Title: The Lincoln Lawyer
(Mickey Haller Series #1)
Author: Michael Connelly
Genre: Mystery, Legal Thriller, Crime
First published: October 3rd 2005
Finished reading: May 26th 2013
Pages: 505
“She always asked the irrelevant question. It didn’t matter in terms of the strategy of the case whether the defendant “did it” or not. What mattered was the evidence against him — the proof — and if and how it could be neutralized. My job was to bury the proof, to color the proof a shade of gray. Gray was the color of reasonable doubt.”
While The Lincoln Lawyer is not the next literary masterpiece, it is still quite an entertaining read. The main character is Mickey Haller, a criminal defense lawyer who prefers his clients guilty and rich, the so-called ‘franchise’ clients. The client being innocent doesn’t make him that much money, and he couldn’t forgive himself if he would lose a case of an innocent either… So all in all Mickey Haller is not the typical lawyer who pretends to be just; he admits almost openly he is doing it mostly for the money. Although he does have a conscience and he is afraid he wouldn’t recognize innocence when he finally finds it… This novel by Michael Connelly is perfect for a few hours of easy reading, although I’m not sure if I would continue this series at some point myself.
Mickey Haller has just catched a big franchise client accused of beating and attempting to rape a woman named Louis Roulet. Haller knows his client is guilty, but he needs the money and with the help of the Roulet’s status and ability to lie it’s not too difficult to claim innocence. But Mickey has a new problem: he finds evidence that another of his clients currently in jail is actually innocent. But he won’t be able to get him out without damaging his current Roulet case…
For a legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer is quite easy to read and the courtroom parts are not boring at all. The plot is actually quite interesting and the main character is actually quite human. Haller might not be the perfect attorney, but the flaws make him easier to sympathize with. All in all not a bad read if you don’t mind the use of some colorful language…