The Reversal (A Lincoln Lawyer Novel) [Hardcover]

Michael Connelly (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 5, 2010 | Series: A Lincoln Lawyer Novel

Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.

Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years.

With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Connelly's new thriller features two of his series heroes-the wily defense attorney Mickey Haller and his half-brother, LAPD detective Harry Bosch. This time Haller is working the other side of the courtroom, as a special independent prosecutor trying to keep a very nasty child molester and killer behind bars, with Bosch doing his legwork. As we've seen in The Brass Verdict, the author has Haller narrating his chapters, while the Bosch-centered sections are told in the third person. For the former, Peter Giles has developed a breezy, fast-paced vocal approach, while the detective's process is presented in a tougher, no frills manner. Additional characters are provided their own unique voices, including the smooth-talking district attorney, the arrogant villain, Haller's icy-but-melting former wife, and a brave but wavering witness to the crime. Not only is the production highly entertaining, the package is particularly generous, offering an additional two CDs containing unabridged MP3-format versions of The Reversal and the previous Haller-Bosch match, The Brass Verdict, also read by Giles. A Little, Brown hardcover. (Nov.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Connelly may be our most versatile crime writer. His Harry Bosch series has taken the hard-boiled cop novel to a new level of complexity, both in its portrayal of the hero’s inner life and in Connelly’s ability to intertwine landscape and meaning. His Mickey Haller novels, on the other hand, starring the maverick lawyer who uses his Lincoln Town Car as an office, are testaments to the sublime architecture of plot. With the crime novel now commonly rubbing elbows with literary fiction, it sometimes seems that pure story has become a forgotten stepchild. In his Haller novels, Connelly reminds us how satisfying it can be to follow the path of a well-constructed plot. So it is here, in the third Haller novel, which finds the antiestablishment attorney accepting an unlikely offer: a one-time gig as a prosecutor, retrying a case in which a killer’s 24-year-old conviction has been overturned on the basis of DNA. Taking second chair will be Haller’s ex-wife, the formidable Maggie, with Harry Bosch (identified in The Brass Verdict, 2008, as Haller’s half brother) serving as special investigator. The table is set for a straightforward legal thriller, albeit one starring three superbly multidimensional characters. And, yet, Connelly bobs and weaves around all our expectations. There is suspense, of course, and there are plenty of surprises, both in the courtroom and outside of it, but this is a plot that won’t be pigeonholed. Reading this book is like watching a master craftsman, slowly and carefully, brick by brick, build something that holds together exquisitely, form and function in perfect alignment. --Bill Ott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 389 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (October 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316069485
• ISBN-13: 978-0316069489
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (426 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing ' a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.

After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.

After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles , was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with 18 more novels. His books have been translated into 31 languages and have won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Shamus, Dilys, Nero, Barry, Audie, Ridley, Maltese Falcon (Japan), .38 Caliber (France), Grand Prix (France), and Premio Bancarella (Italy) awards.

Michael lives with his family in Florida.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#40 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Police Procedurals

#9 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#10 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#11 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers

#4 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Police Procedurals

#9 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#10 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#11 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

256 of 266 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Nothing seemed to move in a straight line." October 5, 2010

By E. Bukowsky HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Michael Connelly brings together criminal defense attorney Michael (Mickey) Haller and his half-brother, the cynical and battle-scarred LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, in "The Reversal." Mickey calls himself "the defender of the damned," a job he has had for over twenty years. "During that time," he states, "I'd grown a suspicion and distrust of prosecutors and police...." Still, the L. A. District Attorney convinces Mickey to go over to the dark side as an independent special prosecutor in the second trial of Jason Jessup. The defendant has already spent twenty-four years in San Quentin for abducting and strangling twelve-year-old Melissa Landy. Over the last two decades, Jessup filed numerous motions and appeals while steadfastly proclaiming his innocence. Much to his delight, the California Supreme Court reversed his conviction and sent the case back to Los Angeles County "for either retrial or dismissal of the charges." Against his better judgment, Mickey agrees to take the case, partly because it will give him an opportunity to work with his ex-wife, deputy district attorney Maggie McPherson, and Harry Bosch, who will be their investigator.

Jessup has a groundswell of support from the liberal media and an organization of lawyers known as the Genetic Justice Project. Although the physical evidence against Jessup may be a bit shaky, Melissa's sister, Sarah, who was thirteen when the murder occurred, vehemently stands by her eyewitness identification of Jessup as Melissa's abductor. However, Sarah has a history of drug abuse and run-ins with the law which the defense will undoubtedly exploit in an attempt to discredit her.

This is one of Connelly's most suspenseful and involving legal thrillers in years. It has incisive and realistic dialogue, compelling courtroom scenes, well-drawn characters, and a carefully constructed plot. Fascinating details about surveillance, trial strategy, forensics, and police procedure add to the book's verisimilitude. The only false note is that when Mickey is on the scene, he is the first-person narrator, but otherwise, Connelly writes in the third person. This is slightly jarring; Connelly might have been better off sticking to the third person throughout, especially since Haller, McPherson, and Bosch all share the spotlight. Another familiar face is FBI profiler Rachel Walling, who makes a strong cameo appearance when Bosch requests her analysis of Jessup's behavior. Harry stands out as the person most invested in nailing Jessup, partly because Harry has sole responsibility for his fourteen-year-old daughter whom he adores, and partly because he has worked tirelessly on hundreds of homicides during his thirty-five year career as a cop. He is passionate about finding the bad guys and putting them away so that they cannot do any more damage.

In "The Reversal," the author effectively shows how politics and public opinion influence the legal process; how the stress of trying a high-profile case can lead to mistakes in judgment; and the importance of always being prepared for the unexpected. Readers who crave a feel-good ending may balk at the novel's disquieting finale. Others may find Connelly's conclusion thought-provoking, daring, and original. It certainly demonstrates the ways in which life's vicissitudes and the capriciousness of fate can undermine the search for truth and pervert the course of justice.

91 of 99 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars In a Perfect World October 5, 2010

By J. Brian Watkins VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like Michael Connolly's writing. Detective Harry Bosch is among the leading characters of the genre, having been developed over the course of many novels; however, in Reversal, Bosch becomes part of an ensemble cast, his becomes a supporting role. Reversal's protagonist is Mickey Haller, a veteran of two prior books--a character not yet nearly as completely drawn and therefore lacking the complexity of Detective Bosch. The story of the re-trial of a child murderer, the reversal of whose conviction gives its name to the tale, Reversal has as much to say about the importance of good police work as the nature of justice as served by our legal system.

This is a legal fantasy novel. Sure, the author has researched his stuff and he is (largely) correct on the procedure but it comes together in a way that only happens in fiction. No explanations here because that would spoil the read, however, I note that Connolly anticipates incredulity by offering it up through other characters in the story. Law lends itself to fiction because it allows for a life and death drama to be played out in a systematic fashion--most of us have been jurors, after all. Being a lawyer, albeit a civil lawyer, perhaps I am only noticing that which has been apparent to police detectives throughout the Bosch series--real life is never so neatly resolved. Reversal represents a confluence of a number of rare events, a combination of events not often encountered in the singular much less the plurality evident in this story. But I cannot blame the author for introducing fantastic elements because the twists and turns of actual litigation are often far less believable than the plot created by an imaginative author; you can't fault Connolly for coming up with a fantastic story because, for example, who would believe the OJ story if we hadn't lived through it.

Connolly refrains, thankfully, from the moral ambiguity that is the hallmark of other authors. His is still a world of honest cops and ethical lawyers--though his characters are aware of and note the boundaries of ethics, Connolly's drama is played out by what happens to the ostensible bad guy and our author does not spare characters who cross ethical lines from the consequences of their actions.

I enjoyed Reversal, reading it was time well spent with an author now so skilled that he can make serious effort look easy. The only problem is that one must judge Reversal against other Connolly books and because so much effort has been put into developing Harry Bosch's character, Haller's journey does not yet produce as much interest. The characters in this book do not really have quite the same internal struggles as in Connolly's other novels--but this is merely a quibble because Haller is a newer character lacking the backstory of Bosch. The book was worth every penny, a good read by a fine author.

90 of 106 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not that great October 12, 2010

By M. Glish

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Probably like most of us as we get older and have a family, Harry Bosch is slowing down. Michael Connolly certainly is. This story is long on procedure and short on mystery. Harry, his half-brother, his half-brother's ex-wife, and the two daughters just don't have the edginess of the early characters. This story is very predictable and lacks complexity. Unpredictability and complexity is what made the earlier books so much fun. I think Mr. Connolly should consider putting out books as he crafts a good story vs. once a year according to his publisher's schedule. Having said that, I will admit that it was hard to put down. On the other hand, most of Connolly's early work was impossible to put down. My advice - wait for the paperback or check it out from the library.