The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly Book #1 Review

This first Micky Haller novel was made into a fantastic movie starring Matthew McConaughey. The Netflix TV Series stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and starts with the second Lincoln Lawyer novel.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly Book Review.Amazon Cover PowerPoint Design created by the author.

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Summary

Connelly's debut novel is a legal thriller and courtroom drama powered by the charismatic criminal defense attorney named Michael "Micky" Haller, who has no problem representing the worst of the worst.

His mantra is everyone has a right to a defense. “For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it's about negotiation and manipulation.”

This Lincoln Lawyer novel is a story about Michael Haller's defense of Louis Roulet, a rich real estate mogul, who is accused of beating Regina Campo, a prostitute.

When we first encounter Haller, he is not at the top of his game, doing business from his Lincoln for primarily drug dealers, prostitutes, and con artists who pepper his client list.

The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix

The first film adapted from this book, The Lincoln Lawyer, starred Matthew McConaughey. It was an excellent film and thrust McConaughey into multiple Ford Lincoln commercials.

The new Netflix original series starts with Book #2—The Brass Verdict and features Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller. Make a note of the name. Although he is not as well-known as McConaughey, he is smooth and believable in the role.

I won’t go into the Netflix TV Series here very much, though I do “reserve the right to recall it at a later time.” I can tell you I enjoyed every episode.

The cast of Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Micky, Becky Newton as Lorna (wife #2), Neve Campbell (Scream) as Maggie “McFierce” McPherson (wife #1), and many others are excellently cast and play their roles to the hilt.

I was delighted to see Reggie Lee, a Filipino-American, playing Angelo Soto. You might remember him from Grimm, who played Sergeant Wu and introduced Aswangs to America, a traditional Filipino “boogie man.” Every culture seems to have one.

Here’s the Netflix trailer:

The Lincoln Lawyer | Official Trailer | Netflix

"When his former law partner is killed, Mickey Haller is left to take over the firm, including a high-profile murder trial. With the biggest case he's ever had to tackle out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car, Mickey discovers there may be more at stake than he thought. Based on the bestselling novels by Michael Connelly." Netflix blurb.

Narration

Mickey Haller narrates this suspenseful legal thriller from Michael Connelly.

Setting

The setting is modern-day Los Angeles, CA. Although this is a courtroom drama, Micky Haller spends a great deal of time being chauffeured around LA by Earl Briggs, a former client who drives the Lincolns that serves as an office on the go for the LA criminal defense attorney.

Genre

Connelly's debut novel is a legal thriller primarily focused on courtroom drama. This is the genre chosen by John Grisham, Conan Doyle, Scott Turow, Harper Lee, Victor Methos, and many others.

This is a genre where Michael Connelly shines.

About the Author

Michael Connelly has become a household name because of his popular legal fiction and courtroom dramas.

He has published 36 novels, most built around the detective work of Harry Bosch (although Bosch is not introduced in book one of The Lincoln Lawyer, he will play a significant role in the others), most notably Blood Work, adapted for film, and directed by its star Clint Eastwood. There’s also The Late Show, The Wrong Side of Goodbye, Two Kinds of Truth, the 2021 release, The Dark Hours, and many more.

Michael Connelly is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and has been nominated six times for an Edgar Award. In addition, the author's books have sold over 22 million copies.

Theme

The theme is simple, Innocence Versus Evil. Micky is convinced almost everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet, and if you rattle their cage hard enough, some of the bones will fall out. In particular, he worries that he will lose the ability to recognize good in the face of so much evil.

The Plot

Mickey Haller plans to use various Lincolns for a few months and trade them for another, except his father’s sky-blue 1964 Lincoln Continental Convertible, which is pristine and a testament to Micky’s calm demeanor.

Although Haller has spent much of his career defending anonymous criminals, in this story, he is chosen to defend Louis Roulet (pronounced Roolay), a Beverly Hills playboy and the son of Mary Windsor, a real estate millionaire.

He’s known in the legal profession as a “franchise client” due to his ability to pay high fees, expert witnesses, and investigators.

Roulet is accused of brutally beating a prostitute named Regina Campo. The problems start when his investigator Levin (pronounced like heaven) discovers similarities to one of Micky’s previous cases, where he coerced his client into accepting a plea deal despite his client’s claims of innocence.

The story takes a wicked twist and gets decidedly dicey when Roulet breaks into Micky's home while he's out. Micky comes home to discover his client there. Roulet blatantly admits to his crime and tells Micky he must continue to defend him, or face charges from the California Bar.

He is already in hot water with the Bar since defending some questionable characters and setting them free. Roulet also makes an off-hand threat against Micky's 8-year-old daughter.

My Opinion & Recommendation

I enjoyed this story. Anyone looking for legal thrillers should read all The Lincoln Lawyer novels, starting with this book.

When the chase is on, Mickey Haller takes a ride in the back of his Lincoln where he is comfortable and concentrates on the specifics, then go into court with the facts as he sees them.

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About the AuthorPhoto by Jean Springs from Pexels.

Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. Also, a Top Writer in Books & Authors, Travel, Fiction, Transportation, VR, NFL, Design, Creativity, and Short Stories.

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