Tag: Mickey Haller

My Favorite Crime/Mystery/Detective/Thriller Fiction of 2020

By

On January 11, 2021

In Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc.

Finally, we’re at the end of my 2020 wrap-up, it feels like I’ve been at this for a month, not just 11 days. Like I’ve said previously, my intention was to be done three or four days ago, but oh, well.

In a real sense, this was a challenging list to come up with, but the first 7 jumped to mind instantly, even back in December when I started to think about what might show up. It was those last three that I had to labor over—there were so many good candidates (see the list at the end of this post for the six-way tie for 11th place).

Once again, I’ll note that I limit my lists to things I read for the first time (so the nine Robert B. Parker books I re-read last year didn’t make up most of this list). I’d be willing to guarantee anyone reading this page will enjoy at least 6 of these (which six will vary from reader to reader). I’m tempted to say that all the listed books are guaranteed for everyone, but people’s tastes are too varied, so I’ll hedge my bet. Try these, and you’ll be glad you did.

(in alphabetical order by author)

The RevelatorsThe Revelators

by Ace Atkins
My original post
Here, in book 10, Ace Atkins wraps up storylines he’s been building up for ages, characters move on (some are even still alive when that happens), and what comes next for Quinn Colson and his community is anybody’s guess (although, I’m pretty sure there’ll be a white, corrupt politician behind it, because…well, it’s Tibbehah County). A dynamite novel.

5 Stars

Deep Dark NightDeep Dark Night

by Steph Broadribb

My original post
Lori and JT are finally pressured to do the shady work for the FBI Agent that’s been looming over her head forever, and it goes horribly, horribly wrong. Which is a treat for the reader. You’ve got the JT, Lori, and a whole bunch of unsavory people trapped on the top floor of a Chicago highrise, and the thrills start from there. Strong character development in the middle of some of the tensest action you can imagine. Great ride.

4 1/2 Stars

The Law of InnocenceThe Law of Innocence

by Michael Connelly

My original post
I was slightly afraid of that when I read the blurb for this—did we really need two books from Connelly in 2020 where the protagonist is suspected of a murder that there’s no chance at all that he committed? By the beginning of Chapter Two, any trepidation had vanished. By the end, this may be my favorite Lincoln Lawyer book yet. The courtroom action was fantastic. I absolutely loved it.

4 1/2 Stars

The CuratorThe Curator

by M. W. Craven

My original post
What a great hook. What a fantastic series of twists. What a wonderful concept for a killer and modus operandi. Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are a couple of my favorite characters and they got to shine here. I just want to rave and rave and rave about this book, but I have things to do, so I’d better move on.

5 Stars

King of the CrowsKing of the Crows

by Russell Day

My original post
There’s no way I can sum up my appreciation for this book in this post. Set in a world recovering from a pandemic, there’s a straightforward crime story at the heart of this novel—it’s just surrounded by so many layers, that you can miss it—there’s the disease, there’s the horrible social and political context (both mid- and post-Outbreak), there’s what the characters are going through otherwise—and the whole thing is drenched in social commentary about 2020 society, e.g., sexism, economics, medical care. Yeah, it was bad timing that this book came out in 2020 when the last thing that many people want to read is a novel about a disease that’s out of control. But this had been in the works for months before anyone had heard of COVID-19. I’ve wondered what I’d think of this book if I’d read it last Fall. I’d still like it, I’d still be impressed by it—but I don’t know if it would resonate with me the same way. There’s almost nothing about Gondii that’s comparable to COVID-19. But the way that people and governments respond—well, that’s pretty different, too. but if you can’t see what’s going on around us reflected in this novel? You’re not paying attention. That Day appears so prescient says something about his skill and observation (and a lot about Western culture, too).

5 Stars

Lost HillsLost Hills

by Lee Goldberg

My original post
A young detective takes advantage of Social Media stardom to get herself a promotion she’s not quite ready for. But she’s determined to get there. She has to overcome her own lack of experience and a department that resents her. Eve Ronin’s first homicide case starts with a grizzly scene and the apparent murder of a woman, her two children, and a dog. Soon, she’s finding herself racing with an out-of-control wildfire that’s about to wipe out any evidence related to the case and the killer’s last victim. A great start to what promises to be a fun series.

4 1/2 Stars

Luck and JudgementLuck and Judgement

Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator)

My original post
DC Smith and his trainee are brought along with some other government investigators to look into a missing person/death on an oil rig. Smith’s the only one who doesn’t think it’s an accident. He begins to investigate the death as a murder and uncovers a lot more than he bargained for. Humor, heart, and humanity are the bedrock of this series and all of them shine forth in this procedural.

4 Stars

A Bad Day for SunshineA Bad Day for Sunshine

by Darynda Jones

My original post
This is pure, escapist fun. Think Gilmore Girls mixed with Veronica Mars. A single mom is a new sheriff of a quirky little New Mexico town, with a spunky daughter. There’s a kidnapping, an escaped convict, a missing deputy, and cursed cupcakes. Great dialogue, witty repartee, a mother-daughter relationship that will earn Jones many fans. This is as much fun as you can pack into a police procedural without making it a comedy, but still full of grim, grisly, depravity and darkness. It’s a nice serving of literary comfort food. There’s a freshness to this voice that I just loved, but my appreciation for this book (and the series it launches) goes deeper.

4 1/2 Stars

How the Wired WeepHow the Wired Weep

by Ian Patrick

My original post
There are two protagonists here—one is a small-time criminal, the other is a London Detective Sergeant who recruits and handles informants—excuse me, Covert Human Intelligence Sources. The criminal is fresh out of prison and is being used to get information on an up-and-coming local gang leader. There’s plenty of moral ambiguity to go around here, which is probably pretty realistic for this line of work (on both sides of the law). Patrick gives a more intimate, more powerful novel than he has with his Sam Batford series with this fascinating look into a side of policing most novels don’t.

4 1/2 Stars

Of Mutts and MenOf Mutts and Men

by Spencer Quinn

My original post
I’ve been a fan of this series since chapter 3 or so of the first book. Here in the tenth novel, Quinn is better than ever. There are some really strong emotional moments in the novel, some character growth (not in Chet, our animal narrator, never fear), and a mystery even more complex readers are used to from Chet and Bernie. Still, this is a series about a down-on-his-luck PI and his canine partner—a mix of goofy fun and solid PI fiction, fun, fun, stuff.

4 1/2 Stars

Books that almost made the list—and did in various drafts (links to my original posts): The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes; The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton; The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge; Rattlesnake Rodeo by Nick Kowalski; Far from the Tree by Rob Parker, Warren Brown (Narrator); and Light it Up by Nick Petrie

PUB DAY REPOST: The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly: To Prove He Didn’t Do It, Haller has to Prove Who Did

By

On November 10, 2020

In Fiction, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Law of Innocence

The Law of Innocence

by Michael Connelly
Series: Mickey Haller, #7

eARC, 416 pg.
Orion, 2020

Read: September 26-27, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s The Law of Innocence About?

On his way home from celebrating a win in court—a precious finding of “NG” (Not Guilty), Mickey Haller is pulled over in a traffic stop that quickly goes south and Haller finds himself in the back of the patrol car while the officer opens his trunk to discover a dead body—it turns out to be a former client of Haller’s who happens to owe his former defense lawyer a hefty amount of money.

It’s clearly a frame-up. There’s no reader who will buy Haller committing the crime in this way—sure, it’s possible that Haller would be driven to murder by something (for the sake of argument), but he wouldn’t do it this way. He’s too slick, too clever for that. Thinking like that is well and good for readers of Crime Fiction, it’s not how the police think. If you get all the evidence pointing at someone, they’re likely to be guilty, especially if there’s no evidence pointing in another direction.

Which is what happens here. So from his cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Haller has to plan his own defense. Sure, he knows all the conventional wisdom and jokes about defending yourself, but defending people in court is what has defined Mickey Haller for his adult life and there’s no way he can let someone else take the lead on this. It’s the fight of his life—literally a fight for his life—and Haller has to be the one doing the fighting.

Haller can’t count on a “reasonable doubt” defense. It won’t be enough to get a “Not Guilty” verdict, not if he wants to be a defense lawyer ever again, he can’t go into court with the world thinking he got off on a technicality. Haller has to prove he’s innocent, and the only way he can do that is by finding out who’s guilty, and proving that in court.

The prosecuting attorney is no slouch—frequently in legal fiction, you get someone who’s clearly there to play Washington Generals to the series protagonist’s Harlem Globetrotters, putting up a token case for the defense attorney to use as a way to show off all his tricks. But Dana Berg, star prosecutor for the Major Crimes Unit is hard, smart, and utterly convinced that Haller is guilty. So convinced that she’s not above using as many tricks and sneaky moves as Haller. She’s a worthy opponent which makes it all the better.

Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here

Mickey’s friends and family won’t believe this accusation—he’s not a killer. They know this and show up to help—many of them probably would if they had some doubt about his guilt, but we all know that Haller’s half-brother. Harry Bosch, wouldn’t have anything to do with him if Bosch thought there was a chance he was a killer. But Bosch is as involved as Cisco, Haller’s own investigator is. Lorna’s there, as well as Jennifer Aronson. I wasn’t terribly impressed with Aronson the last time we saw her in The Gods of Guilt, but she’s come a long way since then and is key to Haller’s defense.

It keeps going, Maggie “McFirece” McPherson, his ex-wife, and his daughter, Haley, are stalwart supporters, too—and Maddie Bosch even pops in. I’ve always liked Haley and enjoyed her a lot here. You’ll never see me say anything against Maggie’s character, either. Connelly created a great family for Haller back in The Lincoln Lawyer and they continue to pay off here.

While it’s great to see everyone show up to support and help—and Haller needs all that he can get—it’s his novel, it’s his fight, it’s his life in the balance and the novel’s focus is solely on him. With a character like Bosch, he’s a constant threat to steal the reader’s (and likely the writer’s) attention—but he doesn’t even come close. It’s all about Mickey Haller.

Isn’t this just like Fair Warning?

I was slightly afraid of that when I read the blurb for this—do we really need two books from Connelly in 2020 where the protagonist is suspected of a murder that there’s no chance at all that he committed? I figured Connelly would pull it off, but, yeah, there was a degree of trepidation on my part going into it.

Here’s where they were different—in Fair Warning, McEvoy being suspected is just his way into the mystery, and the shadow of suspicion may linger over him, but it’s never really much more than that. But here, Haller being the suspect is the whole novel—he’s only the suspect for a couple of days (which we don’t even see), he’s the accused for all but the first chapter. That makes all the difference, there’s no way to compare the experiences of McEvoy and Haller.

Current Events

This book takes place at the close of 2019 and over the first few months of 2020, and through news reports in the background and some conversations between characters we get glimpses of what’s going on in American culture at the time—specifically, the impeachment and reelection bid of Donald Trump and the early days of the spread of COVID-19. Neither makes a significant impact on the plot, but they act as part of the background, nailing the events of the novel to a specific moment.

I wondered for a while if this would make the novel dated in years to come, making it too “of the moment” to last. But the more I think about it, the more I think adds some flavor, some perspective to the novel, and the way that Connelly uses the current events to ground the novel. I ended up really liking the way he did it. Sure, Haller’s very few and quick comments about the President may put off some readers, if they couldn’t have guessed Haller’s political leanings, they haven’t been paying attention.

So, what did I think about The Law of Innocence?

If I hadn’t been approached to be on this tour, what would’ve likely happened is this: I’d buy The Law of Innocence on release day and had been really excited about it, but would’ve set it aside so I could catch up on some backlog—and it would’ve ended up languishing away on my shelf unnoticed. I’d have probably have made it my last book of 2020 or first of 2021 as a little treat to myself. And I would’ve been mad at myself for that once I got to about the 20% mark (if not earlier). For this to be available and unread would be just wrong.

There’s a one page (or so) introduction/foreward that’s just dynamite, followed by a really strong first chapter, and then starting in chapter 2, we’re off to the races. It’s just unrelentingly good, gripping, fast-paced, smart, and tension-filled from that point through to the jaw-dropping end. Sure, you may be confident that Haller would prevail, but you can never be sure for a moment how that might come to pass—and any time you start to think you know? You quickly discover that was hubris.

Connelly is one of the best in the business, but he’s not satisfied with coasting on his reputation or his laurels, he’s constantly striving to prove that he’s one of the best around—and usually succeeds at it. The Law of Innocence has him doing just that. The prose is lean and tight, the characterizations are spot on, the pacing is perfect and you just can’t put this down. I had a lot going on last week when I read this and several things I needed to accomplish—and I ignored almost every single one of them just so I could finish this. I gave myself five days to read this and finished it in two. Between the story, the characters, and the way Connelly put this together, I had no choice.

A lot of the legal thrillers I’ve read over the last couple of years save some of their best moments for things the lawyers get into outside of the courtroom, The Law of Innocence doesn’t do that. Yes, there are some good moments with Haller and the team investigating things, or while Haller is incarcerated. But the best moments of the novel take place in the arena that Haller comes most to life—in the courtroom, facing off against a good prosecutor, in front of a smart judge and a jury that he can only hope to persuade. Haller’s good at putting the pieces of a puzzle together (especially when Bosch and Cisco give him the right pieces), he can get a witness to give up just the right information, but he shines when he’s using the rules of the court, rules of evidence and the laws of California to further his own ends.

If you’ve been through the wringer with Haller before, you have an idea of what to expect—and you won’t be disappointed. If you’ve never spent time with the Lincoln Lawyer before this, you’re in for a treat. Either way—The Law of Innocence is one of the best thrillers of 2020 and you need to get your hands on it.

4 1/2 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Orion via NetGalley and Compulsive Readers in exchange for this post—thanks to all for this, but the opinions offered above are solely mine.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you.


My thanks to Tracy Fenton and Compulsive Readers for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) provided.

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly: To Prove He Didn’t Do It, Haller has to Prove Who Did

By

On November 2, 2020

In Fiction, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Law of Innocence

The Law of Innocence

by Michael Connelly
Series: Mickey Haller, #7

eARC, 416 pg.
Orion, 2020

Read: September 26-27, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s The Law of Innocence About?

On his way home from celebrating a win in court—a precious finding of “NG” (Not Guilty), Mickey Haller is pulled over in a traffic stop that quickly goes south and Haller finds himself in the back of the patrol car while the officer opens his trunk to discover a dead body—it turns out to be a former client of Haller’s who happens to owe his former defense lawyer a hefty amount of money.

It’s clearly a frame-up. There’s no reader who will buy Haller committing the crime in this way—sure, it’s possible that Haller would be driven to murder by something (for the sake of argument), but he wouldn’t do it this way. He’s too slick, too clever for that. Thinking like that is well and good for readers of Crime Fiction, it’s not how the police think. If you get all the evidence pointing at someone, they’re likely to be guilty, especially if there’s no evidence pointing in another direction.

Which is what happens here. So from his cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Haller has to plan his own defense. Sure, he knows all the conventional wisdom and jokes about defending yourself, but defending people in court is what has defined Mickey Haller for his adult life and there’s no way he can let someone else take the lead on this. It’s the fight of his life—literally a fight for his life—and Haller has to be the one doing the fighting.

Haller can’t count on a “reasonable doubt” defense. It won’t be enough to get a “Not Guilty” verdict, not if he wants to be a defense lawyer ever again, he can’t go into court with the world thinking he got off on a technicality. Haller has to prove he’s innocent, and the only way he can do that is by finding out who’s guilty, and proving that in court.

The prosecuting attorney is no slouch—frequently in legal fiction, you get someone who’s clearly there to play Washington Generals to the series protagonist’s Harlem Globetrotters, putting up a token case for the defense attorney to use as a way to show off all his tricks. But Dana Berg, star prosecutor for the Major Crimes Unit is hard, smart, and utterly convinced that Haller is guilty. So convinced that she’s not above using as many tricks and sneaky moves as Haller. She’s a worthy opponent which makes it all the better.

Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here

Mickey’s friends and family won’t believe this accusation—he’s not a killer. They know this and show up to help—many of them probably would if they had some doubt about his guilt, but we all know that Haller’s half-brother. Harry Bosch, wouldn’t have anything to do with him if Bosch thought there was a chance he was a killer. But Bosch is as involved as Cisco, Haller’s own investigator is. Lorna’s there, as well as Jennifer Aronson. I wasn’t terribly impressed with Aronson the last time we saw her in The Gods of Guilt, but she’s come a long way since then and is key to Haller’s defense.

It keeps going, Maggie “McFirece” McPherson, his ex-wife, and his daughter, Haley, are stalwart supporters, too—and Maddie Bosch even pops in. I’ve always liked Haley and enjoyed her a lot here. You’ll never see me say anything against Maggie’s character, either. Connelly created a great family for Haller back in The Lincoln Lawyer and they continue to pay off here.

While it’s great to see everyone show up to support and help—and Haller needs all that he can get—it’s his novel, it’s his fight, it’s his life in the balance and the novel’s focus is solely on him. With a character like Bosch, he’s a constant threat to steal the reader’s (and likely the writer’s) attention—but he doesn’t even come close. It’s all about Mickey Haller.

Isn’t this just like Fair Warning?

I was slightly afraid of that when I read the blurb for this—do we really need two books from Connelly in 2020 where the protagonist is suspected of a murder that there’s no chance at all that he committed? I figured Connelly would pull it off, but, yeah, there was a degree of trepidation on my part going into it.

Here’s where they were different—in Fair Warning, McEvoy being suspected is just his way into the mystery, and the shadow of suspicion may linger over him, but it’s never really much more than that. But here, Haller being the suspect is the whole novel—he’s only the suspect for a couple of days (which we don’t even see), he’s the accused for all but the first chapter. That makes all the difference, there’s no way to compare the experiences of McEvoy and Haller.

Current Events

This book takes place at the close of 2019 and over the first few months of 2020, and through news reports in the background and some conversations between characters we get glimpses of what’s going on in American culture at the time—specifically, the impeachment and reelection bid of Donald Trump and the early days of the spread of COVID-19. Neither makes a significant impact on the plot, but they act as part of the background, nailing the events of the novel to a specific moment.

I wondered for a while if this would make the novel dated in years to come, making it too “of the moment” to last. But the more I think about it, the more I think adds some flavor, some perspective to the novel, and the way that Connelly uses the current events to ground the novel. I ended up really liking the way he did it. Sure, Haller’s very few and quick comments about the President may put off some readers, if they couldn’t have guessed Haller’s political leanings, they haven’t been paying attention.

So, what did I think about The Law of Innocence?

If I hadn’t been approached to be on this tour, what would’ve likely happened is this: I’d buy The Law of Innocence on release day and had been really excited about it, but would’ve set it aside so I could catch up on some backlog—and it would’ve ended up languishing away on my shelf unnoticed. I’d have probably have made it my last book of 2020 or first of 2021 as a little treat to myself. And I would’ve been mad at myself for that once I got to about the 20% mark (if not earlier). For this to be available and unread would be just wrong.

There’s a one page (or so) introduction/foreward that’s just dynamite, followed by a really strong first chapter, and then starting in chapter 2, we’re off to the races. It’s just unrelentingly good, gripping, fast-paced, smart, and tension-filled from that point through to the jaw-dropping end. Sure, you may be confident that Haller would prevail, but you can never be sure for a moment how that might come to pass—and any time you start to think you know? You quickly discover that was hubris.

Connelly is one of the best in the business, but he’s not satisfied with coasting on his reputation or his laurels, he’s constantly striving to prove that he’s one of the best around—and usually succeeds at it. The Law of Innocence has him doing just that. The prose is lean and tight, the characterizations are spot on, the pacing is perfect and you just can’t put this down. I had a lot going on last week when I read this and several things I needed to accomplish—and I ignored almost every single one of them just so I could finish this. I gave myself five days to read this and finished it in two. Between the story, the characters, and the way Connelly put this together, I had no choice.

A lot of the legal thrillers I’ve read over the last couple of years save some of their best moments for things the lawyers get into outside of the courtroom, The Law of Innocence doesn’t do that. Yes, there are some good moments with Haller and the team investigating things, or while Haller is incarcerated. But the best moments of the novel take place in the arena that Haller comes most to life—in the courtroom, facing off against a good prosecutor, in front of a smart judge and a jury that he can only hope to persuade. Haller’s good at putting the pieces of a puzzle together (especially when Bosch and Cisco give him the right pieces), he can get a witness to give up just the right information, but he shines when he’s using the rules of the court, rules of evidence and the laws of California to further his own ends.

If you’ve been through the wringer with Haller before, you have an idea of what to expect—and you won’t be disappointed. If you’ve never spent time with the Lincoln Lawyer before this, you’re in for a treat. Either way—The Law of Innocence is one of the best thrillers of 2020 and you need to get your hands on it.

4 1/2 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Orion via NetGalley and Compulsive Readers in exchange for this post—thanks to all for this, but the opinions offered above are solely mine.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you.


My thanks to Tracy Fenton and Compulsive Readers for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly

By

On November 2, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

I’m excited to welcome the Book Tour for new Lincoln Lawyer thriller, The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly this morning—proof that even publishing behemoths need help getting the word out. I’ve got this little spotlight post and my take on the novel coming along in a bit. But let’s start by learning a little about this book, okay?

Book Details:

Book Title: The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly
Publisher: Orion (UK)/Little, Brown and Company (US)
Release date: November 10, 2020
Format: Hardcover/Ebook/Audiobook
Length: 416 pages
The Law of Innocence

Book Blurb:

The brand-new blockbuster crime thriller from Michael Connelly – the #1 Sunday Times, New York Times and international bestseller.


Heading home after winning his latest case, defense attorney Mickey Haller – The Lincoln Lawyer – is pulled over by the police. They open the trunk of his car to find the body of a former client.

Haller knows the law inside out. He will be charged with murder. He will have to build his case from behind bars. And the trial will be the trial of his life. Because Mickey Haller will defend himself in court.

With watertight evidence stacked against him, Haller will need every trick in the book to prove he was framed.

But a not-guilty verdict isn’t enough. In order to truly walk free, Haller knows he must find the real killer – that is the law of innocence…

About Michael Connelly:

Michael Connelly

‘A master of the genre’ – Stephen King

‘No one writes a better modern thriller than Connelly’ – Evening Standard

‘America’s greatest living crime writer’ – Express

‘A superb natural storyteller’ – Lee Child

 

Michael Connelly, the bestselling author of thirty-five novels with over seventy-four million copies sold worldwide, is also the executive producer of Bosch, an Amazon Studios original based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch. In January 2019, Connelly launched the true-crime podcast The Murder Book which takes listeners inside a real-life Hollywood Homicide cold case with unprecedented access to the detectives themselves.


My thanks to Tracy Fenton and Compulsive Readers for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) provided.

The Night Fire by Michael Connelly: A Superfluity of Cases Hampers Connelly’s Latest

By

On November 19, 2019

In Fiction, Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Renée Ballard

The Night Fire

The Night Fire

by Michael Connelly
Series: Harry Bosch, #22/Renée Ballard, #3

Hardcover, 405 pg.
Little, Brown and Company, 2019

Read: November 1-4, 2019

…I’m not sure how much I can be involved.”

“You’re dumping this case on me. You changed my radio station and dumped the case on me.”

“No, I want to help and I will help. John Jack mentored me. He taught me the rule, you know?”

“What rule?”

“To take every case personally.”

“What?”

“Take every case personally and you get angry. It builds a fire. It gives you the edge you need to go the distance every time out.”

Ballard thought about that. She understood what he was saying but knew it was a dangerous way to live and work.

“He said ‘every case’?” she asked.

“‘Every case,'” Bosch said.

In The Night Fire Michael Connelly gives one more piece of evidence that yes, you can occasionally have too much of a good thing. We’ve got a little bit of a Mickey Haller case, something that Bosch works mostly on his own, something that Bosch and Ballard work together, a case that Ballard works mostly on her own, and then a hint of something else that Bosch primarily does solo. Plus there’s something about Bosch’s personal life and a dash of Maddie’s life. Which is all a lot to ask out of 405 pages.

It’s plenty to ask out of 650 pages, come to think of it. But anyway, let’s take a look, shall we?

Haller was drafted to defend an indigent man accused of murdering a judge, and is doing okay in the trial, but not well enough with things coming to an end. Bosch watched a little bit of the trial, waiting to talk to his half-brother and something strikes him wrong. So he takes a look at the files and gives Haller to think about. But it’s clear to Bosch that the LAPD isn’t going to act on anything they turn up, they’ve got their man. So if anyone’s going to expose the judge’s killer, it’s going to be Bosch. While it’s to be expected that the detectives that arrested Haller’s client would resent Bosch’s involvement with the defense—but Ballard is antagonistic toward the idea as well. Just because these two respect each other and can work with each other, they’re not clones, they don’t agree on a lot.

Ballard’s called to the scene of a homeless camp, where someone had burned to death in a tent fire. She’s just there as a precaution, in case the LAFD decides it’s arson (and therefore homicide) instead of an accident. Having been brushed off—and afraid that the LAFD will do the same to the case—she takes a little time to turn up enough evidence to justify treating the case as a homicide. Then she was promptly removed from the case, so her old team at RHD could work it. Naturally, like every character Connelly has ever created, Ballard walks away, right? Yeah, I can’t type that with a straight face—she cuts a corner or two and works the case herself, making better progress than anyone else does, too. This brings her into contact with her old antagonist, now-Captain Olivas. He’s close to retirement, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens to her career after that.

But what gets the majority of the attention of the novel is the case that the Ballard and Bosch work together—Harry’s mentor (and father figure) has died and left him a murder book from 1990 that he’d, um, “borrowed” when he retired. John Jack wasn’t assigned to the case in 1990, it’s unclear that he did anything in 2000 when he took the file home. Bosch has no idea why he had it, but convinces Ballard to read it over and look into the case. They start working it, bringing them into contact with retired and not-retired gang members, digging up the past, and the question about why John Jack had taken the file.

Watching Connelly balance these mysteries/storylines is a treat—he does a great job of moving forward with each of them while bouncing back and forth between. I do think each case could’ve used 10-20% time than he gave them. But I could be wrong. They all wrap up satisfactorily, and There’s not a lot of time given for anything that isn’t case related, but we get a little bit. Both the personal material for Bosch (which is what he was waiting in court to talk to Haller about) and what we learn about Maddie make me really wonder what’s around their corners—and it appears we won’t learn anything in 2020 (unless we get a bit of an update in the Haller novel next year). Ballard’s material is always about her work primarily, but we do learn a little more about her life between her father’s death and her time with LAPD. I’m glad that Connelly hasn’t given us her whole biography, but man…what we have been given just makes me want more. Clearly, he’s making sure that fans of all three characters are going to have to come back for more as soon as he produces it.

I appreciated the discussion Bosch and Ballard had about some actions at the end of Dark Sacred Night, I have a friend who will rant at the drop of a hat about Ballard’s choices there (and I trust my email/text messages will get another one when he reads this post). I don’t think this conversation will satisfy him, but it’s good to see the pair acknowledge mistakes they made. While I don’t think either of them do anything quite as misguided in this book, but they both make a couple of reckless moves. Bosch’s always had a little bit of dirt on/leverage with superiors (even some history) to give him some coverage when he gets reckless. Ballard doesn’t. So when she goes maverick, it’s more nerve-wracking than it is when Bosch did/does it. A nice little bit of character work, and a good distinction between the two characters.

There’s a moment in every Michael Connelly novel, no matter how good it is, where something just clicks and suddenly I’m more invested in it than I am in almost any other book. I think I’ve talked about it before, but when That Moment hits—there’s nothing better. I get that with a lot of Thrillers/Mysteries (and even some books in other genres), but never as consistently as I do with Connelly. I knew that moment had hit when my phone told me it was time to put the book down and go into my office and I audibly groaned. How was I supposed to focus on anything else when Bosch and Ballard were on the hunt?

Lastly, and this is very likely going to be only a problem I had. Several right-hand pages in my copy that have very faint—practically missing—letters. It’s like it’d been left in the sun too long, or like when an inkjet printer is running out of ink. Please tell me that Little, Brown has better equipment than I do.

This isn’t the best Connelly can do, but man…it’s so good. Solidly put together, we get to spend time with all our favorites and it hits every button it’s supposed to. Connelly is one of the best around—The Night Fire shows why.

4 Stars

2019 Cloak & Dagger Challenge

The Wrong Side Of Goodbye by Michael Connelly: Bosch takes on a new role, and gives the same solidly entertaining result.

By

On June 28, 2018

In Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Wrong Side Of GoodbyeThe Wrong Side Of Goodbye

by Michael Connelly
Series: Harry Bosch, #19

Paperback, 386 pg.
Grand Central Publishing, 2017
Read: June 20, 2018
Not shockingly at all, retirement doesn’t sit well for Harry Bosch. As we saw in The Crossing, neither does working for defense attorneys. So what’s a guy like Harry Bosch — with that strong sense of mission driving him for decades — to do with himself when the LAPD forces him to retire?

Naturally, he’s going to get a PI license and do what he can with. But there’s going to be a dearth of clients that want him to investigate the kind of crimes he’s driven to investigate. Thankfully, the San Fernando Police Department is suffering a horrible budget crises and can utilize him as a reserve police officer looking at cold cases (this is an actual thing that happens, and was suggested by a member of the SFPD to Connelly as something for Bosch). This is work for free, true, but anyone who thinks that Bosch is driven by money in any real sense hasn’t talked to him for five minutes.

Bosch is hired by an elderly billionaire (at least), to hunt down a potential heir to his empire — his family “forced” him to abandon a lower-class woman after he impregnated her in the 50’s, and now looking at his mortality rushing to meet him, he wants to pass things on to his heir. He doesn’t have much to give Harry to start from — a name, an employer, and a time frame. That’s it. He needs Harry to keep this to himself — and has him sign a very tight non-disclosure agreement — because he doesn’t trust anyone in the company he’s the head of. He’s right not to trust anyone, as Harry quickly learns, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

This case grabs Harry’s attention, particularly when he becomes convinced that he’s tracked down the heir — who served in Vietnam at the same time Harry did. In fact, Harry’s reasonably sure that they were briefly on the same ship at the same time. In addition to this being very interesting, watching Harry backtrack this man’s family — this focus on Vietnam gets Harry to reflect some on his time there, and even discuss a bit with Maddie. I think this is the most that Harry has talked about Vietnam since The Black Echo (feel free to correct me in the comments), and I appreciate reminding us where the character comes from.

As interesting as that is — both through the procedure Harry enacts, what’s revealed about the case and himself, plus the surprising amount of peril that beings to follow him — the other case that Harry’s looking into is more up his alley.

In the course of his duties as a reserve officer, he’s been looking through cases that haven’t been closed — the one he’s focused on now isn’t a murder (as you’d expect), but is a serial rapist. Between the way the cases were reported, the staffing problems SFPD has, some jurisdictional issues, and (most importantly) language barriers, it wasn’t until Harry started reading all the case files he could get his hands on that patterns started to emerge and a coherent picture of one criminal’s work became clear. The SFPD detective that Harry’s working with, Bella Lourdes, seems like a solid detective — probably not as obsessive as Harry, but a dedicated detective. She’s able to handle the interview side of things better than Harry, actually (see the language barrier, among other things). As things heat up with the other case, Harry can’t get away and Lourdes ends up carrying the water on vital aspects of this by herself. It’s one of the healthier partnerships Harry’s had, really. But don’t worry — at the end of the day, this is a Harry Bosch novel. Not a Harry and Bella. Harry’ll put all the pieces together — but not early enough to keep things from getting pretty harrowing for all involved.

MIckey Haller shows up briefly early on, and I thought “oh, that was a nice cameo.” But at some point, he becomes a strong supporting character — as important to the private client storyline as Lourdes was to the serial rapist. I appreciated the smooth way that Connelly merged Haller into this novel. But that’s not all — Harry spent a moment thinking about Jerry Edgar (is that the influence of the Amazon series, or just Harry getting retrospective?) and there was a completely unnecessary — but nice — little appearance by Det. Lucia Soto. Unnecessary to the plot, but it shows something about Harry, I think, that wouldn’t have described him a few books ago.

The mysteries themselves are a shade on the easy side for this series — but the fun in this comes from watching Bosch chip away, step by step, through the process. Sure, he cuts a corner or five, makes several lucky guesses — but we’re not looking for verisimilitude here, right?

That said, there were several moments in the latter third or so that I assumed I had everything worked out — and I was right as much as I was wrong. Connelly didn’t cheat, but he zagged a lot when I was sure he was going to zig. At this stage of the game, for Connelly to be able to fool me that often, that says plenty about his skill.*

A good ride for old fans — a decent (not excellent, but acceptable) place for a new reader to jump on — The Wrong Side of Goodbye capably demonstrates why Michael Connelly in general, and Harry Bosch in particular, has been at the top of the American Crime Fiction scene — and likely will stay there for quite some time.

*Sure, it could say something about me, and what kind of reader I am, but let’s give credit ot Connelly’s craft and not my gullibility, shall we?

—–

4 Stars

The Crossing by Michael Connelly

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On December 27, 2017

In Fiction, Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The CrossingThe Crossing

by Michael Connelly
Series: Harry Bosch, #18

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pg.
Vision, 2016

Read: December 23 – 25, 2017


Harry Bosch has been forced into retirement, but he hasn’t lost sense of his mission — to find killers and make sure they are brought to justice. But he’s trying to fill his day with rebuilding and restoring an old Harley-Davidson. Which basically means that his half-brother, Mickey Haller, doesn’t have much work to do when he tries to convince Bosch to do some investigative work for his defense of an innocent man.

There is one huge hurdle — Bosch feels it’s a betrayal of everything he spent his career doing. Haller assures him that anything that hurts his case that they find they’ll turn over to the prosecution, which helps. But what really gets Bosch on board is his mission — if Haller is correct and his client is innocent, that means the guilty are going free and that just doesn’t sit well with him. So after meeting with client and reading through the file, Bosch jumps to the other side, something he knows he’ll never be able to live down, and that will burn some bridges with his former colleagues.

Bosch has to learn to work without the badge — how to access people, places and information (and parking!) without the LAPD standing behind him. But the essence is still the same, follow the evidence, make sure there are no loose ends, and adapt quickly — but now there’s less bureaucracy, and less of a need to justify following a hunch.

I loved seeing Bosch fighting his instincts to open up to the police, to want to hand things over to them whenever he can, rather than to keep information for Haller to use at trial. Bosch just can’t think of defending someone, his focus is all offense. I had a little trouble believing how little communication there was between the two during Bosch’s work — and, really, I wanted to see more of Haller — but I think a lot of that had to do with Bosch’s guilt over working for the accused and his different perspective about what to do with his suspicions about someone else.

There’s some great stuff with Maddie — Bosch is trying so hard to be a good father, but just doesn’t understand everything his daughter’s going through on the verge of high school graduation. He knows exactly how to get a witness (however reluctant) or a suspect to talk, he understands just what makes them tick, but his daughter is so frequently a mystery to him. I know some didn’t like Maddie’s addition to the series, but I love the interaction between the two.

At this point, I don’t need to talk about Connelly’s skill — that’s more than evident to anyone who’s read more than 20 pages of one of his 30-ish books. What we have here is the latest way he’s found to keep Bosch fresh, to keep the series from repeating itself. And it works so well — crisp writing, perfectly paced, not a word wasted, and a resolution that’ll satisfy fans of Bosch and Haller. I’ve been kicking myself for not getting to The Crossing when it was first released, and I’m more than happy I’ve found the time to read it — it’s so good to spend time with Bosch again. This will work for readers new or old — as long as they’re looking for a strong detective story.

—–

4 Stars

The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly

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On January 8, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Gods of GuiltThe Gods of Guilt

by Michael Connelly
Series: Mickey Haller, #5

Mass Market Paperback, 464 pg.
Vision, 2014
Read: January 1 – 6, 2015

Getting a not-guilty verdict was a long shot. Even when you knew in your gut that you were sitting next to an innocent man at the defense table, you also knew that the NGs came grudgingly from a system designed only to deal with the guilty.

Which is why most novels about lawyers are about defense lawyers — there’s more drama when they win (Mickey’s cynicism/realism also says something about our judicial system — but that’s a matter for another kind of blog). Note how little time Rachel Knight, the prosecutor, spends in court in her novels.

But from Perry Mason to Ben Matlock to Andy Carpenter to the real life attorneys, we want to read about and watch defense attorneys. We want to see them work within (and outside) the system, up to the point where the jury, the “Gods of Guilt” decide the fate of the defendant. Sometimes these “Gods” choose correctly, sometimes not. We rarely think of the consequences of these verdicts — in fiction, we almost never see them.

This novel is practically all about those consequences — and the events spiraling out of them. Almost a decade ago, Mickey Haller used some information one of his client’s possessed to get her a good deal. Which worked out nicely for all concerned (except the guy she had the information about), until she winds up dead — after telling her accused killer that if he’s in legal trouble, Mickey Haller is the only name to call.

Mickey’s dealing with some more immediate consequences — a man he successfully defended went on to get drunk and run down an innocent mother and child. Mickey’s blamed for this — which derails his D.A. campaign and derails his relationship with his daughter (who knew one of the victims).

So, when Mickey is presented with a prospective client he believes is innocent, he grabs at the chance for a little public and familial redemption. But before these “Gods” can weigh in, there’s a long road to be walked, prices to pay, deals to be made, and secrets to uncover.

I’d forgotten how slow these books start — Connelly’s masterful and putting the pieces together in a way that makes the ending seem inevitable — once you get there. But man, at times the build up can bog you down. Sure, there were other things going on — but it took me 3 days to get through the first 200-250 pages, and then 1 day for the next 150-200, because as slow as things start — when it all starts to come together, it’s a smooth and fast ride.

Aside from the twisty and tricky plot, is, of course, character — which is really what brings readers back to this kind of series. And there’s a lot to think about in this one.

For one, there’s the new character, David “Legal” Siegel, Mickey’s father’s law partner. He’s living in a fairly totalitarian retirement home (probably for good reason, not that Legal or Mickey seem to care), but still has fantastic defense instincts and helps Mickey and his associate, Jennifer Aronson, with some of their more clever strategies. He’s a fun addition to the cast, and I hope to see more of him.

I wasn’t quite as impressed with Jennifer Aronson’s characterization. I don’t care how new she is to the whole criminal defense thing, there’s no way that someone with any kind of experience — or a TV — needs to have the concept of “burner phone” explained. I get that Jennifer Aronson needs to have some things explained to her — and the reader via Aronson — but c’mon, really? Still, it’s good to see Mickey mentoring someone, and having someone else in the firm to do some legwork does open up narrative possibilities for future novels. Although, Mickey keeps talking about Aronson leaving him and being more successful than him — is this Connelly setting up a spin-off series?

Cisco, Earl, Lorna 2 and Maggie were along as well — nothing both notable and not-spoilery to say about them. They played their narrative roles well, and as they should. There’s a notable exception to this, but can’t talk about it now.

Naturally, the focus is on Micky Haller, in the courtroom (and associated areas), he’s a shark. He’s a pro. He’s a wiz. And he knows it — which sometimes makes you groan, other times you relish it. Connelly’s honest enough to make Mickey’s confidence come back to bite him — it happened once during this trial, and even though I pretty much saw it coming, I still gave him a sympathetic wince. There was another point where I was actually talking back to the book, begging Mickey not to be so cocky. Fairly sure that things were going so well for him that he would screw things up with a witness/suspect.

As (almost) always, his personal life is in shambles. Mickey’s relationship with his daughter, Hayley, is always one of the more endearing aspects of this series, and to see the estrangement between them is rough. Connelly isn’t a guy that typically gets emotional reactions (other than suspense, and satisfaction from victory) from a reader — but Mickey having to covertly watch his daughter’s soccer practice through binoculars? No way that doesn’t tug on a heart string (while you hope no one catches him in the act and thinks he’s some sort of predator).

Throughout The Gods of Guilt there’s a Palpable sense of loneliness to Mickey, he’s always looking for people to be watching him in court. Thanks to the election loss, the DUI, etc. people’s perceptions of him are really damaged, really negative. All Mickey wants is someone, anyone really, to see him doing well, to see him doing something good. Sure, it’s better if it’s someone he cares about seeing him do that, however, and he’s always looking for it.

Naturally, things wrap up in a satisfying manner, and then we’re treated to one of the best closing paragraphs that Connelly’s written (if not the best, and he’s written too many of them for this lazy blogger to verify). The last four paragraphs cement in the reader’s mind just what kind of person the Lincoln Lawyer really is beneath the headlines, the courtroom antics, and the car.

A slow-burn of a read, like I said, but once you reach the tipping point, the reader is hanging on every word — just like the jury, Mickey’s Gods of Guilt are to the drama unfolding before them.

—–

4 1/2 Stars

Dusted Off: The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly

By

On January 27, 2014

In Authors, Fiction, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Fifth WitnessThe Fifth Witness

by Michael Connelly
Series: Mickey Haller, #4

Mass Market Paperback, 448 pg.
Grand Central Publishing, 2011
Read: May 8-9, 2012

When we finally got to the trial portion of this novel (the rest is just foreplay, anyway, right?) I found myself thinking–could Perry Mason have handled this D.A.? (and conversely, what fun it would be to watch Hamilton Burger try to deal with Mickey [and yes, I remembered Burger’s name despite it being 2 decades since I’ve read an Erle Stanley Gardner novel, don’t ask how]). That’s just how good Haller is–at the end of the day, he’s better than the Gold Standard.

A tense mystery, dazzling courtroom tactics (on both sides), a client and supporting cast that add rather than detract from the main characters and an ending you really can’t see coming. That’s just the kind of writer Michael Connelly is, a guy at the top of his game.

I’m not sure that I’m totally on board with the direction that Mickey is headed in at the end of the book, but I’m confident it’ll take no more than 15 pages of the next installment for Connelly to convince me.

—–

4 Stars

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