Review & Giveaway: 43. The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly...

If you've read Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer, then you've been introduced to Mickey Haller. And if you've seen the movie, then you will not be able to picture anyone other than Matthew McConaughey as Mickey. Or if you're like me, you haven't seen it yet, but still pictured Matthew as Mickey throughout the entirety of The Fifth Witness, drawl and all...

Title: The Fifth Witness (Mickey Haller #4)
Author: Michael Connelly
ISBN-13: 9780316069359
ARC: 421 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Hachette Book Group

drey's thoughts:
I didn't know that The Fifth Witness was the fourth Mickey Haller novel--where've I been? And just in case you didn't know either, The Brass Verdict (2008) and The Reversal (2010) featured both Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch. I'm going to add them to my to-read list...

Anyway, back to Mickey. He's branched out into foreclosures, and has more clients than he knows what to do with, so there's a new face in the firm--fresh out of law school. When one of his foreclosure clients is arrested on charges of murdering a bank executive, Mickey agrees to defend her. Then, because you just know that things can't quite be that easy, he uncovers a trail that to mob ties that could have set her on the path to being framed.

I still like Mickey. He's trying to juggle the demands of the trial with mending fences with his ex-wife & daughter, and he's not doing too badly at it either. And no, picturing Matthew as Mickey didn't hurt that in the least. *wink* But back to the book. The storyline flows quickly, as does the plot. There are a few twists, but nothing crazy or far out in left field, just the usual legal-thriller innocent-or-guilty stuff... And I finally figured out what the title refers to. *grin*

drey's rating: 4/5 Excellent: Loved this legal thriller (and no, it wasn't all 'cuz of Matthew!)--pick it up if that's your thing. It's fit equally well as a beach read as a curl-up-in-blankets read...

Have you read The Fifth Witness? What did you think? And if you haven't, here's your chance...

Giveaway!
Thanks to Hachette Book Group, I have one copy of The Fifth Witness for you, if you live in the US or Canada (no PO Boxes, please)! To enter, comment with your email address and tell us if you've read any of Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller books (or any of Michael Connelly's books). That's it. Do it before 6pm CST April 14th. Good luck!

Review: 26. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly...

My copy of The Lincoln Lawyer has Matthew McConaughey on the cover... *drool* But, I did manage to tear myself away from the cover and crack open the pages. *grin*

Title: The Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller #1)
Author: Michael Connelly
ISBN-13: 9781455500246
Paperback: 404 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2011
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
Source: Hachette Book Group

drey's thoughts:
Ok, so not only does The Lincoln Lawyer look good, it reads good, too. Mickey Haller is a criminal defense attorney, which doesn't quite put him on people's favorite-person-on-earth (or even in LA) list. But he's nice enough to still be on speaking terms with both his ex-wives, which should count for something, right?

Anyway. Mickey is looking for his next franchise client, which means the $ comes in regularly, which boosts his ability to pay his employees and his mortgage. Whoever said law was lucrative has obviously never done it in Mickey's shoes... When Beverly Hills rich-boy Louis Roulet picks Mickey to represent him in an aggravated-assault case, Mickey thinks this is his franchise client, and goes gang-busters to defend him. Until his digging starts leaving bodies in the dust. What do you do when you think your client isn't just guilty of the crime, but he's guilty of more?

Character: Maybe having yummilicious Matthew on the cover tipped the scales for me, but I really liked Mickey Haller. Yeah, he's a lawyer, and we've all heard the bottom-feeding-scum jokes, but he's nice. And conscientious. His gut-instincts take a while to convince his brain about his client, but watching the realization dawn and his resulting actions unfolding makes for a gripping, can't-put-it-down read.

The bad guy doesn't come across bad for most of the book, in fact he barely appears except when necessary. And you never see him as bad, you only see him as Mickey relates to his feelings towards him. Until he decides it's time to gloat, because they all have to gloat...

Pace & Plot: The Lincoln Lawyer is a pretty quick read, even at 404 pages. The story sometimes goes off on tangents, but they're there to show that Mickey isn't just dependent on one case, and some of his cases have an impact on others, while at least one shows his humanity. Because yes, lawyers can be nice people too. I've already mentioned that, haven't I? In any case (ha ha), you won't put this down until you've finished reading the last page.

drey's rating: 4/5 Excellent: Awesome beach read if you're lucky enough to not be in freezing-cold weather.

Have you read The Lincoln Lawyer? What did you think?

Giveaway: The Lincoln Lawyer!!

Gooooooooooooood morning, everyone! Ok, so it's almost lunchtime... Sorry! I've been busy busy busy, we have a project go-live for work, and I've been running around like a nut. BUT. Not so busy that I wasn't going to share this lovely giveaway with you...

Thanks to Hachette Book Group and the movie studio, I have for you 5 (yes, FIVE) sets of the movie poster and mass market paperback of Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer, coming to theaters near you on March 18th!! I want a copy for myself, just for the cover alone... *wipes off drool* I HEART MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY!!

Ok, I'm done drooling. I hope. Back to y'all. Like I said, I have 5 sets to give away. Here's some deets and fun stuff:

About the book:

Mickey Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers - they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it's about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it's even about justice.

A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney's dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career. Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal - this time to save his own life.

Check out the trailers at the movie website: http://thelincolnlawyermovie.com/

This one's for US and Canada only, no PO Boxes, please*. To get your name in the hat, comment and tell me: If not Matthew yummilicious McConaughey, who else could you see in the role of Mickey Haller? Make sure your email address is included. And enter before 6pm CST February 8th! Good luck!

* One winner per address, so if you win from multiple sites, only one set will be mailed out

Tour & Giveaway: 183. Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly...

About the book:

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is off the chain in the fastest, fiercest, and highest-stakes case of his life.

Fortune Liquors is a small shop in a tough South L.A. neighborhood, a store Bosch has known for years. The murder of John Li, the store's owner, hits Bosch hard, and he promises Li's family that he'll find the killer.

The world Bosch steps into next is unknown territory. He brings in a detective from the Asian Gang Unit for help with translation—not just of languages but also of the cultural norms and expectations that guided Li's life. He uncovers a link to a Hong Kong triad, a lethal and far-reaching crime ring that follows many immigrants to their new lives in the U.S.

And instantly his world explodes. The one good thing in Bosch's life, the person he holds most dear, is taken from him and Bosch travels to Hong Kong in an all-or-nothing bid to regain what he's lost. In a place known as Nine Dragons, as the city's Hungry Ghosts festival burns around him, Bosch puts aside everything he knows and risks everything he has in a desperate bid to outmatch the triad's ferocity.

About the author:
Michael Connelly, a #1 New York Times bestselling novelist and a former journalist, has won numerous crime fiction prizes. He lives in Florida.

drey's thoughts:
I never knew Kowloon meant "nine dragons." Although, once I read it, it was like, duh! Anyway, that's neither here nor there... =P

Nine Dragons starts off slowly, compared to the frenetic pace of the rest of the book... This is my first Harry Bosch book (I believe there are 14 others), but Mr. Connelly's writing is so good that I didn't feel like I was missing anything from the previous books.

In this one, Harry's got a gang-related murder to solve. When all the evidence--that they have, anyway--points to the triads, Harry asks for help navigating the complexities of Asian gangs. While he's involved in this case, and dealing with a skittish partner, he gets word (or, in this case, video) that his daughter's disappeared. In Hong Kong. Two plus two equals four (right??), so Harry hops on the first flight over, to find his daughter before the triad hurts her. Or so he assumes.

Nine Dragons is detective drama at its best. It will grip you and not let you go until you've turned the last page.

Giveaway!
Thanks to Hachette Book Group, I have up to five copies of Nine Dragons for you...
Rules:
-- Contest is open to US and Canada residents, no PO Boxes please!
-- To enter, comment and share: Have you been to Hong Kong? If yes, when, & what did you do there? If no, would you want to & why? I've only been twice--both times I spent 5 hours at the airport, on the way home, and on the way back. So while I have set foot on HK soil, I haven't actually been. Not sure I want to, either...
-- Follow for 1 extra entry.
-- Share for 2 extra entries (let me know what & where, please).
-- Every 10 people entered gets another copy in the hat, so tell everyone! =)
-- Do it all before 6:00 pm CST October 28th. Good luck!

Tour stops:
10/13: Revenge of the Book Nerds, Chick with Books, Review from Here, Just One More Page...or Two

10/14: Pick of the Literate, Book Series Reviews, Bookin' with Bingo

10/15: drey's library, Starting Fresh, Froggaritaville's Bookcase

10/16: Rundpinne, Wendy's Minding Spot

10/17: Readaholic, Booking Mama

10/18: One Person's Journey through a World of Book, A Bookworm's World, Pop Culture Nerd

10/19: Just Another New Blog, Reading at the Beach, Booksie's Blog

10/20: A Few of My Favorite Things, Bermudaonion's Weblog

10/21: Libby's Library News, A Book Blogger's Diary

Disclosure: My copy of Nine Dragons was provided by Hachette Book Group for this blog tour.

80. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly...

With how busy things have been 'round here, I completely forgot that there was another May release to review, on my shelves! O_O So I found it, and read it in one swoop last night. While the Mr. was playing GTA4...

About the book:

Forced out of the Los Angeles Times amid the latest budget cuts, newspaper-man Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paper to write the definitive murder story of his career.

He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a sixteen-year-old drug dealer who is in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as Jack delves into the story, he realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. The kid might actually be innocent.

Jack is soon running with his biggest story since the Poet made his career years ago. He is tracking a killer who operates completely below police radar--and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. Including Jack's.

Can I just say that this read fit perfectly after the mounds of chick-lit-ish books I've been reviewing lately? (as someone very nicely pointed out to me)  Good characters, plot, story-telling... I loved when Jack informs the CNN news guy that he needs a "beeper"--because someone'll have to beep the mf coming out of Alonzo's mouth with every other word...  =)  I like that Jack's not perfect, he isn't one of those heroes that just knows what the bad guy is doing, or where he's at... Jack has to work at deciphering the clues he's given, which makes this a kinda thinking-book, too. Of course, it doesn't hurt my impression that Jack has to be rescued--the first time--by a gal... *grin* The Scarecrow is out tomorrow (yeah, I left it late!), grab it for the beach if you're looking for something other than summer fluff.

As for the GTA4 mention... The Scarecrow kept my attention even with the awesome radio stations broadcasting during the game...  =)

Title: The Scarecrow
Author: Michael Connelly
ISBN-10: 0-316-16630-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-16630-0
Paperback: 415 pages (ARC)
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, May 2009 (hardcover)