The Law of Innocence: Mickey Haller, family and a NG verdict

What is this about? 

Mickey Haller has been arrested for murder. He draws his closest associates around him in order to fight the charge.

What else is this about?

For me at least, this served quite well as an introduction to The Lincoln Lawyer. There’s just enough history to understand everyone’s role in Mickey’s life, and their relationship with Mickey himself.

Blurb

Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller is back in the heartstopping new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly.

Defense attorney Mickey Haller is pulled over by police, who find the body of a client in the trunk of his Lincoln. Haller is charged with murder and can’t make the exorbitant $5 million bail slapped on him by a vindictive judge.

Mickey elects to defend himself and must strategize and build his defense from his jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles, all the while looking over his shoulder–as an officer of the court he is an instant target.

Mickey knows he’s been framed. Now, with the help of his trusted team, he has to figure out who has plotted to destroy his life and why. Then he has to go before a judge and jury and prove his innocence.

In his highest stakes case yet, Mickey Haller fights for his life and shows why he is “a worthy colleague of Atticus Finch…in the front of the pack in the legal thriller game”

I feel like The Law of Innocence might be my introduction to Mickey Haller in book form. I cannot for the life of me remember if I read The Lincoln Lawyer, but I will say that from the movie, it’s just the type of book I would make a beeline for.

That said, let’s say I went into this with the barest of knowledge about Mickey, but that didn’t actually hamper my enjoyment of this, even 6 books in.

Mickey Haller, accused of murder

Mickey is arrested for murder and knows he’s been framed. Now he has to prove it.

As a result, he draws his closest colleagues and friends around him, including his  half-brother Harry Bosch. Their relationship was revealed in The Brass Verdict, book 2 in The Lincoln Lawyer series (which yes, I want to read that).

In this book, their relationship has developed enough that Harry offers to help him make bail, and then starts to work on his case. In addition to Harry, are Mickey’s ex, Maggie who takes a leave from the DA’s office to help Mickey. There’s Cisco and Jennifer, who work with Mickey as well, and of course, Mickey’s daughter, Hayley is his support system.

At 412 pages, I expected to feel the length of this book, but I really honestly didn’t. Connelly has crafted a legal thriller that is fast-paced, and filled with characters that work seamlessly as they revolve around Mickey. Even from jail, Mickey choreographs his defence, using the information his team garners to find himself at the centre of something that draws from his past cases.

The other interesting thing was that COVID comes into play, necessitating an urgency to proceedings, even more so than Mickey initially wanted. Instead of pushing for a speedier trial for his own purposes, he now has to push for one so he isn’t stuck in prison, innocent and during a lockdown. It didn’t take over anything, but it did cast its shadow over the case.

As the case is revealed, it becomes clear just how complex a case Mickey has found himself in, and he begins to draw the attention and ire of people and the FBI no less as he pulls out all the stops to defend himself.

When I began this book, I expected a complex, legal-focused thriller, which is in part what I got. I also got a superbly plotted thriller that introduced me to everything Mickey Haller: his relationships, his fears and his determination. The Law Of Innocence in part turned out to be an excellent way to learn more about him.