The Barnes & Noble Review
In the first-ever legal thriller by crime novelist Michael Connelly, author of the bestselling Harry Bosch saga ( The Closers, The Narrows, Lost Light, et al.), ethically ambiguous defense attorney Mickey Haller's search for innocence in a high-profile case involving a young Beverly Hills playboy leads him to the ultimate evil...

A veteran defense attorney, Haller is understandably cynical about the system. ("The law was a large, rusting machine that sucked up people and lives and money. I was just a mechanic. I had become an expert at going into the machine and fixing things and extracting what I needed from it in return.") When a "franchise" case falls into his lap, one that could give him his biggest payoff ever, Haller jumps at the chance to defend a rich realtor accused of brutally beating and attempting to rape a wannabe actress with a shady background. The baby-faced realtor is vehement about his innocence, and as Haller begins to build his case, he's confident of victory -- that is, until he inadvertently discovers something that will not only overturn an old murder case but also put him and his crew in mortal peril.

Fans of Connelly's previous Harry Bosch novels will find The Lincoln Lawyer even more compelling -- since Haller happens to be Bosch's half brother and, according to sources, there is a sequel in the works that includes the maverick former LAPD detective! Like its luxury-auto namesake, The Lincoln Lawyer is a sumptuous thriller that excels in every measurable category: plot complexity, character development, pacing, intensity, etc. It is, quite possibly, Connelly's best yet. Paul Goat Allen