Review: The Brass Verdict

Connelly’s two series’ protagonists - long-running Homicide detective Harry Bosch and the newcomer, defense attorney Mickey Haller - form an intriguing team in Connelly’s latest thriller.

Haller, who first appeared in 2005’s “The Lincoln Lawyer,” takes center stage. After a year getting sober he’s thinking about going back to work when he suddenly inherits a murdered colleague’s entire case load – including the high-profile homicide of a celebrity producer’s wife and her lover. The producer, Walter Elliot, has been charged with the killings.

Bosch is the lead detective in the shooting death of Elliot’s original defense attorney, Michael Vincent, and Haller finds him going through Vincent’s files when he arrives at the dead man’s office to take over. There’s the usual cops and lawyers hostility, spiced up by the fact (known to Bosch, not to Haller) that the two are half-brothers.

Although Haller puts a stop to the file rifling, there is give-and-take between them once Bosch points out that, absent an obvious motive for Vincent’s murder, Haller could be next.

Meanwhile Haller is scurrying to get up to speed on the Elliot case. Trial date is less than a week away, Vincent’s laptop and case notes were stolen when he was shot and Elliot, insisting on his innocence, has refused a continuance.

From the ins and outs of jury selection, witness lists, cross-examination, “magic bullets” and “everyone lies” philosophies, Connelly keeps the legal dance hopping. His prose is very clear and direct, making the legal complications all the more dazzling. The plot itself is fairly simple, even predictable, but Connelly fleshes out a classic framework with personal depth and unexpected detail. Readers will look forward to the next stage in the development of Haller and Bosch.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Lynn Harnett

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.

Book Review: The Brass Verdict

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.