For some reason this has been sat on my bedside table since Christmas. Normally when I get the new Michael Connelly, I devour it immediately but for some reason this one was put to one side and I read other things first. That all changed yesterday when I picked up the book and read it in one sitting.
Connelly is probably best known for his Harry Bosch novels, and it scares me to realise how long I have been reading them. He is the only author who manages an entire shelf on my bookcases in hardback. For me personally this is a show of how much I like an author and for how long I have been reading them. While I’m not a huge fan of his standalone or Jack McEvoy books, I purchase them regardless due to his skill as a storyteller.
The story kicks off after a not guilty verdict for Haller’s latest client. He visits the local bar to share his win with fellow defence lawyers and on the way out is pulled over on a routine traffic stop. From here things escalate rapidly with the discovery of a body in the boot. Not just any body either, but one that belongs to a former client of Haller’s, Sam Scales. From there we are taken through the preparation for the case, and the into court itself.
The courtroom element are generally my favourite parts of the book, with us as the reader aware of some of the things Mickey and his team have done but surprised in others. I think this is the first time he has used to a previous book’s characters in anything other than passing, and to make full sense of the story you should read The Fifth Witness, hell you should read that anyway as its brilliant.
Come for the crime and stay for the brilliantly written dialogue. I have no idea how he generates book after book that sucks me in so completely but I will be continuing to read them as he writes them as I am simply unable to put them down.
