Could even the strongest courtroom professional continue to defend a client who appears to have murdered a private investigator on the case and then framed his own lawyer for the crime? Mickey Haller, the protagonist and narrator in Michael Connelly’s novel The Lincoln Lawyer (2005, Warner Books, New York, 509 pages) does so, and that’s probably unrealistic because Haller’s a flawed man torn by weakness.
A wealthy California real-estate agent charged with assaulting a woman in her home hires Mickey, who instantly senses “a franchise case”, one of the most lucrative he’s handled. Soon the lawyer pays a much higher price than what he charges.
Haller owns a collection of Lincoln Town Cars, for which he employs a discreet driver to guide him through traffic as he handles paperwork and works a phone in the backseat. His career and personal life run less smoothly, beset by ex-wives, homicide detectives and ill-intentioned clients (addicts, drug dealers, con artists, prostitutes and bikers), plus the greatest torment – his fear of failing to recognize a “truly innocent man”.
Ethics and honesty aren’t Haller’s strong points. When he needlessly delays a case, telling the judge about a missing witness, the client challenges him.
“What witness were you talking about in there?” he demanded.
“Mr Green,” I said. “Mr Green is all we need for this case to go forward…. You’ve got to pay the freight along the way.”
Long ago, the protagonist lost his idealism and purity. “After 15 years of practising law I had come to think of it in very simple terms. The law was a large, rusting machine that sucked up people and lives and money. I was just a mechanic…. The law school notions about the virtue of the adversarial system, of the system’s checks and balances, of the search for truth, had long since eroded like the faces of statues from other civilizations. The law was not about truth. It was about negotiation, amelioration, manipulation.”
A former journalist, Connelly has written other popular novels: The Closers, The Narrows, Chasing the Dime, Void Moon and Blood Work. As a Mystery Writers of America past-president, he knows how to guide and twist plots.
In The Lincoln Lawyer, Connelly’s courtroom scenes prove extra gripping as Haller attempts a masterful manipulation. Readers can sniff evil and danger from the client. Unfortunately, the surprise ending isn’t entirely surprising.
Although some aspects of the plot and its leading characters disappoint and lack credibility, The Lincoln Lawyer stirs interest and holds it. Ultimately, sleazy Haller wins sympathy, even respect.
Approval rating: 52 per cent.
For more information: www.michaelconnelly.com
(November 22, 2007)
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