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The Lincoln Lawyer Reviews
"Michael Connelly is as fully at home in the world of a criminal defense lawyer as he has always been in the realm of investigators and cops. All the qualities
that have deservedly brought him a legion of readers are on display again here: brisk pacing, clever twists, artful writing and an atmosphere of complete authority on every page. Another terrific book
from a terrific writer."
Scott Turow, author
"It's always good to welcome a Michael Connelly novel, and The Lincoln Lawyer is a strong addition to the Connelly bookshelf. This stand-alone legal thriller has all the adroit plotting and no-nonsense prose that are Connelly's trademarks, with a particularly strong protagonist. ...Connelly fans (an ever-growing army) will be pleased to hear that all the customary traits are fully on offer here, with one key component even more finely honed than usual: the gritty, idiomatic dialogue, which is richer and more entertaining than usual."
Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk, Editorial Review
"Fans of Connelly's previous Harry Bosch novels will find The Lincoln Lawyer even more compelling -- since Haller happens to be Bosch's half brother and, according to sources, there is a sequel in the works that includes the maverick former LAPD detective! Like its luxury-auto namesake, The
Lincoln Lawyer is a sumptuous thriller that excels in every measurable category: plot complexity, character development, pacing, intensity, etc. It is, quite possibly, Connelly's best yet."
Paul Goat Allen, Barnes And Noble, Editorial Review
Veteran bestseller Connelly enters the crowded legal thriller field with flash and panache. ...After Connelly spends the book's first
half involving the reader in Mickey's complex world, he thrusts his hero in the middle of two high-stakes duels, against the state and his own client, for heart-stopping twists and topflight
storytelling."
Publishers Weekly, * Starred Review
"This is the first legal thriller for Connelly, author of the best-selling series featuring Los Angeles police detective
Harry Bosch and winner of every major prize in crime fiction. It has all the right stuff: a sinuous plot, crisp dialogue and a roster of reprehensible characters...
Allison Block, Booklist, * Starred Review
"Fresh from returning Harry Bosch to the LAPD with The Closers (2005), veteran crime novelist Connelly offers intrigue and bracing twists in his first legal thriller. ...Connelly
gets the legal details and maneuvers just right and Haller is a great character world weary but funny and likable he's never met an angle he couldn't play or a corner he couldn't cut. Contains
everything readers have come to expect from powerhouse Connelly. Bonus: Additional installments hold the intriguing possibility of one day seeing Bosch and Haller together on the streets of L.A."
Kirkus Reviews
"Best-selling author Michael Connelly, whose character-driven literary mysteries have earned him a wide following, breaks from the gate in the over-crowded field of legal thrillers and leaves
every other contender from Grisham to Turow in the dust with this tightly plotted, brilliantly paced, impossible-to-put-down novel. ...While Mickey's courtroom pyrotechnics dazzle, his behind-the-scenes
machinations and manipulations are even more incendiary in this taut, gripping novel, which showcases all of Connelly's literary gifts. There's not an excess sentence or padded paragraph in itwhat there
is, happily, is a character who, like Harry Bosch, deserves a franchise series of his own."
Jane Adams, Amazon.com Editorial Review
"Harry Bosch is the hard-boiled, world-weary cop at
the center of many of Michael Connelly's crime novels. He is tough, brooding and dogged, an appealing noir character. So Harry has always looked like a hard act to follow. He'll look that way until
Monday, when "The Lincoln Lawyer" introduces the bottom-feeding attorney Mickey Haller to Mr. Connelly's devotees. ...He's as hot a franchise as any mystery writer could hope for. ...The book
is haunted by Mickey's worst nightmare: the thought of having to defend an innocent man. He starts out without the foggiest idea of what to do with someone like that. But by the end of the story an
Honest Abe conscience has begun to kick in. That's when Mickey becomes a Connelly character through and through."
Janet Maslin, New York Times
"Michael Connelly has the
guts of a burglar, a genuine love for justice, and a wry sense of humor rarely present in his books about LAPD detective Harry Bosch. But his newest - a legal thriller introducing a criminal defense
lawyer of the type we all love to hate - is not only brave and intensely gripping but also often very funny. ...A smashing conclusion, with echoes of "Presumed Innocent" and "Witness For
the Prosecution," gives "The Lincoln Lawyer" extra stature and suspense. Connelly has stepped up to the plate in the overflowing ballpark of legal thrillers and blasted a grand slam his
first time at bat."
Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune
"Michael Connelly's new standalone is being touted as a legal thriller, but only the last fifth or so of the novel is set squarely in
the courtroom. The Lincoln Lawyer is more accurately described as a psychological thriller and an escalating game of gotcha between the titular attorney and his increasingly menacing client. ....the former reporter brings a convincing wealth of detail to his so-called "legal thriller." The dialogue pops and Mickey's spiky exchanges with the private investigators, cops and clients passing through his life sizzle."
CrimeSpree Magazine
"It would be easy to compare "The Lincoln Lawyer" to John Grisham's legal thrillers, but it would also be unfair. Connelly is not content to take
one-dimensional characters and set them in motion in a page-turning plot. He reveals Haller's personal demons as he struggles to deal with a failed marriage
and a daughter he rarely sees. In the end, Connelly has created a most unusual character: a lawyer who's sympathetic."
Don O'Briant, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Connelly has just
gone and come up with a new character who is every bit as intriguing, loveable, and outrageously readable as anyone he has created before. ... Connelly writes this up as only he can. In Haller, he has
built an ante-hero who has the legs to come back in further books. Haller, of course, comes with a truckload of baggage - ex-wives he still gets on with and occasionally sleeps with, the guilt of the
child he should spend more time with, the frustration of always handling lowlifes. And Connelly brings him vividly to life, so much so that you couldn't care less if you never see Harry Bosch again.
Mickey Haller is our hero now... Welcome!"
TheBookPlace.com
"Normally I am not a fan of the legal thriller. The novels tend to have standard, formula plots and lets face it, books
about lawyers are usually boring. But it should come as no surprise to fans of Mr. Connelly that The Lincoln Lawyer is outstanding and impossible to put down. ...Connelly makes The Lincoln
Lawyer a thriller on many levels with great insight into how the legal system works in LA. Michael's novels are the state of the art and do not miss this one, the start of a new series."
Richard Katz, Mystery One Bookstore
"The Lincoln in question is one of a fleet in which Mickey Haller rides while doing business on the sleazier side of L.A. law. What's amazing about Michael Connelly is how much he continues to
learn about the art of narrative from book to book. Each one is better than the last. And this one is pardon me a real Cadillac."
Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly, Best Books of 2005
"A nail-biter through and through, THE LINCOLN LAWYER will keep you guessing to the climactic end. A really
great read!"
FreshFiction.com
"Lincoln Lawyer, by the way, is great, one of the best things I've read all year."
David Montgomery, CrimeFictionBlog.com
"...Connelly presents a fascinating look at how defense lawyers below the Johnnie Cochran level operateas well as a compelling mystery that has more sudden turns than Mulholland Drive."
Entertainment Weekly
"In Mickey Haller, Michael Connelly has created a character as rich as any other in legal fiction. ..."The
Lincoln Lawyer" should win in the court of public opinion, and demonstrates why Michael Connelly is one of today's finest writers."
Chuck Brownman, The Daily Camera
""Lincoln Lawyer" is Connelly's first try at a legal thriller - a wildly popular genre of mostly trashy, badly written books filled with
cardboard characters. It is a genre in which his talent immediately stands out. ...it's a page-turner. ..."Lincoln Lawyer" has the look of what could be the first book in a series featuring
Mickey Haller. And, since Connelly has chosen to make Haller and Bosch distant relatives, don't be surprised if lawyer and cop eventually end up in the same book, working opposite sides of the street in
what Mickey calls "a world without truth."
Bruce DeSilva, Associated Press
"Beware of picking up Michael Connelly's "The Lincoln Lawyer." You won't
want to put it down until you've navigated its rapids to the end. ...Entangled in Haller's imbroglios, you'll find yourself reading far into the night. That's the trouble with this book: It grips and
holds."
Eugen Weber, Los Angeles Times
"Connelly, author of the best-selling Harry Bosch police procedurals, proves he can handle even the legal thriller genre with this
intricate and cynical look into the criminal justice system."
Jeff Ayers, Library Journal
"In The Lincoln Lawyer, Connelly quickly shows us he is as at home in the world of
courtrooms, legal briefs and backroom dealings as he is on the streets with detectives and the kinds of bad guys who deserve to be behind bars, but often aren't."
Charles Frank, Calgary Herald
"Connelly, a former journalist turned crime writer whose books featuring LAPD detective Harry Bosch are known for their fine plotting, wonderful characterization and amazing sense of place,
has another winner, not only with Mickey Haller but also with the legal genre category. There seems to be no limit to Connelly's talents."
Ken Kilpatrick, The Record
"After just a
few pages of this highly entertaining novel, one can only marvel at the smoothness with which Connelly has shifted gears from police procedural to legal thriller. His use of background information
("If there is a conflict of interest between the defense lawyer and the prosecutor, then it is the prosecutor who must bow out.") and lawyer-speak, real or imagined, seems totally authentic.
It, like his fluency with the workings of the LAPD in the Bosch series, is probably the result of his years as a reporter on the crime beat. Here, his knowledge of how the legal system works both in and
out of the courtroom is omnipresent, adding weight and timbre to his suspenseful tale. In the past Connelly has said that his Bosch novels owe much to Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald whom he
considers "The Masters." This novel seems to be an amalgam of the works of two more contemporary authors. The tricky but very accessible story of a lawyer in peril, with his courtroom wiliness
the only available weapon, is the sort of clever and compelling yarn that has pushed John Grisham to the top of the bestseller lists, while Connelly's dimensional, flawed characters and smoothly
integrated subtexts are on a par with the best of Scott Turow's fiction. It's an arguable claim that, as highly valued as is the Bosch series, "The Lincoln Lawyer" is Connelly's most satisfying
novel to date, taking him one step closer to becoming a Master himself."
Dick Lochte, OC Metro
""The Lincoln Lawyer" smokes with intrigue as Connelly makes himself at
home - and welcome - in another genre."
Sherryl Connelly, New York Daily News
"Is there nothing Michael Connelly can't do? After taking ownership of police procedurals with
his Harry Bosch series, Connelly tries his hand at a Scott Turow-style legal thriller. And he nails it. ...Connelly's work has it all -- sharply drawn, engaging characters, snappy dialogue and a plot
that moves like a shot of Red Bull. As with Turow, he also understands that a good legal thriller is primarily about the law, not lawyers acting like crime-fighters. It's amazing how many authors seem to
forget that."
David Lazarus, San Francisco Chronicle
"Michael Connelly has stayed one of today's best mystery writers by constantly reinventing himself. His series about LAPD
detective Harry Bosch mixes the police procedural with character studies. Connelly has written 11 novels about Bosch, but each is different and never cloned from a template. Likewise, his various
stand-alone thrillers follow no pattern except excellence in storytelling. So it should come as no surprise that Connelly excels in The Lincoln Lawyer, his 16th novel and first legal thriller. No, he doesn't reinvent the genre, but he brings such a fresh approach that it achieves a new standard. The Lincoln Lawyer is a stand-alone novel, but Connelly slyly adds a link to his regular series. And, no, I won't give away this secret, which has generated several Internet discussions. (You'll just have to find out for yourself, though Connelly's longtime readers will figure it out based just on a name and a couple of well-placed clues. There's also, of course, a trip to his Web site.) But there's no speculation about the unique approach and solid plot that Connelly brings. Briskly paced, The Lincoln Lawyer illustrates the power of legal thrillers by simultaneously delving into ethics, media scrutiny and the politics of the law. Connelly also works in the tenets of evil and a character study of a man forced to face his own inadequacies as well as his moral code. ...Connelly, who grew up in Fort Lauderdale, moves The Lincoln Lawyer with the assured hand we've come to expect from him. Avoiding clichιs -- including the ending -- Connelly gives us a peek at the legal system that shows its flaws as well as its rectitude. Connelly makes you feel he has been writing about this character for years, although the author certainly leaves room to further explore Mickey. This multilayered character is full of surprises, just as the plot is, with its many plausible twists. Connelly also peppers The
Lincoln Lawyer with myriad anecdotes about cases so odd that they must be based in reality. As Mickey's Lincoln careens through the L.A. streets, Connelly shows through the window a fresh view of the city where there's "something for everyone and a little irony to boot." The Lincoln Lawyer proves that Connelly is guilty of producing some of the best crime fiction around."
Oline H. Cogdill, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"The Lincoln Lawyer is Connelly's first legal thriller and is one of the best novels he has written, if not the best. ...There are so many things to admire about The Lincoln Lawyer that one hopes Connelly is planting the seeds for a whole new series. First, Connelly is able to create a rooting interest for a protagonist of questionable motivation. This sometimes amoral lawyer admits to being in the business for the money and the victories, yet he remains likable. Even his two ex-wives love him. Then there are the details. Connelly does his homework. His Bosch novels are steeped in the workings of the LAPD and the criminal underbelly of the City of Angels. Similarly, his Haller novel is infused with court procedure, and the banter among cops, lawyers, judges and defendants rings true. Lakeshore Entertainment (Million
Dollar Baby) already has picked up the movie rights. And next year, Bosch and Haller join forces in a sequel. Sounds like one heck of a ride."
Carol Memmott, USA TODAY
"Mr.
Connelly instead delivers a murder mystery that's easy to digest in a single sitting. Just like a last meal!"
Gregg Braverman, Maxim
"It's Connelly at the top of his game, with a
plot as solid as cast iron and a crew of lively characters headed by a compelling narrator."
Adam Woog, The Seattle Times
"Fans of Michael Connelly's police mysteries will find
his switch to legal thrillers just as satisfying in The Lincoln Lawyer."
Parade Magazine, Parade Pick
"What happens in those final pages, as well as all the pages
leading up to them, has the ring of truth. It's not a pretty story, but the world in which Mickey Haller works isn't a pretty place. Michael Connelly knows it all too well and writes about it with
chilling authority. He's not a "genre" novelist but the real thing, taking us into parts of the real America that most of our novelists never visit because they don't even know where, or what,
they are."
Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post
"Many a series sleuth has been sidelined by a gut shot so an author can wander off and explore a new genre. Sometimes all that
results is a cookbook, but every so often that literary leap produces something remarkable, like Michael Connelly's first legal thriller, THE LINCOLN LAWYER. Mastering the form on his first try, Connelly
delivers a powerhouse drama fueled by cynicism and driven by a criminal defense lawyer named Michael Haller ("People call me Mickey") who works for the scum of the earth and makes no
apologies."
Marilyn Stasio, New York Times
"Readers of Book World who browse elsewhere in this massive newspaper are perhaps aware that I write an irregular column for the
Style section called Second Reading, in which I reconsider "notable and/or neglected books from the past." To date, something on the order of 90 percent of the books discussed there have been
works of fiction, and almost all of those are books that I admire or even love. By contrast, the "literary" fiction being written in this country nowadays strikes me as so jejune, self-absorbed
and lifeless that I am just about unable to read it, much less pass fair judgment on it. Instead I find myself turning more and more to what is commonly dismissed by the literati as "popular"
or "genre" fiction. Most of the fiction that ends up on the bestseller lists is junk, but some of it has meat and merit. I'd read and reviewed Michael Connelly before, but not until the two --
two! -- novels he published this year, The Closers and The Lincoln Lawyer, did I fully grasp the dimensions of his achievement. His books are immensely entertaining, as he obviously means
them to be, but they also are serious examinations of the underside of American society, a large, dangerous and important world that goes entirely unnoticed in the frail dithyrambs emitted by the
university creative-writing departments. If you can only read one of the two I'd vote for The Closers, but both are sharply and at times passionately written and very smart."
Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
"A first class thriller with an appealing sleazy new star."
Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
"Connelly spins another believable story with many interesting angles."
Herald Sun (Melbourne)
"He plots with precision. He tells the story with an economy that keeps you hooked. His themes are contemporary and he asks ethical questions that linger
after the story is over. No wonder Michael Connelly is top of the tree when it comes to crime novels."
The Courier Mail (Brisbane)
"And while it's the taut plot that keeps you
in it's grip, the bigger issues about crime and justice - and degrees of criminality - take the book beyond being about just catching the crim. Connelly is not afraid to explore all the grey areas in the
world of law."
The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney)
"Connelly holds the reader's attention until the very last word."
Patricia Paine, New Jersey Law Journal
"Another tour de force from Connelly."
Vincent Banville, Irish Times
"Classic Connelly - trim, taut, terrific."
The Melbourne Age
"Connelly is at
the top of the crime writing tree, with 15 best-sellers to his credit. The Lincoln Lawyer is surely his finest."
Sue Green, South China Morning Post
The Lincoln Lawyer made the following Best Of Lists:
USA Today, Best Whodunit of 2005
Toronto Globe & Mail, Margaret Cannon, Top Dozen Titles Of 2005
Amazon.com, Best Books of 2005, Top 10 Editors' Picks: Mystery & Thrillers
Christian Science Monitor, Best Books of 2005
People Magazine, 10 Great Reads, 2005
Entertainment Weekly. Stephen King's Favorites of 2005
Chicago Tribune, "Best of 2005" Mysteries & Thrillers
Kansas City Star, Top Mysteries & Thrillers, 2005
Kansas City Star, "Cream of the Crop" Top 10, 2005
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Oline Cogdill, Best Mysteries of 2005
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "Best of 2005"
Seattle Times, Top 10 Thrillers of 2005
New York Sun, Otto Penzler, "Best of 2005"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Best of 2005
London Mirror, Thriller of the Year
Bookspan's Best Of 2005, Best Suspense
The Lincoln Lawyer was nominated for the following awards:
The Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Allan Poe Award, Nominee for Best Novel of 2005
2005 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist (Mystery/Thriller Category)
The Richard & Judy Show Best Read of the Year Nominee, the British Book Awards.
Mystery Ink's Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller of 2005, Nominee.
The Crime Writers' Association's Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, Nominee.
The Lincoln Lawyer won the following awards:
The Mystery Readers International's Macavity Award for Best Novel.
The Private Eye Writers of America's Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel.
The Jack Reacher Award from CrimeSpree Magazine, given out to the book they recommended to more people than anything else a
book that everyone would enjoy.
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