The Brass Verdict: A Novel (Mickey Haller)
by Michael Connelly
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Book Reviews of The Brass Verdict: A Novel (Mickey Haller)
Book Review: Brass Brawls and Bosch to Boot!
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael Connelly must have had a fun time with this one as he brings his Harry Bosch and Jack McEvoy characters into Mickey Haller's world and takes the rest of us along for the proverbial towncar ride.
As a reader I look for books that entertain and sometimes enlighten. His characters always entertain and his police, lawyer, or reporter professionals always offer up some good procedural or insider's information that occasionally enlightens, amuses, angers or have you shaking your head over. Outside of our own professions most of us have only vague notions about other people's jobs so Connelly does a good job adding some luster or say scratching the paint jobs on a few.
As your everyday reader I'm not looking a GREAT novel from a writer everytime out of the block. More often than not I'm just looking for a work of fiction to have a GOOD and convincing storyline. I want characters that help sell the premise and I want the writing style to flow.
Connelly delivers on all counts. He doesn't give us super hero cartoonish characters but flesh and blood flawed folks like the rest of us which makes his storylines all the more convincing.
With THE BRASS VERDICT there's the main case that carries the plot, a murder to figure out, some side cases that give us all a better view of the justice system in play or out of play, and enough real life problems with our resident hero to make him human.
No easy feat with fiction.
Work THE BRASS VERDICT into your reading rotation and if you haven't done so yet, then go out and pick up the Harry Bosch series and Jack McEvoy books.
Good books and talent here.
Book Review: Plots Can Be Too Sure-Footed
Summary: 4 Stars
This is not top-shelf stuff. Sometimes even our tried and true favorite authors reach and stretch to concoct plots. Connelly's diehard fans will find this concoction hard to swallow. The pairing of Harry Bosch and criminal hotshot attorney Mickey Haller in this novel may be a good idea for some of his fans, but poor old Harry isn't our Harry. He seems like another person; he really needs his own books to live and breathe. There are many twists and turns in the plot toward the end which make it treacherous shoals for the critical reader to traverse.
In the fillet of sole chapter Mickey Haller's celebrity client, up for a double homicide, makes a revelation to Haller which I didn't for a minute think was possible, plausible or probable. Examine it closely and see if you don't see the holes in the explanation.
It's a very easy read, a good yarn, but certainly not up to Connelly standards. He was always good at tricky, intricate but plausible plotting. Here some of his plotting seems very contrived and ingeniously phony. Stray threads get tied together at the end a little too conveniently.
Connelly is going to keep you reading because of his narrative drive that propels you. I don't think I've ever read a book which gives such inside and seemingly authentic dope on the manner in which lawyers, courts, judges and cases are run and operate. The way lawyers have to juggle cases is fascinating stuff. Some of the characters seem like cardboard cutouts, and they are ushered on and off stage in a creaky manner. Still worth a read because it is Connelly after all.
Book Review: Solid Connelly Offering as The Lincoln Lawyer Returns
Summary: 4 Stars
In "The Brass Verdict" Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer, returns to action after taking a hiatus from his law practice following the case that was the basis of the premiere novel.
This time around, Haller's brought out of seclusion when he takes over the law practice of his murdered former associate. The practice consists of a variety of open cases involving various losers, and one gem: a movie producer indicted for murdering his wife and her paramour.
As Haller moves forward in trying to defend the producer, he also has to deal with the other cases, and the question that overhangs it all: why was his former associate murdered? And is Mickey in danger of meeting the same fate?
The lead investigator for the LAPD is none other than Harry Bosch, Connelly's primary continuing character in his other novels.
With a fine eye for the texture of Los Angeles and tuned ear for crackling dialogue, a fast-paced plot, and riveting court scenes, this book is very engaging and entertaining, with some surprising plot twists at its finale.
So... why not five stars? This is purely subjective - and after all, it IS my own review, so why not? - but this is the first novel in which we see Bosch through the eyes of someone else, and in all honesty it seemed as if the Harry Bosch of this novel was a different Bosch from the one we've come to know in all the other books. He didn't even seem like the same person somehow; more thuggish and plodding, maybe.
Still, a very enjoyable book, and I highly recommend it.
Book Review: Connelly continues to be the best! A must read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael Connelly is back and, as usual, never fails to impress this reader. This time, Mickey Haller is back (from the Lincoln Lawyer) and after a sabbatical (read the Lincoln Lawyer to know why he was away) he finds himself with a huge caseload and a big time client (Walter Elliott) who is accused of murdering his wife and her lover.
Haller has taken over the cases after a fellow attorney is killed. The case finds a very over confident client who is convinced he will be found guilty. Haller digs into the case to try to understand how, when all the evidence points to his client, that his client is confident in an acquittal? His client is rich, but there is much more to this case and Haller must dig deep to find out why the "magic bullet" exists.
Harry Bosch? He's back and he plays a role in the book as he and Haller argue and bicker about the case and Bosch's involvement in the double homicide. He plays a strong role in the book and if you have read the early Michael Connelly books you will know the connection between Haller and Bosch.
The plot twists and turns and the characters, the settings, the dialogue and the ending is just outstanding. I never want to give too much away in my reviews, but fans of Michael Connelly can be assured that he has written yet another incredible book. It's a must read. I read it in a day and a half and my only regret is that I don't have another Connelly book to now pick up and read. Unless, of course, I want to start at the beginning of the Connelly books and start over.....Hmmm.....
Book Review: A Great Read
Summary: 5 Stars
A Brass Verdict is apparently one where the verdict with respect to a "defendant" is rendered by gunshot rather twelve and true. Such a verdict in Michael Connelly's novel of the same name is rendered after some 400 pages of great story telling by a masterful writer of crime fiction; and for what it is worth my verdict on his book is that it's a great read written by a man who has obviously walked the walk and talked the talk of the courtroom and you should buy it and give it to your Dad or Grandfather or favorite uncle to read by the fire over the Holidays.
His words on how to pick a jury should be read by every lawyer who wants to be a "trial lawyer". They are just as true today as they were when I picked my first jury in 1941 (no that's not a typo); and the courtroom, the competition, the way the lawyer deals with the jury (carefully) and the judge (how far can I go?) are exactly the same now as Connelly tells it when he has Mickey Haller try his case - what looks like the up and down case of a double murder carried out by the angered husband who finds his wife and her lover in the bedroom of his home - and deal with Detective Bosch.
Both Haller and Bosch are back between the covers of this book; and, while having met them in previous books by Connolly, they are welcome back as old friends of those of us who like a good story once in a while. And this is just what the book is - a good story. Doesn't increase your knowledge of world affairs, doesn't have any literary pretense. Just a good story well told.