The Law of Innocence - Michael Connelly

THE NEW LINCOLN LAWYER NOVEL OUT 10TH NOVEMBER

Highly enjoyable entry into the Mickey Haller universe with guest appearances by half-brother, Harry Bosch.

Ordinarily with Haller stories, he is facing down the law on the side of the victim, chasing for clues and crooked cops as he seeks justice for the person he is defending and sometimes those he defend are not all they seem.

In this new story from the prolific Connelly, Mickey - the famous Lincoln Lawyer so well adapted in the 2011 thriller directed by Brad Furman and written for the screen by John Romano, and famously portrayed by the smooth-talking Matthew McConnaughey - is himself charged with murder after a routine traffic stop finds a body in his trunk, one that Mickey cannot explain but as the victim is a former client of his who owed him money it gets all a bit convoluted. 

The book descends into more a courtroom tussle, and puts Mickey in a difficult situation. He has to prove that he is not innocent just not guilty which is the law within the courtroom, he is worried that his professional career will suffer if he is not properly acquited and wishes an apology from the court and District Attorney if possible. Constantly the law of innocence is asked as Mickey staves off the first degree murder charges against him.

                                  

The swiftness of plot and effortless character arc and narrative is second to none; the inclusion of Bosch is deliberate but not overbearing, as a secondary character from his own universe may overtake proceedings but Bosch serves as an important part of Mickey's defence team to seek the truth.

I spent the whole time with the voices of Matthew McConnaughey and Titus Weliver in my head; this would be a tale ripe for adaptation - and Connelly makes it very much of the here and now with the tale taking place over November 2019 to March 2020 with the threat and worry over a possible pandemic incoming to the populus of Los Angeles, with little touches such as people wearing masks and general unknowingness of an impending doom.

As a fan of Connelly's work and the Amazon Prime original series Bosch this is thoroughly enjoyable fare of the highest order from a writer working at full speed and the top of his game.

The Law of Innocence is published on November 10th from Orion Books

Dark Sacred Night

Michael Connelly returns with the latest novel featuring Detective Harry Bosch

Set in and around Los Angeles, Bosch is not necessarily the lead protagonist of this novel. He is partnered up with the younger female Renee Ballard, a detective who must navigate the dreaded graveyard shift.

The wonderful plot device that Connelly uses is that we have the dual threat of following both Bosch and Ballard as they go around investigating, and while Bosch can seemingly focus all his efforts on solving the case of Daisy Clayton, a murder case that has not been solved for 10 years.

Ballard is used as a political statement - a younger member of the police force who must navigate all various channels of enquiry as well as the actual beat of hitting the street and resolving disputes. 

In the middle part of the book, Ballard investigates the disappearance of an elected official's son; she visits the apartment where he resides, questions the room-mate and then notices a rug has been moved.  It shows that the flat-mate has murdered the missing son, this is great writing and shows the ingenuity and intelligence of Ballard in such matters, in another chapter she attends a strip joint that is worried about someone breaking in and robbing them, this turns out to be youths sneaking a peek at female flesh.

This constant dipping in and out of actual day to day work away from the deeper dive into the Clayton murder case keeps the reader on its toes while appreciating the sincerity of Ballard married with the sheer doggedness of Bosch - a nice union which has perhaps breathed new life into the old sage. A sequel or new book the The Night Fire is out in October of this year

Connelly shares the writing style of contemporaries Child and James Patterson, it is quick and zips along at a clip that allows the book to be devoured in several sittings.  Like James Ellroy who famously writes about Los Angeles and Hollywood, Connelly writes about the city using the vast landscape of the sprawling cityscape to his advantage with a milieu of background characters and cameos breathing life into the story whenever needed.

Dark Sacred Night is one of those thrilling books that can be perfect for the beach or the bedroom, a master storyteller at the peak of his powers.

Out from Orion Books in Paperback from 16th May.

My thanks to Tracy Fenton for the review opportunity and being part of the blog tour