The Brass Verdict
Year: 2008
Author: Michael Connelly
Length: 681 minutes / 11.35 hours
Another book, another trial for the Lincoln Lawyer. While I appreciated the stand-alone nature of this book, I also liked that knowledge of the events in the first book of this sub-series helped to provide context for the challenges Mickey Haller now faces. The main case of this novel was pretty predictable, especially if you read into the insinuation of the title. I would have liked a little more attention on the side-case surrounding the death of Haller’s lawyer colleague. It seemed to be more of a Harry Bosch story, though, so I can understand why the focus was on Haller’s case.
Once again, Michael Connelly creates an easily readable series of events that unfold in the courtroom. Some twists at the end were exciting developments but were definitely easily guessed if the reader was paying attention. There’s almost a guilty pleasure in following Haller along as he embeds that reasonable doubt into the jury’s minds. Something about the justice system being used to make absolutely sure someone is innocent or guilty just sits right, even if it’s in the defense of a completely unlikeable character. This character’s final fate was equally as satisfying, even if it wasn’t in court.
As noted above, my only qualm with the novel was that it seemed to be only one side of the story. While we followed Mickey Haller, there was another story unfolding with Harry Bosch that probably could have filled up another volume. There was a lot that Bosch did behind the scenes that made his story also seem quite interesting, even if it wasn’t expressed in these pages. The connection between these two characters at the end of the book was also nice, and I am curious how often Bosch will come back into play in future Mickey Haller books.
A straightforward courtroom drama with predictable twists, I give The Brass Verdict 3.5 stars out of 5.
