The Fifth Witness - A Lincoln Lawyer Novel

The Lincoln Lawyer #4

by Michael Connelly

Mystery novel

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Audiobook, Legal Thriller, Mystery Thriller

421 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2011

About the author

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 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 over 30 more novels.

Over eighty million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and he has been translated into forty-five foreign languages. He has 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), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain) .

Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael is one of the producers and writers of the TV show, “Bosch,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Michael lives with his family in Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida.

Reviews

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey!

No, I don't mean Mickey Haller, I mean Michael "Mickey" Connelly. I prefer the Harry Bosch series, as the Haller series tends toward long courtroom scenes. But really, I just love Connelly. His homework and legwork and writing quality and plot complexity are so far superior to others in the genre.

I recommend avoiding detailed reviews of this book. There's some exquisitely skillful misdirection in the story, and if you happen to read the wrong review it could spoil the whole thing for you. The twist at the end blew me away!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure, the more and more I was reading this book, the more and more this story felt familiar. And then it occurred to me that this book was one of the stories that was used in “The Lincoln Lawyer” Netflix series. So, that is why I thought I had “read” it before.

But, the book and series, still have their differences, so I read on.

We find Mickey Haller (the Lincoln Lawyer) at a low point, where he truly is dispensing law (foreclosure cases) directly out of his armor-plated Lincoln. Then while finishing up with a new client, he gets a call about one of his first foreclosure clients, a pain in his ‘side,’ named Lisa Trammel, who has been arrested for murder of the banker who was trying to foreclose on her home.

Where Connelly shows off his skillful writing, is in his courtroom scenes. And that is where half the novel takes readers. And, my favorite reading adventures typically are police procedurals and/or courtroom drama, so I was truly enjoying this part of the book.

The courtroom suspense and drama and plot’s energy, was compelling. And Haller loves to game the system in the best way possible, which shows a moral dimension that is presented lightly, but can’t be ignored.

As always, be prepared for the twists. Even if Haller defends criminals, or those who are presumed innocent, and we as readers may not like the character(s), it does not always mean Mickey Haller doesn’t win in the end. (Which means, we as readers, will most likely be satisfied, too.)

Also…one thing about a Connelly story, you have to be ready to know that once you pick it up, it is hard to put down again. Even, if it seems familiar.

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a difficult economy, the criminal defense business is not all that it used to be and so Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer, is reduced to defending clients who are about to lose their homes to foreclosure. One of his clients, a not very pleasant woman named Lisa Trammel, is not content simply to let Mickey wage the legal battle on her behalf. She begins her own campaign on line and in the streets to defend herself and others against what she perceives to be the villainy of the greedy bankers who are attempting to kick them out of their homes.

Lisa becomes enough of a nuisance that WestLand Financial, the bank that is attempting to foreclose on her home, secures a restraining order against her. Shortly thereafter, Mitchell Bondurant, the banker who heads the mortgage department at WestLand, is savagely killed in the bank's parking garage. Critical evidence points to Lisa Trammel as the killer, but she insists that she has respected the restraining order and that she was nowhere near the bank the morning that Bondurant was murdered.

Lisa retains Mickey to defend her against the murder charge and Mickey suddenly finds himself back in court, doing what he loves. He can hardly love his client, though, who turns out to be a major pain in the neck and who complicates the defense in a variety of ways. Mickey constructs an alternate theory to explain the crime and the question is whether he can get a jury to buy his suggestion before his client torpedoes the case and Mickey along with it.

This is another cleverly constructed legal thriller from Michael Connelly with a "ripped-from-the-headlines" storyline. The courtroom scenes, in particular, are very well done and will keep you on the edge of your seat. As in all of the Haller books, there is also an ongoing subplot involving Mickey's relationship with his ex-wife and their daughter. Connelly's fans and others who enjoy legal thrillers but who have not yet made Mickey Haller's acquaintance are sure to enjoy this page-turner of a book.

***SPOILER ALERT*** PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER UNLESS YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW THE BOOK ENDS!

As a side note, one of the things that intrigues me about this series is the fact that in these books, as in real life, virtually all of the clients that Mickey Haller sees as a defense attorney are actually guilty. This is still a fairly unusual thing to happen in a legal thriller. This genre originated, as a practical matter, with Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason series. Mason remains probably the most famous fictional criminal defense attorney of all, and yet amazingly all eighty-five of the clients he defended in this series were actually innocent!

This has continued to be the case with most other books like this. As the book progresses, our defense attorney hero must not only conduct a brilliant defense of his or her client, but he or she must also expose the Real Killer in the process.

To Connelly's credit, he doesn't do this. Still, though, he seems uncomfortable with the idea of allowing his hero, Attorney Haller, to exercise his considerable talents in the service of allowing a bad person to escape his or her just desserts. In the last Haller novel, Connelly addressed the issue by allowing Haller to switch sides and join the prosecution. In this book, as in The Lincoln Lawyer, we have another twist at the end that allows Mickey to achieve justice in spite of the brilliant defense he has mounted. To my mind, this tactic worked well the first time around, but I'm not so sure it's as plausible here. Connelly may have resolved the issue with another totally unexpected twist at the end of this book, and it will be interesting to see the direction that the author takes Haller in the future.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lincoln Lawyer book No. 4: Not my first Harry Bosch universe read, but my first Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller series read. And before I start recounting this volume I must say that Connelly has completely nailed the way to write serial books that anyone can jump in on in any volume and still enjoy the reads. Mickey Haller client, and online anti-mercenary banking advocate Lisa Trammel is accused and arrested for the murder of the CEO of the bank trying to take away her home; Mickey is less worried whether she is guilty or not, as to, can he really do his best legal work for a woman that he really doesn't like?

I don't look for much from these bestselling commercial writers other than page turn-ability; but Connelly treats his readers like adults and as ever, produces top quality crime and court drama that deservedly sells so well. Off of the back of this read, I've decided that I'm going to read all his books in 2024! Although note that I originally Shelved this as a thriller but changed it to Crime Fiction on completion; it is essentially a legal drama. A safe and solid 7 out of 12, Three Star read. I do like Mickey Haler, but not as much as I like Harry Bosch, Connelly's primary serial character, I guess. :)

2023 read
PS: This series was adapted for TV by Netflix for streaming in 2023 :)

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry gets into defending foreclosures during the housing crisis to make a buck.
So how does he end up with another high-profile murder case?
When his biggest pain in the ass client gets arrested for killing the bank executive in charge of her foreclosure, her first call is to him.
Who better to defend the underdog than the Lincoln Lawyer?



Harry takes her on thinking there might be a payday with the movie rights for this thing one day.
Little does he know that he's already got some competition from a sleazy small-time producer who has seemingly wormed his way into his client's pants, potentially screwing with Harry's only hope at a payout.



Nothing is ever quite what it seems, and there are a lot of twists & turns as Harry and his team work hard to find someone else who might have had a reason to want this guy dead.
Unfortunately, they have to discredit a witness that put her near the scene of the crime and deal with how terrible it looks that the bank put that pesky restraining order on her...



Because as it turns out, Harry might just believe this single mom wasn't the one who bashed the banker over the head. Is that a good thing?
Read it and find out.
Recommended for fans of the Lincoln Lawyer.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm on a Michael Connelly/Micky Haller roll right now. I picked up THE FIFTH WITNESS while on vacation and stayed up late the other night to finish it. Not to worry, I went to bed satisfied.
Once again, Michael Connelly excels in courtroom drama. What continues to amaze is how well Connelly thoroughly understands the Criminal Justice System, which actually is neither a system nor about justice. It's about who can best entertain a jury with their magic show and sleight of hand, which is often only smoke and mirrors that obfuscate the salient facts. Trials are about winning, not about justice. Connelly reveals the inner workings of the "system" and shows how it works/doesn't work. I loved it because it was so real and very much like what I've experienced during my many years in law enforcement.
Connelly's Micky Haller defends school teacher Lisa Trammel, accused of killing the bank manager she believes is responsible for the foreclosure on her home. He finds evidence to support her contention that she was framed, which adds to his passion to help win her freedom. Haller's feisty integrity pits him against a sharp and experienced prosecutor, while trying the patience of a Superior Court judge. My own ruling is that Connelly's plot, pacing, and dialogue sparkled. He did an excelent job capturing the demeanor and jargon used in sidebars and judge's chambers. This was an excellent read, and I highly recommend it.

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly can't believe how many 4 and 5 star reviews this book has gotten so far.

I've read nearly everything that Connelly has written, and read most of them in very quick succession. I hate to be one of those internet extremists who either ABSOLUTELY LOVES something, or declares it THE WORST THING EVER, but... yeah. This is about the worst book Connelly has ever written.

First, it seems rather obvious that Connelly wanted a Mickey Haller novel out around the same time as the big screen version of THE LINCOLN LAWYER, whether he had a compelling story or not. He even makes a lame reference to Matthew McConaughey at one point. Hilarious.

Second, Connelly's big sin here is really taking an interesting and topical subject (the economic and foreclosure crisis of 2009-2011), and failing to do anything really INTERESTING with it. Connelly himself has published some opinion pieces over the years with a conservative bent, so I was actually surprised that his explanation of the mortgage meltdown pointed some fingers are the big banks and Wall Street. Of course, a few lines later, he made sure we understood that MOST of the fault was with the people who took out loans they couldn't afford. Sigh. I'd hope anyone looking for information on what REALLY happened has read or will read Michael Lewis's EXCELLENT book THE BIG SHORT. I wish Connelly had. You could argue that it isn't really his job to do an in-depth novel looking at the vagaries of the corporate world, and that his readers aren't expecting him to do so. I agree, to an extent, but to simply use it as a plot device here seemed somehow cheap to me.

Third, the repetition of certain elements throughout the book became unbearable. How many times does Haller turn around and yell at someone because they missed evidence or failed to uncover something? At least three or four it seemed. How many times do we have people using first names during dialog? Seriously, I know that some people might become "confused" when more than three people are talking to each other, but do we really need "hey, Jennifer," "that's a good point, Jennifer," why don't you take it, Jennifer?" all within the same PAGE? Who talks like that? The courtroom scenes are also devoid of any tension of flow because the prosecutor objects and sidebars to every second or third line out of Haller's mouth. Might be realistic, I suppose, but it reads incredibly poorly in practice.

Fourth, I couldn't stand the way Connelly chose to structure this book. He gives us a dippy liberal (ex-teacher, of course) who seems too smarmy at first glance, but seems completely innocent. He spends the entire novel showing how this is true, finding all kinds of outside evidence, presenting the evidence, getting us on HER (and Haller's) side, and then OF COURSE revealing in the last few pages how we've all been duped and she had done it all along. The truly stupid thing is that she really SHOULDN'T have killed this guy, based on everything that we were told in the previous 90% of the novel. It made little sense, but I guess that's why Connelly made her have also murdered her husband-- she didn't NEED a reason to do it, she's just crazy! Duh! I'm not one that usually guesses the outcome of mystery stories early, but I *knew* that this twist was coming; Connelly made such a big deal about how Haller believed in her innocence that you just knew it was going to play out the way it did.

Fifth, I also couldn't believe the way Connelly chose to end the book, and his obviously skewed beliefs that defense attorneys are somehow evil and unnecessary to our judicial process. Yes, Mickey Haller has always been presented as something of a scumball, and he's always made grumblings about how defense attorneys are needed but hated, etc., etc., but here we have a man who announces at the end of the book that he's decided to run for the D. A.'s office because he can't stand "hanging around with those types of people any more." Really? There's no place in the world for a crusading defense lawyer? NONE of the people who are put in front of the courts ARE innocent? The government never abuses its power? Wow. I guess we have come an awfully long way from the days of Atticus Finch and Perry Mason. In this day and age where it seems our elected officials and our corporate "masters" are using the courts to their advantages, it sure seems like we could use a guy who stood up for the underdog. I guess we're past that these days.

Lastly, there's a rather disturbing strain of misogyny that runs through this book. Aside from Haller himself, nearly all of the other characters in the book are female, and nearly all of them come out looking like fools, bitches, or harpies. Not sure who broke this man's heart, but I hope he can seek help for these issues he seems to be having.

---

It really does kind of pain me to dislike this book so much, as I've enjoyed many of Connelly's previous works. Here's hoping the next Bosch book can redeem him for me.

[Diane Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good series! a more dramatic storyline..lots of courtroom antics plus lawyer stuff then it ended with a plot twist..well written (paperback!)

[Marcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually am a trial lawyer specializing in homicide cases. I've done over twenty murder trials on both sides, so I probably should just stop reading these kinds of books because I always find procedural and legal errors that annoy me and then I annoy everyone else by pointing them out and complaining about them. A disclaimer here: no on will watch any of the CSi or Law and Order shows with me anymore. Most common response I get: "it's just fiction, get over it.". So, I'm not going to nit-pick this book. But the problem with the book is not just an accumulation of little errors, the problem is that it is founded on a completely implausible premise: that an experience and presumably good criminal trial lawyer would base his entire trial strategy on being able to badger a witness into taking the 5th (or "flipping the dime" or whatever cute phrase he had for it). Only a very bad lawyer would do this because, in reality, all of that would have happened - if it was allowed to happen at all, which is doubtful - outside of the presence of the jury. In the context of the story it felt like a cop out, like the author couldn't be bothered to think up a strategy for his lawyer to use to win the case that was both compelling and strategically sound. I know that the author is not a lawyer, but if he has elected to write a story that is focused almost entirely on a trial, that doesn't seem like too much for the reader to ask. I was very disappointed that I had waded through the detailed chapters of trial testimony only to be rewarded with that.

Also, I felt like, at the end of the book, the author just gave up on the main character Mickey Haller. I read the Lincoln Lawyer and enjoyed it because Mickey Haller is the kind of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, charismatic type of individual that you really do encounter arguing cases for the defense in criminal courts. He's fun. But the big revelation that the end of this book that he wants to to mothball his fleet of Lincoln's and run for DA felt like a betrayal of the character.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Lincoln Lawyer novel. Mickey literally and figuratively takes a beating in this one.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth book in the Mickey Haller series and a bad economy has impacted "the Lincoln Lawyer" too. Crime hasn't gone down but paying clients have so Mickey expands his business to help clients who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. The foreclosure business is booming.

One of Mickey's new clients is a woman named Lisa Trammel, a school teacher and single mother. Her husband disappeared and now she is in danger of losing her home. Lisa not only badgers Mickey with phone calls demanding status updates she also starts a campaign against the bank, WestLand Financial. She becomes such a nuisance that WestLand obtains a restraining order against her. When Mitchell Bondurant, the banker who heads WestLand's mortgage department, is murdered in the bank's parking garage Lisa becomes a person of interest and is then arrested.

The evidence against Lisa appears to be strong and it is up to Mickey to come up with an alternate theory to present to the jury. He has his work cut out for him with a formidable prosecutor, Andrea Freeman, and a client he doesn't particularly like. A client who makes things difficult for Mickey.

As usual in the series there is a subplot that revolves around Mickey's hopes to win back his ex-wife, Maggie "McFierce" McPherson, and his devotion to his daughter. Rather than being a detraction from the story these add a human element to the character. I found myself smiling a couple of times ... such as when Mickey had his daughter and she had pancakes for dinner or when he went to kiss the top of her head while she was doing homework and got an indignant "Dad!" in response.

Usually I prefer a good old fashion murder mystery to a courtroom drama. I find all the objections, sustained, overruled, etc. tedious. What raised this to four stars for me was the ending. This is one of those stories that left me saying "Wow!".

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number 4 in the Mickey Haller series.
Another great read from the pen of Michael Connelly. I don't care wither it's Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller, Terry McCaleb or Jack McEvoy, I can't get enough.
This has everything you could want in a courtroom thriller.
There's the defenceless, vulnerable woman, Lisa Trammel, who is being hounded by the banks to foreclose on her home. As if that's not enough, she has now been charged with the murder of the said banks property manager. Lurking in the back ground is the omnipresent MOB.
The police appear to have a near water tight case against Lisa. Mickey has been hired to find if the water tight case has a leak. Find that leak and make it big enough for Lisa to swim through.

There is a fair bit of courtroom antics but it is never dull. Both the prosecution and the defence are well matched and it's a real tussle for dominance. No body is taking prisoners.

The end is not all that unexpected but it has a real "take that sucker" moment.

Highly entertaining and highly recommended.

[Alan Cotterell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is even better than the Lincoln Lawyer, there were times when I thought it was drifting away. But it all came together in the end, with some very unexpected announcements.
As I said in one of my updates, I love the way the narrative explains why he is doing something or even the reason behind not saying anything. Makes you feel like you are having a lesson in law and the intricacies of Court.
Personally I prefer the books about Mickey Haller, to the Harry Bosch, stories. The HB books are a bit hit and miss, but MH hits every time.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed this book! All the legalese and police procedure were great! Published in 2011, it has stood the test of time. Some books don’t fare so well!

[Jonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the middle of the housing crisis and tough times for lawyers. Criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller, ever the opportunist and survivor, has shifted his practice to handle clients under foreclosure. When one of them is arrested for the murder of the banker who's started foreclosure procedures on her home, Mickey finds himself handling a high profile case that becomes a potential beacon for all those disenfranchised homeowners facing displacement.

This was all courtroom drama and psychological game playing. Mickey is pitted against a formidable prosecutor, Andrea Freeman, and handling an unlikable client. I liked seeing Mickey in action, not always making the right decisions but appreciating his thought processes behind them. He's again at a crossroad, torn between doing what he needs to do to win and being the honorable guy for his daughter and ex-wife, Maggie. I really liked how he acknowledged the conflict and his imperfections but would prefer that he just pick a lane and live with the choice.

Peter Giles has become Mickey even though Matthew McConaughey is still my image of him (I've just merged the two). I love his performance and hope this never changes. I liked the story, didn't love it, but the ending was perfect. It was fitting for the man who continues to challenge himself to remain noble in the midst of representing some pretty despicable clients.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Courtroom dramas are hit or miss with me. I realize the potential for great human drama in a courtroom. As someone who has been called for jury duty four times in my life and actually ending up picked for a jury on two trials (a rape of a minor and an embezzlement scheme), I actually found the experience pretty intense and fascinating. For some reason, though, that intensity doesn’t always translate into fiction.

Then again, I hadn’t read The Lincoln Lawyer series.

What Michael Connelly has done for police-procedural in his Harry Bosch novels, he does for courtroom dramas in his Lincoln Lawyer novels. He makes the courtroom drama believable, exciting, and rife with human emotion. He also makes his stories feel like they are ripped from today’s headlines. They feel current and poignant.

Take, for example, the fourth book in the series, “The Fifth Witness”. In all fairness, this probably felt more current back when it was written in 2011. It was a few short years after the 2008 financial crisis. Millions of families were losing their homes due to predatory lending practices that caused the housing bubble to explode. Honestly, though, things haven’t changed much. The foreclosure industry is still, sadly, a lucrative industry.

In the book, Mickey Haller has found that foreclosure defense is raking in a lot more than criminal defense. There’s certainly a never-ending stream of victims. One of his newest clients, Lisa Trammel, a single mom who was being forced out of her home by the bank, has been arrested for the murder of the banker who was trying to foreclose on her house.

The evidence seems clear-cut, but Haller takes the case anyway. He’s confident that, guilty or not, he can win the case.

Another phenomenally good crime thriller from Connelly. More than any of his previous Haller novels, this one delves deeper into the idea of defense ethics. Also, Haller makes a major life decision. (‘Nuff said.)

[Mihaela Abrudan · Rating 4 out of 5]

O speță interesantă cu un final pe măsură. Criza economică i-a afectat pe cei cu credite bancare, iar unii dintre ei s-au văzut nevoiți să lupte cu sistemul bancar. Un caz bine documentat, cu multe răsturnări de situație și cu multe surprize.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love few things in life, my wife, as always, being NUMBER 1. That said, I may develop a reader's bromance with Mr. Connelly if his books, especially Mickey Haller, continue to be this good. Connelly takes a great topic (a la 'torn from the headlines, Law & Order') in forclosures and mortgage fraud and spins it into a great legal thriller. LOVE IT!

We learn a little more about Mickey after his flirt with the 'other side' in THE REVERSAL, and see that while times are tough, Mickey can still dazzle in the courtroom and outside as well. The hot/cold/tepid/arctic relationship with Maggie still goes on and Hayley is growing up in each chapter.

From mortgage to murder, Connelly knows his stuff, especially courtroom stuff. I am always so happy to see the books progress and laughed at the mention (yes there is some Hollywood in this one too) of Matthew Mc playing Haller in any movie of this case.

As Haller keeps pissing off ADA's (and sometimes defense lawyers), we can see how dirty the guy likes to play. I love his antics, like John Corey in DeMille's great series, covered in sarcasm.

** SPOILER ALERT**



Only one question, why are his clients always guilty in the end? It's like popping the balloon!

[Mica Santos ⇢ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ★ ⇢ Connelly no decepciona. Me mantuvo enganchada de principio a fin. Realmente, no podía parar de leer.

La historia es espectacular, como legal thriller es de lo mejor que he leído.

Lo único que no estoy conforme es con el poco desarrollo evolutivo de la vida personal de Mickey. Y me hubiera gustado que esté Bosch presente, aunque supongo en el próximo va a tener participación (espero).

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I need you here. I need a lawyer. They’re going to arrest me”!

The crisis began in 2007 with a depreciation in the subprime mortgage market and it quickly developed into an international economic crisis with the collapse of Lehman Brothers Bank in September 2008. Even as Mickey Haller watched his Los Angeles criminal defense business dry up and blow away in the withering hot winds of a recession Santa Ana, he was able to save his livelihood by defending distressed mortgage borrowers against a veritable bumper crop of underhanded, questionable bank foreclosures.

On the other hand, at least from Haller’s point of view, perhaps all is not lost. One of his clients has been charged with the murder of one of the bankers she has accused of trying to steal her home. And, just like that, Haller is back in criminal court doing what he’s good at - squaring off against a prosecuting district attorney and using every piece of legal warcraft that the system will allow (and perhaps a bit more besides) in order to give his client the defense to which she is constitutionally entitled. Guilt or innocence is, of course, entirely beside the point!

Like Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller, first introduced in THE LINCOLN LAWYER and now in his fourth outing, is a fully formed character with depth, quirks, foibles, baggage and history. He’s a father, a lover, a hurting ex-husband (twice now, as a matter of fact), a sober drunk, a nasty lawyer with an armory of below-the-belt punches in his legal arsenal, and a man whose sense of justice doesn’t always agree with the legal definition. THE FIFTH WITNESS is almost certainly going to get filed with legal thrillers, suspense thrillers and psychological thrillers but, in fact, it is none of those. It is, much more simply, a courtroom drama or a legal procedural. It’s an extended, minutely detailed and gripping story of the preparation and implementation of the legal defense of an accused murderer.

This is hard hitting, exciting stuff! Set aside lots of free time because you won’t want to be stopping too often. And that delicious ending is obviously written to leave you champing at the bit to grab the next chapter in Haller’s life. More is clearly on the way! Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I basked in the pleasure of riding again with Mickey Haller, known as the” Lincoln Lawyer” because of keeping an office in his car. As much as I love most Connelly’s series with Detective Harry Bosch, I was glad not to have the dllution of focus be having both on the caper in this one (which was the case in “The Brass Verdict” and “The Reversal”). Here Haller takes on the case of a woman in the process of foreclosure accused of bludgeoning to death a banker behind taking her home. Because she is active in a citizen’s group which protests the excesses of the mortgage industry, the case is subject to extreme media attention. Haller has to restrain his client from making poor deals for a movie on her case, while working to assure a better deal which can fund his defense. So you can see the story involves exposing the nefarious practices of the foreclosure bonanza and the secondary greed of the entertainment enterprise.

I appreciated the feeling of teamwork in Haller’s crew, all their ups and downs in the investigation and in the chess game with the prosecution, and the interplay of their personalities. I was touched by the human elements in the background of Haller’s life, such as his devotion to his daughter and his hopes to win back his ex-wife Maggie, a lawyer in the DA’s office. One caveat is the excessive drawing out a lot of the procedural elements of the case and the Hollywood ending. With the success of a couple of adaptations of Connelly’s stories for film, perhaps he is trying too hard to make his tales more cinematic. I would love to see more films of his books as they make LA really come alive. In a tongue in cheek element here, Haller speculates on the virtue of using Matthew McConaughey to play his role. It looks like I have finished nearly all of Connelly’s work, so I am in the hungry state of waiting each year for a new addition.

[Terence M [on a brief old bloke's hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 out of 5.0 stars for "The Lincoln Lawyer #4"
- I really Liked It!
Audiobook - 13:56 hours - Narrator: Peter Giles
I love good courtroom procedurals and nobody writes them better than Michael Connelly, although there are other authors who are at least as good. "The Fifth Witness" is a gripping drama almost from the first sentence and Connelly keeps the tension, the action and the ever-developing plot on point right to the very end, with its multiple surprises.
A great read and my only criticism is of the less than credible agreements, original and subsequent, Mickey Haller makes for recovery of his costs and legal fees. This and the narration by Peter Giles, which sometimes made it difficult to determine what was dialogue and what was not, are gripes that could have, but didn't, interfere with my enjoyment of this great novel.

[La Tonya Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I can I say? The ending will surprise you. Don't skip any pages. Do not read ahead. Mickey Haller is a criminal defense attorney turned foreclosure attrorney during the housing bust in Southern California during the recession of 2007. He is making a good living helping the down trodden and those caught off guard keep their homes. Until, one of his clients Lisa Trammel is charged with murdering a mortgage executive at WestLand National Bank. He quickly turns into criminal defense attorney again to keep her out of jail and restore is faith in a client who is innocent. Haller and his staff will take you through the California legal sysem step by step. His client will take you on a emotional roller coaster that is never ending. Good Read.

Quote:

I held his hateful stare until the doors closed on it.

I gave her a long stare before continuing "Don't go growing a conscience on me," I said. "I've been down that road. It doesn't lead you to anything good."

Opparizio had one very big thing going for him in his effort to hide. Money. With enough money you hide from anybody in this world and Opparizio knew it.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 since there are some major twists & turns, but the title character's moment was a bit weak & there were major pacing issues - probably that's why the moment was weak. The court room scenes dragged while other parts, especially the end, jumped in time & blazed by - almost outlines. I'm sure the court scenes were realistic, but a bit too much so. Asking the sames questions is various ways got very old very fast, especially for the minor points.

I've noticed Connelly's writing is getting more pedantic. I don't think I've mentioned it in a review before since the endings usually wind up so well they disguise the sags in the story, but this time was just too much. Anyway, I'm really on the fence between 3 & 4 stars for this one.

On the plus side, the characters were great, as usual, especially Mickey & his life. His addiction issues are very well done, as was his scrambling for business. I was completely surprised by the reveals at the end. I shouldn't have been since Connelly set them up perfectly. The change in direction was completely believable, but I just didn't see it coming. The guilt of his client, after he had finally been convinced of her innocence was wonderful. The helium tank was introduced long before & well. Ditto for his decision to run for DA. It was especially this last that gave me whiplash, though.

The case was especially well done. The mortgage crisis, the knife-edge that most of us live on financially, & the client were a complex mess. Right & wrong were constant questions that usually weren't really relevant & Connelly kept us all on point often through Mickey's new associate who wound up standing in for the reader. Very well done - almost made me feel as if I had a voice in the novel.

As usual, this book should be read in order since Mickey, the Lincoln lawyer (He mostly does business from the back of his Lincoln rather than being tied down by an office.) has some real history in the HB Universe, although this book stands alone very well. Here's a partial chronology:
21 - The Reversal (Mickey Haller #3, (Harry Bosch #16), 2010
21.5 - The Perfect Triangle, 2010 Mickey Haller short story, published in The Dark End of the Street: New Stories of Sex and Crime by Today's Top Authors (May 2010)
21.6 - Blue on Black - Harry Bosch Short Story 2010
22 - The Fifth Witness (Mickey Haller #4 – Harry Bosch appeared only briefly, 2011)
23 - The Drop (Harry Bosch #17), 2011

See my review of The Black Echo (HB#1) for the complete Harry Bosch Universe chronology.

[CoachJim · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Mickey Haller books Michael Connelly can weave a courtroom drama with the best of them. There were a couple of things in this story that bothered me. There was the classic convenient evidence that seems to turn up in a timely manner to aid the defense. In addition there are some misdirections in the story that conceal the ending from the reader.

Connelly shows Haller’s defense philosophy as one that does not search for the truth, but for a judicial win. He avoids considering whether his client is guilty or innocent but pursues a legal process to get an acquittal. This leads to courtroom tactics that ignore any judicial ideals when they would hinder the defense.

Haller’s clients are frequently not that appealing and this client proves to be his intellectual match. This leads to a surprise ending that has Haller questioning his legal ideology.

[RM(Alwaysdaddygirl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old reviews went missing. How does save not working?

Great series. Where did my review go. I love this series!

[Daniel Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh this series is so good. This one involves a murdered banker and the defendant is a female schoolteacher, who was foreclosed upon by the banker. But there is also evidence that the owner of a property foreclosure business had a motive to kill the banker. The trial scene was suspenseful. An interesting part of the book was how far afield can the attorneys stray from fair play to seek an advantage.

[Kelly Kosinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What an ending!! Love this author!

[Sibel Gandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edit 08 temmuz : Kitabın dizisinin Netflix'te 2.sezon 1.partını seyrettikten sonra gaza gelip yeniden okuma yapildı itinayla 🤭
Bu arada J. McEvoy'un 2.kitabı çıkıp 3. te yoldayken M. Heller'a neden devam etmiyorlar ki 😒

4,5 / 5
Bu kitapla birlikte Bosch Universe serisinin TR de yayınlanmış bütün kitaplarını okumuş oldum sanırım. Umarım serinin kaldığı yerden devamı ve J.McEvoy serisinin 2. , M.Heller serisinin 5 ve 6. kitapları Türkçe olarak yayınlanır da ben de hayranı olduğum yazarı keyifle okumaya devam edebilirim.