Book Review - The Law of Innocence - Michael Connelly
Mickey Haller is in a spot of bother. After a traffic stop due to missing plates, the body of an ex-client called Sam Scales (who owes money to Haller) is found in the boot of his favourite Lincoln. The defence attorney finds himself on the opposite side of the law, and a Five Million dollar bail tag means he’s trying to build his case in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles. With enemies built up over the years in both the legal and illegal professions, he needs eyes on the back of his head. Like I say, a spot of bother.
Michael Connelly
I haven’t read all the other Mickey Haller books but it’s never a problem with Michael Connelly as you know he’ll effortlessly slide in all the back story you need without it feeling like too much exposition or an info dump - he’s the absolute master at it. I have read all the Bosch books so I’m obviously a bit of a fan but in terms of sheer readability and entertainment in books, alongside Stephen King, there are no better in the business.
One of the first lessons in any creative writing class is to put your hero in a dangerous situation, with his back is up against the wall, and Mickey Haller really couldn’t be in any more trouble. Connolly makes the stakes incredibly high for the character and you really wonder how on earth he’s going to get out of the situation. There’s so much conflict and plot in ‘The law of innocence’ that it’s almost dizzying.
Harry Bosch
Mickeys Half-brother is Harry Bosch, who makes a few brief but telling appearances, and I also recognised Dennis "Cisco" Wojciechowski. Maggie ‘McFierce’ McPherson is in there too and the supporting cast all have their part to play but the story is told in the first person by Haller and you really get a sense of the danger he is in and of the toll the case is taking on him both mentally and physically.
I found ‘the law of innocence’ to be very much a legal thriller rather a mystery book, and I was absolutely fascinated by the machinations of the court system, such as the choosing of a jury and the delaying tactics employed by both side. The state prosecutor Dana 'Death Row' Berg really has it in for her least favourite public defender, and is determined to use whatever tactics she has to to send Haller down for a very long time.
Attention to detail
As usual Michael Connelly’s attention to detail really makes the book come alive, from the legal technicalities in the case, to the occasional mentions of a mysterious ‘flu’ originating in China and the appearance of masks. The correctional center gives some scenes a real sense of menace, as does the Prison bus.
Apparently ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ is to be a Netflix series, focusing on an earlier book called ‘The brass verdict’, so I’ll be tuning into that one. Mickey Haller is such a great character, he has his demons and lots of foes, so he’s perfect for basing a story around. I might just have to go back and read the previous books.
Summary
This is crime/legal thriller par excellence. I found it an absolutely riveting read, with a strong plot and a real sense of the huge stakes for Mickey Haller. I also learned a lot about the legal system in the US. What is the law of innocence?
‘The law of innocence is unwritten. It will not be found in a leather-bound codebook. It will never be argued in a courtroom. It cannot be written into law by the elected. It is an abstract idea and yet it closely aligns with the hard laws of nature and science. In the law of physics, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the law of innocence, for every man not guilty of a crime, there is a man out there who is. And to prove true innocence, the guilty man must be found and exposed to the world.’
Book review - The law of innocence by Michael Connelly
400 pages
First published November 10, 2020
Little, Brown and Company
Amazon UK Amazon US Bookshop.org
If you liked this, you’ll definitely enjoy the dark hours from the Ballard and Bosch series