The Brass Verdict (A Lincoln Lawyer Novel)

by Michael Connelly

2009

Status

Checked out

Publication

Grand Central Publishing (2009), Edition: Reissue, 592 pages

Description

When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Mickey Haller (of "The Lincoln Lawyer" fame) inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next. Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.--Jacket.

User reviews

LibraryThing member FerneMysteryReader

Terrific legal thriller! Not all legal thrillers include immersing drama inside and outside of the court room as well as tense personal moments for the lead character as well. This legal thriller includes engrossing behind-the-scenes interactions between defense attorney Michael Haller and Chief

Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Townes Holder, interactions between Haller and Detective Harry Bosch, interactions between Haller and his clients, interactions between Haller and his investigator Dennis Wojciechowski (Cisco for short), captivating moments between Haller and his ex-wife, engaging moments with his daughter, and riveting court room drama. For those that love legal thrillers this should definitely be on a Top 10 list!“There's nothing you can do about the past, Patrick. Except keep it there."I have read several novels by Michael Connelly and this is my favorite to date. The quote is also a favorite. Michael Haller, defense attorney and recovering addict shares the advice with client Patrick Henson who becomes his driver. The message itself can also be applicable to multiple characters in the novel and its powerful simplicity (for readers too!) offers inspiration to move beyond the past to maximize the possibilities of the future.

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LibraryThing member RickGeissal

This book was very disappointing for several reasons: 1. It is not primarily a Harry Bosch mystery, although Bosch plays a significant but secondary role. 2. The writing is so poor that I frequently wondered whether it was really written by Michael Connelly. 3. When Connelly writes about law and

courtroom events he messes up a lot of it, making the reading cumbersome and tedious ... and frustrating. He makes many references to facial gestures that go on between lawyers and between lawyers and judges, and biting, harsh comments between same, and uses nicknames for some of the lawyers and judges. I practiced trial law for many years and almost never encountered the simplistic and juvenile attitudes and gestures he writes of, and never encountered a judge of lawyer who was known in the courthouse by a nickname.

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LibraryThing member sunqueen

Excellent! Fast paced, great story.

LibraryThing member edwardsgt

Another outing for Mickey Haller the Lincoln Lawyer, this time with several appearances from Connelly's famous LA cop Harry Bosch in a supporting role. As always the detail seems immaculate and authentic (I say seem as I have no expertise to judge), both in terms of legal process and geography,

with all the characters sharply drawn and believable.

Mickey Haller, recovering from a period of pain-killer addiction and slowly easing back into law practice, suddenly finds himself taking over someone's else's case load following their murder. What follows is an excellent plot woven around Haller, his new clients and their former lawyer. Highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member TallyDi

The story in this book is told in the first person by Mickey Haller, who unravels layer upon layer of deceit within and around a murder trial. Michael Connelly's books are consistently written to high standards, and this one is no exception.

LibraryThing member scoutlee

The Brass Verdict is a fast-paced murder mystery that is full of twists and turns. After a two-year break from practicing law, Mickey Haller goes from having 0 cases to 31 cases overnight. He quickly learns that some things are just too good to be true. He immediately tries to keep all his

inherited clients, especially Walter Elliot. Not wanting to jeopardize Elliot's decision to keep him as his lawyer, Mickey reluctantly agrees to keep the trial date as scheduled despite not having much time to prepare. Mickey's decision will set a chain of events that will eventually lead to what really happened the night Elliot's wife and her lover were murdered.

The Lincoln Lawyer was the first book I read by Mr. Connelly. I did attend one of his book signings last year, mainly out of curiosity. I really enjoyed listening to him and wondered why I never picked up one of his books prior to The Lincoln Lawyer. Now I think I will have to add the Harry Bosch series to my TBR list. Having said that, I liked the "convenient" relationship between Mickey and Harry Bosch. Although Bosch was more of a supporting character, I was interested in learning more of his history. He appeared to be somewhat distant and often times withholding when interacting with Mickey. Overall, I really liked this book and could not figure out the motives behind the murders. Highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member BCCJillster

Mickey Haller AND Harry Bosch, but nowhere near enough Bosch.

LibraryThing member Twink

Mickey Haller first appeared in Connelly's 2005 novel The Lincoln Lawyer. I had followed the Harry Bosch detective series ( 13 up to now ) since 1993 and wasn't too sure about a 'new' character, but was happily proven wrong. Haller is back in The Brass Verdict. The best part? Harry Bosch is

featured as well!

Defense lawyer Mickey Haller inherits a dead colleague's law practice and with it what could be his biggest case ever. His client, Walter Elliot, wants the case to proceed quickly, so Haller is playing catchup. But is his client holding something back? The dead colleague, Jerry Vincent, was murdered and Detective Harry Bosch is on the case. Can Vincent's murder and Elliot's case be tied together? Haller and Bosch may have to put their heads together for this one. The ending was fantastic setting up what I hope will be many more books where both characters are featured.

Connelly's writing skillfully captures both courtroom and police investigation scenes and dialogue. The legal aspect is never dry and the investigation side always keeps you guessing. His characters are believable and human. The personal lives and relationships of the main and supporting characters greatly enhance the whole storyline. It was interesting to see Harry Bosch through Haller's eyes. It was a bit of a different Bosch than I have become accustomed to. But that too is part of Connelly's skill - keeping us on our toes and never, never letting us become bored of his writing!

I always anticipate starting a new book by one of my favourite authors and try to stretch it out and 'make it last'. But yet again it didn't work - I burned through this new release in just over a day. Sigh.....another year till the next one.

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LibraryThing member YogiABB

Michael Connelly writes books with hard boiled characters, Tough Guys. He is most famous for his Harry Bosch series. Harry Bosch is one tough LAPD Detective. You mess with him you are messing with trouble. Mr. Connelly has added another tough protagonist, Mickey Haller, a tough defense attorney. He

was introduced in "The Lincoln Lawyer." Haller doesn't have an office, he works out of Lincolns. He has several that he rotates.

The Brass Verdict has both hard boiled guys. Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller. Haller is the main guy, Bosch just has a side part in this book. Two tough guys. They are kind of working together but not really. This avoids the confrontation where one of the tough guys has to blink.

I'll spare you the story. You can read the book to find out the story. I don't care about the story. I go for the writing. I'll just give you a flavor of the book, Chapter One, page 1:

"Everybody lies. ... A trial is a contest of lies. ... The trick if are sitting at the defense table is to be patient. To wait. Not for just any lie, But for the one you can grab on to and forge like hot iron into a sharpened blade. You can then use that blade to rip the case open and spill its guts out on the floor."

This isn't chick lit. It isn't the Red Tent. This is a guy book.

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LibraryThing member bookappeal

Connelly throws H. Bosch into a Mickey Haller storyline, mostly with success. The Brass Verdict is heavier on courtroom procedure than I normally like but Mickey still cracks me up and Connelly throws in some interesting twists and turns

LibraryThing member BraveKelso

Connelly is an effective, exciting writer. He does lawyers and trials very well, better than all but a handful of writers. MIcky Haller, the Lincoln lawyer is a great narrator and commentator on LA justice and the state criminal courts. Connelly's work suffers from the usual things that hold

mystery writers back. The dialogue sounds like a writing class, and he is prone to using cliches and spelling out things that readers should be able to understand.

This counts as a Harry Bosch but Harry is very subdued in this one, a stranger seen from Micky Haller's pov.

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LibraryThing member basilisksam

Great story as ever. I was a little disappointed that it was more about Haller than Bosch but does make me wonder whether he intends to publish a second novel from Bosch's viewpoint. That would be very interesting and there certainly seems to be enough background to make this worthwhile.

LibraryThing member miyurose

I have not yet read Connelly’s first Mickey Haller novel, but it didn’t make a difference. I really liked Mickey. He felt real, probably because he has some pretty significant flaws. However, he’s a much more honest defense attorney than you usually find in fiction. His personal life may be a

mess, but in the courtroom, he’s all business. I’ve read a couple of the Harry Bosch books and find him to be quite a heavy character, so Mickey is a bit of a breath of fresh air.

I also thought the storyline was quite good. There’s a lot of twists and turns that keep you guessing, but everything makes sense. I especially liked the final twist, which provides a further tie-in between the Haller and Bosch books. All in all, this was pretty great!

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LibraryThing member mikedraper

"The Brass Verdict" returns Michey Haller who was last seen in "The Lincoln Lawyer."
As the action begins, Mickey is recovering from a gunshot wound. He is a criminal defense lawyer and is summoned to the office of Judge Mary Townes Holder where he learns that his old courthouse competitor and

friend, Jerry Vincent, has been murdered. Jerry's laptop is also stolen.
Jerry named Haller in his legal documents as his successor in all legal matters, in event of Jerry's death.

The judge determines that Haller is fit to work after his injury. He promises the judge to give weekly updates on his progress.
The biggest and most lucerative case is that of Walter Elliot, a movie studio owner, who is scheduled to go to trial for the killing of his wife and her lover, in one week.
Haller must put together an administrative team, research the case and find a way to defend the wealthy and unlikable client.

Along the way, Haller also takes the case of a down and out prior surfer who becomes Haller's driver in order to pay his legal fee.

The court scenes are believable and cleverly depicted. It is fun to be reacquainted with Det. Bosh from previous Connelly novels. Bosh is in charge of the murder investigation and believes that the killer will now go after Haller because of what he knows.

The characters are well drawn and having Haller's young daughter witness her father's achievements in court adds warmth to the plot.

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LibraryThing member mojomomma

Good, suspensful read with a twist at the end. Lawyer Mickey Haller returns to the courtroom after a year sabbatical for rehab. Instead of his gradual come back he envisioned, he learns that an old lawyer acquaintance has willed him his practice. Now Mickey faces a big celebrity murder trial with

just over a week to prepare, as well as the ongoing investigation of his lawyer friend's murder.

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LibraryThing member mrtall

The Brass Verdict marks the return of Michael Connelly’s new defense lawyer character, i.e. Mickey Haller, as he’s back from a stint in rehab and suddenly saddled with a murdered colleague’s entire caseload. The star client is a Hollywood producer who’s accused of blowing away his

adulterous wife and her German playboy lover (sounds implausible, I know, but there you go . . .).

The Brass Verdict also receives several crucial visits from Connelly’s bread-and-butter police procedural stalwart Harry Bosch, who’s working the case of the murdered lawyer.

Since the book’s written in the first person, with Mickey Haller narrating, it’s primarily a legal thriller. But Connelly does a skillful job weaving in murder-mystery elements, with twists and ties between the two storylines neatly dovetailed and never distracting. Connelly really is one of the best in the business when it comes to putting together a compelling story that moves fast but never seems silly or impossible.

I’ve got just one beef with this book. On numerous occasions Connelly resorts to quite lengthy, pedantic, even clumsy bouts of rehashing. The most egregious is a faux news story by another recurring Connelly character, news reporter Jack McElvoy, that’s dumped in about two-thirds of the way through. It reads like an eighth-grader’s book review of the story up to that point. I started wondering if Connelly’s popularity is now so great, and his reading audience so broad, that he got sat down by his editor in a little meeting and told, ‘Look, Michael, great stories, great characters, great books – but we’re getting complaints from some readers that you’re just making it too hard for them to keep up. In this next book, why don’t you slow down, and throw in a few internal summaries here and there. Your long-time, loyal readers’ eyes will just glaze over and move ahead, but you’ll be doing a great service for the newbies who need their hands tenderly held just to make it through a murder mystery written in American vernacular. Everybody’s a winner!’

Or something like that.

Anyway, I guess there’s no great immediate harm done by dumbing things down a bit, but in the long view it’s a pity, in that Connelly seemed a real possibility to follow Raymond Chandler’s lead into the absolute inner circle of crime writers. But that appears less and less likely to happen, based on his past few books.

Never the less, this is an excellent read, and still highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member sharonestelle

This sequel to Lincoln Lawyer showcases defense attorney Mickey Haller coming back from rehab to pick up the cases left by his murdered friend and colleague Jerry Vincent. It is fast paced and well written, and best of all provides a cameo appearance of the beloved hard-driving detective Harry

Bosch.

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LibraryThing member miriamparker

When this hits the shelves in October, it is a mystery for all to read. It brings back Mickey Haller from THE LINCOLN LAWYER fame and reveals much more about his past, plus being a completely engaging mystery--there are celebrities, adultery, bribery, and, of course, murder galore.I spent almost my

whole family vacation reading it and everyone kept asking "What are you reading?" since I couldn't stop! I might have to buy a set for them so they know what they were missing!

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LibraryThing member ctfrench

After two years recuperating from a gunshot wound and subsequent addiction to pain pills, defense attorney Mickey Haller thinks he’s ready for work, although he intends to take things slow and easy. When his colleague Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller, as Vincent’s surrogate, inherits his

active cases, one of which is garnering much media attention. Hollywood producer Walter Elliott has been accused of murdering his wife and her lover, and his trial’s coming up within days. Elliott refuses to allow a continuance and Haller’s scrambling to prepare for trial while butting heads with Harry Bosch, the detective investigating Vincent’s murder. As the case moves forward, Haller delves deeper into the case file, revealing secrets that will place his own life in danger and forever change his views of the judicial system.

The Brass Verdict, the second in the Mickey Haller series, pits Haller against Connelly’s popular series character, Harry Bosch. The two, although antagonistic toward one another, are more alike than not and make for an interesting combination. Connelly gives the reader a good mystery to solve, surrounded by characters supportive of Haller who look out for him. The plot moves at a fast pace and readers will enjoy “seeing” Bosch through another character’s eyes.

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LibraryThing member kraaivrouw

Michael Connelly writes a great mystery. I don't know how he manages to do it, but he delivers every single time. His primary series character, Detective Bosch, hooks up with his newest character, Mickey Haller from The Lincoln Lawyer in his latest book.

Like all of Connelly's books the writing is

uncomplicated & well-paced with an emphasis on both plot AND character. I suspect it's this that makes his books so enjoyable. This one is less a police procedural & more a courtroom drama & as such the trial sequences are the strongest part of the book.

Some may think that Bosch has too small a role here, but the intersection is believable & successfully sets up these two men (& their underlying connection) for future interaction.

I also appreciate the fact that Connelly writes L.A. so well. Often writers pay lip service to their setting, but Connelly obviously considers his setting to be a player in the story in much the same way that James Lee Burke writes south Louisiana (although Burke is the master of this). For a fun, quick read you can't get much better than this. It's refreshing to read a writer of a mystery series who doesn't seem to be running out of steam. Can't wait for the next one!

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LibraryThing member dspoon

Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering

his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.

Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.

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LibraryThing member Scrabblenut

I must have been in the mood for a clearly written, good mystery with lots of twists and turns, and characters I could care about, because I found this book to be excellent, a real page turner. A bonus is the insight you get into the legal system and jury selection and the motivations of defense

lawyers. Michael Connelly is a step way above the usual best-seller thriller genre.

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LibraryThing member writestuff

Defense attorney Mickey Haller unexpectedly gets thrust back into the legal arena (after a year recovering from prescription drug addiction) when his colleague Jerry Vincent is found murdered in a parking garage. Vincent’s entire caseload - including accused double murderer Walter Elliot (a

famous movie studio executive) - is transferred to Haller in Vincent’s will. Haller eagerly steps into Vincent’s shoes, but quickly discovers that nothing is as it seems…and Vincent’s killer may be one of his own clients. Detective Harry Bosch is the lead investigator on the case and is himself somewhat of an enigma. Before the novel comes to a close, both Bosch and Haller will need to cooperate from both sides of the law in order to catch the killer.

Michael Connelly’s novel is fast-paced and gripping, with twist and turns that will keep the reader guessing until the end. This book is a continuation of Connelly’s previous novels (which I have yet to read). But it is not necessary to have read Connelly’s work beforehand in order to enjoy The Brass Verdict.

Connelly has a firm grasp of the legal system and creates memorable (and believeable) characters who are not always predictable. His dialogue is tight and compelling.

For readers who love suspenseful legal thrillers, The Brass Verdict is one they will enjoy. This was my first Connelly novel, but I would not hesitate to pick up another of his books. The Brass Verdict was released October 14th through Little, Brown and Company. Connelly’s previous novels include The Lincoln Lawyer, Chasing the Dime, Void Moon, Blood Work, and The Poet. For more information about the author, visit his website.

Recommended.

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LibraryThing member smik

The murder of his old colleague Jerry Vincent is a stroke of luck for defense lawyer Mickey Haller. Jerry has left instructions that Mickey should take over all his clients. There are over 30 cases on Jerry's books including a very high profile murder case: a Hollywood film mogul accused of the

double murder of his wife and her lover.

After a bout of drug addiction and 12 months rehabilitation and slow recovery Mickey has been considering whether he is ready to go back to work, but now he has to hit the ground running. As he takes up the reins, he finds LAPD Harry Bosch sniffing around the edges. But is he interested in Jerry Vincent or Walter Elliot, the movie mogul?

This is a book full of twists and turns. There is no doubt that Mickey Haller is a clever lawyer. A slight complaint I have is that though it is written from Mickey's point of view, the reader is not entirely in his confidence. Connelly uses Harry Bosch to sling a few other arrows into the mix, and so right until the end you don't really know the full story.

THE BRASS VERDICT is #14 in the Harry Bosch series (even though for the most part Harry's role seems minor) and #2 in the Mickey Haller series. #1 was THE LINCOLN LAWYER, and my mini-review is below. The pair will meet again in NINE DRAGONS.

In 2009 THE BRASS VERDICT won the Anthony Award for Best Novel, and all I can say is that I can really see why: interesting story tightly plotted, good characters, keeps the reader interested right to the end.

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LibraryThing member dbeveridge

Great to be back with Michael Connelly. Nice resolution.

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