Re-Listen: December 24, 2025:
3.5-Stars ^ 4-Stars "I Liked It Quite a Bit More!"
Essentially my original review (below) will remain unchanged, but I enjoyed this two-sittings re-listen more than my first hearing two years ago. I still have the same reservations about the way the story was wrapped up, and I think the appearance of Maggie McFierce remains pointless and unnecessary.
Previous Review:
December 26, 2023:
3.0-Stars "I Liked It"
But my expectations that I would "Really Like It" or "It Was Amazing" were not met.
Given the success of his earlier Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller novels, Michael Connelly set himself a very high bar with this book, the latest fusion of Haller and Bosch. I think it is fair to say I liked Resurrection Walk, but I was a little bit disappointed with it. This makes me somewhat of an outlier, but I have some reasons, and they follow:
”At 36% into this audiobook - I'm wondering why I am not chomping at the bit and unable to put it down”🤔.
Over a third in and at this point I was obviously expecting more excitement, more reasons to keep listening, and more connection with the plot/story line.
The characters, Haller and Bosch, were already well established, but the plotting was slow and the dialogue sounded turgid and repetitious, particularly by Haller. This unnecessary repetition, i.e., 'padding', became a feature of Haller's dialogue throughout the book and the more it occurred, the more distracting and annoying it became. I think that Michael Connelly is too good an author to resort to such tactics in an attempt to either a), ensure a 'satisfactory' written length of the book, or b), enable a publishing deadline to be met, or c), both.
The rather brief appearance of Haller's former wife, ADA Maggie “McFierce” McPherson, was a contrived and unnecessary 'connection' to previous Bosch and Haller characters. The deeply personal questions she posed to Bosch could have easily been put by leading ADA Morris.
I appreciate that Harry Bosch has been a very sick man, but he is an active investigator working hard to help Haller's habeas corpus petition succeed. I think Titus Welliver has been an excellent narrator for the latter years of the Harry Bosch series, but his low-spirited vocal characterisation of Bosch in Resurrection Walk is fairly miserable and lacks some credibility.
The narration of the audiobook is barely satisfactory, with MC Mickey Haller's voice sounding too husky and gravelly. Further, there appears to be a technical issue with this Audible audiobook when Bosch and Haller are conversing. It sounds like Welliver's Bosch voice has been edited separately into the main recording and at a noticeably higher volume level than that of Giles' Haller.
I don't actually download Audible audiobooks when I purchase them. I listen to them direct from Audible, via the Audible app, as I did with Resurrection Walk. Hence my belief that this audio production is deficient, possibly from a rush to meet publishing deadlines.
"At 99% - I listened to the balance last night and I am remain ambivalent about my feelings toward "Resurrection Walk". I suspect my review and my rating will reveal that I am somewhat of an outlier regarding this highly popular novel.".
I listened to the final 3:45 hours in one sitting, but I was not impressed with the ending, which seemed abrupt, rushed and unfinished. After she handed down her decision, the final action by the federal court judge seemed ludicrous. There were many unresolved matters left dangling, including a murder which significantly impacted on the case before the court, and issues regarding a dodgy attorney, police corruption, criminal 'cliques' of deputy sheriffs, contract killings, and Mexican criminals operating in Los Angeles.
Ultimately, I thought that The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller, while commendably responsible for bringing the petition before the court, didn't really earn the final verdict made in his client's favour.