I much prefer author Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch novels, of which a new one (The Drop) is coming in October. But these days it seems that when we don't get Harry, we get Mickey Haller, "The Lincoln Lawyer," and Connelly's latest book, The Fifth Witness, featuring the attorney whose office is the back seat of his Ford Lincoln, is the best yet of that series.
It's a torn-from-the-headlines tale of Haller moving his law business into fighting foreclosures. One of his clients, a sad, obsessive woman named Lisa Trammel (as in trampled, kind of, but that's how she seems to be: trampled by life) is accused of murdering a bank official. Lisa has lost her husband, her house, and now is in jail under suspicion of murder. It's up to the intrepid Haller to put together all the pieces of the intricate puzzle that is the true story behind the homicide, all the while not at all liking his client, who is a bit of a pain in the butt.
Connelly is known for his police procedurals, so when he went down this road with Haller, readers didn't know what to expect. It's a definite trip into Grisham-town or Turow-ville, and Connelly rises to the occasion. This is a thoroughly engrossing book, a real page-turner with a twist (in some ways, a twist too far, I think). In this third book about Haller, Connelly grows his character into an attorney with more of a conscious and the next step--and hopefully, the next book--shows a surprise turn of events based on a decision reached by the somewhat, at times, borderline sleazy lawyer.
I recently saw the movie version of the first book, The Lincoln Lawyer. And while I had total reservations about Matthew McConaughey being cast as Haller, I did enjoy the flick, if not the lead actor. (Having Marisa Tomei as Maggie McFierce certainly helped, although she was in the film way too little.) Despite my enjoyment, I couldn't help think--especially after reading The Fifth Witness--what a great AMC or FX TV series The Lincoln Lawyer would be. I'm a bit mystified why anyone thought a movie would be successful as anything other than a one-shot. Neither the premise or the star warrant a tentpole/franchise type of deal. But as a TV series, with each book being one season, The Lincoln Lawyer shows real promise. With both of Connelly's characters--Bosch and Haller--it makes more sense to consider the TV series route then the movie one. Bosch's back story (which involves Viet Nam) and impressive set of novels featuring him would put him in his mid-60s now, not exactly exciting as a movie series to anyone but the Matlock crowd. But on TV...well, that's a different story, pun intended.
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