print of Hopper's famous Nighthawks on my wall, which I was inspired to buy because of that novel.

I continued to follow Bosch through a few more novels, and they began to pale for me somewhere around The Concrete Blond.

Then came a new character with The Poet ...moreIt's been a very long time since I last read Michael Connelly. Way back
when he was virtually unknown I had somehow heard about him and loved
his first Harry Bosch novel The Black Echo. In fact, I still have a print of Hopper's famous Nighthawks on my wall, which I was inspired to buy because of that novel.

I continued to follow Bosch through a few more novels, and they began to pale for me somewhere around The Concrete Blond.

Then came a new character with The Poet, which was fantastic. There were waves of unease that continued long after I had finished it. A few years after that, I read The Narrows, which was a follow-up to The Poet and it kind of fell flat for me.

So now comes another new character with The Lincoln Lawyer. I was pretty excited to get into this one as it was well received by reviewers and a movie with considerable buzz had been made from it.

What I liked the most about this novel was the lead character. I didn't
necessarily like him, but the fact that he was unabashedly in it for the money was a refreshing change from the squeaky clean defense lawyers we've come to expect from legal thrillers. Mickey Haller does have some conscience, though: his worst clients are the ones who you know are innocent. These are cases you cannot lose for fear of seeing an innocent person sent to prison.
But for Haller, winning a case for an innocent client is also a loss. It's a loss of the gravy train. Haller's bread and butter is the "franchise" client: he's guilty, and if he's well off, the payday can roll out through investigations, pre-trial, trial, and appeals.

So, yeah...a very cool basis for a character.

Unfortunately for me, this story didn't deliver the punch-in-the-gut I like to receive from legal thrillers. The story was pretty good, it certainly kept me engaged, but for the most part it was a pretty light read, and to be honest, a too easy effort from a writer I expect bigger things from.
I'm glad I read it, but I'm not inclined to read more of him.

(less)

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

The Lincoln Lawyer, a legal thriller, departs both in character and genre from Connelly's crime-fiction series starring Harry Bosch. As it turns out, Bosch and Haller are half brothers__a convenient device to link the novel to Connelly's popular series. Critics agree that his new character__a man who finds holes in the system to aid guilty clients and is forced to question his own moral code__is just as compelling as Bosch. In fact, notes The Oregonian, the novel "seduces us into rooting fo

...more

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Sep 23, 2008

Jim rated it

· review of another edition

This is one of the best books that I have read in the past few years. From the very first page, the reader can identify with Mickey, the protagonist, and what he has to go through to maintain his ambulance-chasing law practice and make a living.

Connelly has a taught thriller where the tension and the stakes are constantly going up. Mickey is a clever lawyer but sometimes too clever. His Golden Goose client turns out to be more than he had in mind.

Connelly shows that he is th...more

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Oct 21, 2011

Nene rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, fiction, usa

I bought this for my husband who desperately needed a good read to take his mind off stress at work and flying with Easyjet. However, as he started on another one, I couldn't resist starting on this one, it being holiday'ish and all. I didn't regret it, because Connelly is always worth a read. I have more or less stopped reading crime fiction, because I generally find there's not enough sustenance in them, but when I do, I often return to Connelly. And why? Because he is a master of what he sets...more

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Sep 18, 2011

Lauryn rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

It’s somewhat appropriate that I’m writing about The Lincoln Lawyer while watching the season finale of Castle since Michael Connelly frequently appears at Castle’s mystery writer poker table. I found The Lincoln Lawyer to be less of a true mystery and more of a thriller as the audience and the narrator, Mickey Haller, are sure about who is behind various questionable and many certifiably illegal acts. The question of this novel isn’t “whodunnit?” but how is he going to finally get caught, espec...more

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Jul 27, 2011

Michael Johnston rated it

· review of another edition

A taught, courtroom drama with a flawed anti-hero at its heart. This was an engaging page-turner. The genre and writing style remind me of Grisham, but the main character (Mickey Haller) is much more flawed than most of Grisham's characters. Connelly does a great job of creating and building suspense efficiently and then rushing to a sudden and somewhat unexpected ending.

Connelly clearly had a story to tell and one of my favorite things about the book is that he proceeded with effiency and di...more

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Jul 22, 2011

Jane Stewart rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: legal-mystery-suspense, 4-plus-star-other

4 ½ stars. Enjoyable, engaging, well-done legal suspense. The main character is clever and fun to read.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I enjoyed this. I was engaged throughout which surprised me. Normally I find most mysteries formulaic (slowly uncovering clues). This story felt different. I liked the process along the way. Mickey was a clever con man at times. For example, his client was worried about the press. So Mickey called over the man videotaping the courtroom process and ...more4 ½ stars. Enjoyable, engaging, well-done legal suspense. The main character is clever and fun to read.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I enjoyed this. I was engaged throughout which surprised me. Normally I find most mysteries formulaic (slowly uncovering clues). This story felt different. I liked the process along the way. Mickey was a clever con man at times. For example, his client was worried about the press. So Mickey called over the man videotaping the courtroom process and asked what he would sell his tape for. Mickey then bought the tape for $1000, which impressed the client. The client didn’t know that Mickey had a relationship with the video guy, using a code word between them to set the price. I loved the way Mickey’s investigator checked out details for Mickey, and then someone was dumbfounded about how Mickey knew what he knew.

During the middle I felt some frustration about a good guy being framed plus threats to kill his daughter. It’s not a good plot device for me when there is too much of a “helpless” feeling. So there was some negative due to the helplessness. Of course by the end he pulled out of it which made it better for me.

(view spoiler)

STORY BRIEF:
It’s told in first person by criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Louis is charged with beating a woman. Louis hires Mickey to defend him which is the main plot for this story. Some side stories include a prostitute who Mickey represents for free each time she’s in trouble, and Jesus who Mickey defended two years earlier. Mickey has a great private investigator working for him. Mickey has interesting relationships with his two ex-wives: Maggie a prosecutor and Lorna his secretary.

DATA:
Unabridged audiobook length: 11 hrs and 39 mins. Narrator: Adam Grupper. Swearing language: none that I recall. Sexual content: none. Setting: 2005 mostly Los Angeles area, California. Book Copyright: 2005. Genre: legal mystery suspense.(less)

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Jul 10, 2011

Ella Ella rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: crime, drama

This book was top-notch. I was glad I read it before watching the movie. The movie necessarily had to abridge the story for time purposes, and I felt that the characters weren't given enough time to really grow into people I cared about. The book, on the other hand, allowed me to feel compassion, anger, and sadness over the characters and their actions. I felt very connected and enjoyed the evolution of Mickey Haller over time.

I also thought the book was incredibly suspenseful. ...more

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Jul 04, 2011

Kitty rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, adrenaline-rush

I'd give this a solid three stars, though I think my hubby might be a little tougher on it. (It seems that perhaps courtroom dramas aren't going to be his kind of thing.) At first, I had concerns that this book might break one of my "rules": I wasn't sure that the main character was all that likable. But, he's a defense attorney... and that pretty much says it all. In the end, I decided that he did have some redeeming qualities, and that he wasn't just a complete slimeball. (By th...more

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Jun 13, 2011

Manugw rated it

· review of another edition

A MAVERICK LEGAL THRILLER
W
hat I have found in this novel is a blend of a deep knowledge of the subject, (the application of Criminal Law and police procedural) and a brilliant and poignant easy fast writing style plenty of colorful quick dialogues and images that makes this book a lighting bolt from the front to back covers.

The above features are skills the author acquired step by step from his past experiences creating his Harry Bosch series

The central character,...more

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Jun 03, 2011

Jessica rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Jessica by: My brother in law

This book was recommended to me by my brother in law. For the first few chapters, I was interested then as I kept reading I was captivated until at last I was hooked! I read every chance I could. I put the book down even though I did not want to but, right away picked it up the next day. I would go over a couple of minutes on my breaks & lunch just because I wanted to keep reading and see what happened next.

Now on to my review!

Mickey Haller is twice-married, but has a great...more

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May 19, 2011

Liz rated it

· review of another edition

Mickey Haller is a lawyer who works out of the back of a Lincoln. Hence the name of the book. I’m glad I was able to clear that up for you.

He is also a defense attorney which puts him at odds with a lot of people. His ex-wife (and mother of his daughter) works in the DA’s office as a prosecutor and finds his wheeling & dealing method of getting justice reprehensible even if she does know that the criminals need representation too. The police dislike him because they feel he works to ...moreMickey Haller is a lawyer who works out of the back of a Lincoln. Hence the name of the book. I’m glad I was able to clear that up for you.

He is also a defense attorney which puts him at odds with a lot of people. His ex-wife (and mother of his daughter) works in the DA’s office as a prosecutor and finds his wheeling & dealing method of getting justice reprehensible even if she does know that the criminals need representation too. The police dislike him because they feel he works to put the criminals they’ve taken off the street back out there. Even his clients tend to dislike him when they think he is over-charging or not getting them good enough deals. Despite this, his natural charm and silver tongue usually keep him from being hated.

He manages to dance through life without missing a beat very often. He has a young daughter he loves and manages to keep his head above water financially. And then one day he is contacted on behalf of Louis Roulet, a wealthy playboy who has been accused of beating up Reggie Campo, a prostitute. He’s thrilled by this – Louis Roulet and his mother are very wealthy and can pay him very, very well (his prices are on a bit of a sliding scale). It’s the big time and Mickey is thrilled, until he begins to notice odd inconsistencies in the stories Louis Roulet and Reggie Campo. This is further complicated when memories of an old case began to surfaces and Mickey begins to wonder if he’s faced with his biggest fear: a truly innocent client.

I’m sure I’m not the first to make comparisons between the author, Michael Connelly and John Grisham – mostly because I’m not big on legal thrillers and I don’t have anyone else to compare him to. In my opinion, the beginning of the book is dry with the descriptions of Mickey’s day-to-day work and his time in court. However, I’m glad I soldiered on, since it picked up as the book went on.

Mickey Haller is an interesting man. He lives in the shadow of a father he never really knew who was a famous mafia lawyer. He died when Mickey was in kindergarten; Mickey knows his father through the books he wrote. Often Mickey finds himself doing things because he knew his father had, such as defending ladies of the evening for a very low rate. Despite the fact it will never come, he still works for his father’s approval. He finds himself frequently questioning his lifestyle and whether it is something he wants to continue doing. Sometimes he dreams of giving up the law to start a cab service with his Lincolns (he buys them in sets of five).

And so my big recommendation: If you like legal thrillers, you’ll love this. If you don’t, you still might enjoy it. I thought it was a well-crafted story and I’m looking forward to seeing the movie.
(less)

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May 10, 2011

Beth Ziesenis rated it

· review of another edition

The Lincoln Lawyer was really my first foray into reading books on my iPad. I am in love with Matthew McConaughey, so I thought I'd start with a main character that I could imagine looked like him.

What a wonderful insight into the life of a small-office defense attorney. I'm married to a lawyer, and after I read the book, I scrunched up my nose to my husband to tell him how disappointed I was with his kind.

I loved the pacing and the story, but I found fault with some of t...more

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May 03, 2011

Lesley rated it

· review of another edition

This is possibly my favorite Michael Connelly novel yet. Mickey Haller is a great hero - or maybe antihero is a better word. Although his methods are legally and morally questionable, and he definitely makes mistakes, I couldn’t help rooting for Mickey. He’s a complex, sympathetic character whose job affords him almost no respect from others. The conflicts he faces are truly gut-wrenching - nightmare situations that actually made me tear up a couple of times. But Mickey takes on every obsta...more

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Apr 30, 2011

Wayne Walls rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller

This was a book that I listened to instead of read. I thought that the movie trailer looked good and wanted to read/listen to this before watching the movie.

The main character is Mickey Haller, a defense attorney whose office is the backseat of his Lincoln Towncar. He gets the biggest case of his life, defending a rich prick who allegedly assualted and tried to murder a woman. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader glued and reading till all hours of the night, or in m...more

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Apr 26, 2011

drey rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads, mystery-suspense-and-thriller

Ok, so not only does The Lincoln Lawyer look good, it reads good, too. Mickey Haller is a criminal defense attorney, which doesn't quite put him on people's favorite-person-on-earth (or even in LA) list. But he's nice enough to still be on speaking terms with both his ex-wives, which should count for something, right?

Anyway. Mickey is looking for his next franchise client, which means the $ comes in regularly, which boosts his ability to pay his employees and his mortgage. Whoever said...moreOk, so not only does The Lincoln Lawyer look good, it reads good, too. Mickey Haller is a criminal defense attorney, which doesn't quite put him on people's favorite-person-on-earth (or even in LA) list. But he's nice enough to still be on speaking terms with both his ex-wives, which should count for something, right?

Anyway. Mickey is looking for his next franchise client, which means the $ comes in regularly, which boosts his ability to pay his employees and his mortgage. Whoever said law was lucrative has obviously never done it in Mickey's shoes... When Beverly Hills rich-boy Louis Roulet picks Mickey to represent him in an aggravated-assault case, Mickey thinks this is his franchise client, and goes gang-busters to defend him. Until his digging starts leaving bodies in the dust. What do you do when you think your client isn't just guilty of the crime, but he's guilty of more?

Character: Maybe having yummilicious Matthew on the cover tipped the scales for me, but I really liked Mickey Haller. Yeah, he's a lawyer, and we've all heard the bottom-feeding-scum jokes, but he's nice. And conscientious. His gut-instincts take a while to convince his brain about his client, but watching the realization dawn and his resulting actions unfolding makes for a gripping, can't-put-it-down read.

The bad guy doesn't come across bad for most of the book, in fact he barely appears except when necessary. And you never see him as bad, you only see him as Mickey relates to his feelings towards him. Until he decides it's time to gloat, because they all have to gloat...

Pace & Plot: The Lincoln Lawyer is a pretty quick read, even at 404 pages. The story sometimes goes off on tangents, but they're there to show that Mickey isn't just dependent on one case, and some of his cases have an impact on others, while at least one shows his humanity. Because yes, lawyers can be nice people too. I've already mentioned that, haven't I? In any case (ha ha), you won't put this down until you've finished reading the last page.

Awesome beach read if you're lucky enough to not be in freezing-cold weather.(less)

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Apr 03, 2011

Ravie rated it

· review of another edition

In this court-room drama, Harry Bosch's half brother Mickey Haller, a sleazy defense lawyer works out of his Lincoln and handles the cases which involves drug-peddlers, prostitutes etc. He lands a big case in which a rich real-estate agent is accused of assaulting a woman with a deadly woman and sexual battery. The agent, Roulett protests innocence and at the first case the case seems to be an easy win for Haller who has all the tricks up his sleeve. But as things start tumbling out of the clos...more

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Mar 30, 2011

Sarah rated it

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Shelves: mystery, suspense, novel

I used to think I was a widely read person, but then I keep getting introduced to these really popular books that I would have never thought to read. Luckily I'm not opposed to being a bit of a genre slut, because I absolutely loved this captivating mystery by Michael Connelly. The Lincoln Lawyer gets its name from the fact that defense attorney Mickey Haller does the bulk of his work from the backseat of his Lincoln town car. Haller is used to defending drug dealers, prostitutes, gangsters, ...more

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Mar 18, 2011

Barbara Mitchell rated it

· review of another edition

I won The Lincoln Lawyer from Kathy at www.bermudaonion.com along with a movie poster since the movie just arrived in theaters starring Matthew McConaughey. This casting seems right on to me, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to see the movie.

All in all, I liked this book. My problem with it was that I just couldn't stand the major character who I hesitate to call a hero. Mickey Haller is a defense attorney who owns four Lincoln Town Cars which he bought at once when he had a ...more I won The Lincoln Lawyer from Kathy at www.bermudaonion.com along with a movie poster since the movie just arrived in theaters starring Matthew McConaughey. This casting seems right on to me, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to see the movie.

All in all, I liked this book. My problem with it was that I just couldn't stand the major character who I hesitate to call a hero. Mickey Haller is a defense attorney who owns four Lincoln Town Cars which he bought at once when he had a big-paying client. He uses one as an office, driven by a former client he helped big time, and when that Lincoln gets too much mileage on it, he sells it and uses the next one. At this point he has two left in the garage he has been loaned by the father of another client he helped. Meanwhile, his second ex-wife lives in a condo which she uses to be his office staff, answering the phone, sending correspondence, tracking down paperwork he needs, and sometimes showing up in court. They are friends, just can't stand to be married to each other. For one thing, he still loves his first ex-wife, the mother of his only child. That ex-wife is a prosecutor. If you think that causes a problem, you're right.

Haller's clients are invariably guilty and success for him is a deal that cuts down the prison time for them or even gets them off on probation, depending upon the crime of course. His greatest fear is that he'll get a client who is actually innocent and he won't realize it. Well, guess what - he thinks he has one finally and the guy is rich enough to pay staggering fees, but in truth . . . well, you'll have to read the book or see the movie to find out. Meanwhile, a former client sitting in prison really is innocent and Haller thought he had done him a big favor by getting him prison instead of execution. Oops! The plot is a good one.

Michael Connelly has created a believable, if unlikeable, character here. He does show that Haller normally does things legally and that he does have a heart, but the concentration is on how he can skirt the law to get the best deal for his clients. He comes off as an ambulance chaser to me. That's why I doubt if I'll see the movie even though I think McConaughey is probably well cast in the role. (less)

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Mar 15, 2011

Lori L (She Treads Softly) rated it

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The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly is his first legal thriller - and the first book in a new series featuring Mickey Haller. Mickey is a criminal defense lawyer whose office is the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car. He is cynical, shrewd, hard-working, and ethically challenged, but he also has a hidden shred of integrity left.

Mickey is generally scrambling to make a buck any way he can. When he is called to defend Louis Ross Roulet, a Beverly Hills real estate agent, Mickey sees a ...more

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Mar 13, 2011

Barry Graham rated it

· review of another edition

I've always felt lukewarm about Michael Connelly. In the late 1990s I read his novel The Poet in one sitting, and then excitedly bought some of his Harry Bosch novels - and I still haven't finished any of them. I found nothing notably bad about them; they just didn't make me turn the page. They didn't seem like the work of the same writer who wrote The Poet.

And neither does The Lincoln Lawyer, but for the opposite reason - it's far better than The Poet. No problem turning the pages wit...moreI've always felt lukewarm about Michael Connelly. In the late 1990s I read his novel The Poet in one sitting, and then excitedly bought some of his Harry Bosch novels - and I still haven't finished any of them. I found nothing notably bad about them; they just didn't make me turn the page. They didn't seem like the work of the same writer who wrote The Poet.

And neither does The Lincoln Lawyer, but for the opposite reason - it's far better than The Poet. No problem turning the pages with this one - it combines riveting storytelling with characterization worthy of Elmore Leonard, George Pelecanos or Dennis Lehane. It's never predictable, and its twists and turns never seem contrived.

Reading this book reminded me of why I love crime novels. Like all great books in this genre, it's actually about something. I just can't get interested in the stories of privileged white people getting divorced that are the substance of most "literary fiction." Around 20 years ago I read a review (I don't remember where or by whom) of Tom Wolfe's novel The Bonfire of the Vanities. The reviewer remarked that, for all its flaws, this was a book that knew what it was talking about. As an example, the reviewer cited a scene in which a bunch of young men being arraigned in court, one after another, all answered "security guard" when asked their occupation. This reflected all the time Wolfe has spend as a reporter, sitting around New York City courtrooms, which let him know that security guard gigs were the one form of legal employment that anyone could get, irrespective of social class, education or criminal history.

The Lincoln Lawyer has all of that book's authenticity and none of its flaws. Connelly knows the score. His lawyers, cops and criminals are the real thing, and so this book documents the iniquity and amorality of the so-called criminal justice system without ever being preachy.

This book has only one weakness - the dialogue. The characters frequently speak without contractions, sounding more like the characters in a Jane Austen novel than one set in contemporary urban America. But in every other way they are so convincing as real people that the sometimes unconvincing dialogue is only a small distraction. (less)

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Feb 24, 2011

Val Pearson rated it

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I chose to review the audio book and in my opinion, if you're going to read this book in any form, the audio book is the way to go. Narrated by Adam Grupper, a voice is given to Mickey Haller that is a perfect fit. Mr. Grupper transitions between characters in an eloquent and believable manner. His enunciation and the fluidity with which he speaks is simply mesmerizing. I could listen to that voice all day long.

Michael Connelly has taken The Lincoln Lawyer above and beyond most thrill...more

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Jan 22, 2011

Book Concierge rated it

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Attorney Mickey Haller has two ex-wives, five Lincolns, and a bungalow with a million dollar view of LA. He’s a successful defense attorney, though a little short of high-paying clients lately. But his luck changes when a bail bondsman he has on his “Christmas list” gives him a tip on a Beverly Hills playboy type who has just been arrested for attacking a woman at knifepoint. Louis hires Mickey and the roller coaster ride begins.

But Mickey begins to have his doubts that he’s in the...more

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Jan 01, 2011

Amy Wilder rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, thriller

This was my first Michael Connelly - Kim loves him so we got this from the library for her, but I ended up listening to it. I loved it. I stayed up late, sitting in my car listening to it. It was absolutely lean and perfect for the genre. You get a great portrait of this character - a man with a certain kind of ethics, a firm belief system that lets him deal with criminals without becoming one. He is a failed father and husband, but you get the sense that he deserves another chance. And th...more

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Nov 15, 2010

Zen rated it

· review of another edition

Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer: A Bright Legal Thriller, with a Firm Conclusion

"There is no client as scary, as an innocent Man" - J. Michael Haller, Criminal Defense Attorney, L.A.1962

The best reason why I enjoyed reading Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer, is the fact that I was able to get an inside look into the "Lawyer Morality". It is no surprise that to be an attorney, is the ability to be able to produce major amount of dollars. Yet,...more

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Aug 18, 2010

Rob McMinn rated it

· review of another edition

Promising new franchise for Connelly, with an interesting character in Mickey Haller, a lawyer who pragmatically foregoes an office and works instead from the back of his car. You get a real sense of his life as a lawyer in the urban sprawl of LA, and his pragmatism extends to his approach to ethics and morality.

Connelly is on the top of his form, and you have to admire the amount of research he must have done to fully understand the world of the Lincoln Lawyer, and the court system ...more

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Jul 06, 2010

Dlora rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: legal-thriller

I think Connelly writes well, creates likeable, intelligent, intriguing characters, and has good twisty plots. I particularly enjoyed the world of criminal defense law in this story. I didn't realize before that one of the judge's chief jobs is jury management--to be sure that the jury is comfortable and engaged, which often translates into lots of breaks, short and long. And did you know that when the judge calls the lawyers up to the bench for a private conversation, they turn on a sound neutr...more

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About Michael Connelly

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one o...moreLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.
After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.
After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with 18 more novels.
Connelly's books have been translated in 35 languages and have won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), and Premio Bancarella Award (Italy).
Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael was one of the creators, writers, and consulting producers of Level 9, a TV show about a task force fighting cyber crime, that ran on UPN in the Fall of 2000.
Michael lives with his family in Florida.

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“I view people two ways. They're either eye-for-an-eye people or they are turn-the-cheek people.” — 16 people liked it

“There is no client as scary as an innocent man.(J.Michael Haller)” — 14 people liked it

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