The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly is the second book in the Mickey Haller series. Connelly has intertwined the stories of all his leading characters including Mickey Haller, Harry Bosch, Renée Ballard, and Jack McEvoy throughout his writing career. I reached the point in the Bosch series where having more background on these other Connelly characters seemed important, so I decided to go back and catch up. Not sure if Haller draws you in the same way that Harry Bosch did, but both books have been ok reads and have book 3, The Reversal, downloaded to read next.
This book starts about a year after the first book in the series, The Lincoln Lawyer. Mickey Haller has spent a year recuperating from his wounds and a subsequent addiction to painkillers. He is called back to the practice of law when an old acquaintance, defense attorney Jerry Vincent, is murdered. Haller inherits Vincent’s caseload, which includes the high-profile trial of Walter Elliott, a Hollywood mogul accused of murdering his wife Mitzi and her German lover. Haller secures this “franchise” case, persuading the mogul to keep him on as counsel by promising not to seek a postponement of the trial, which is due to start in nine days.
LAPD detective Harry Bosch is investigating Vincent’s murder. Bosch, warning that Vincent’s killer may come after Haller next, persuades the reluctant lawyer to cooperate in the ongoing murder investigation. Meanwhile, Haller shakes off the rust, and lingering self-doubts, as he prepares for the double-murder trial.
Here are a couple of the videos Connelly used to promote the book.
Visit the book page on the author’s site
The Brass Verdict
By Michael Connelly
Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is ready to go back to the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent’s killer may be coming for him next.
Enter LAPD Detective Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent’s killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.
Published September 18, 2008
408 pages (print)