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?