by Michael Connelly

The Brass Verdict features attorney Mickey Haller of The Lincoln Lawyer fame and is vintage Connelly.

Haller has just returned to practicing law after a year facing his demons, addictions and the damage he’s inflicted on his life, his now-ex-wife and his daughter. He gets an early morning call from the Chief Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court Mary Townes Holder, and learns that he has just inherited the case load of defense attorney Jerry Vincent.

Vincent, once a member of the District Attorney’s office, switched sides after losing a case to Haller. Now, he’s been found shot to death in his car in the parking garage for his law office. Among the cases Haller is now inheriting is the defense of Walter Elliot, chairman and owner of Archway Pictures, who is charged with murdering his wife Mitzi and her lover Johan Rilz at the Elliots’ Malibu beach house.

Haller expects a hard sell to hold on to the Elliot defense, and is surprised when Elliot agrees.  He’s even more surprised at Elliot’s refusal to delay the trial so Haller can get up to speed on the case or to bring on additional attorneys.

Meanwhile, the brooding LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is pressuring Haller for information that might help solve the Vincent homicide, but might also violate Haller’s responsibility for confidentiality for his clients.

As this story twists and turns, you discover that Haller is as wily in protecting himself as he is in devising defense strategies for his clients. If he sometimes veers into the gray, fringy areas of legal ethics, he also manages to ignite some street justice as well.

Reading this book is like going to McDonald’s for a burger: you know exactly what you’re getting — a well-written, suspenseful story with great characters. It’s predictable — you always know who is going to come out on top — and it’s delicious.

The Author: Michael Connelly

A former Los Angeles Times newspaper reporter, Connelly is the author of the bestselling Harry Bosch series as well as the Mickey Haller series that launched with The Lincoln Lawyer.