Finished Reading Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer

I recently finished reading my first Michael Connelly novel, which I had borrowed from my local public library.  Always a little unsure when I begin a new author, I was encouraged when I stepped up to the check-out counter and the attendant began praising my selection, titled The Lincoln Lawyer.  Later I found out that many others also liked this novel, with some claiming that it ranks as one of the best of Connelly's works.  It was not only his first foray into writing a story about law, but was also adapted into a film...about which I knew nothing. 

The Lincoln Lawyer is told in the first person by young hotshot (and very cynical) Los Angeles defense attorney Mickey Haller.  He definitely has his own philosophy about the legal profession that leaves little room to think about lofty concepts like principles and justice.  Still, as the story develops, something interesting happens: he begins to feel the pangs of a conscience and sets out to right what he considers wrongs that he has done...unintentional wrongs, but wrongs nonetheless. 

The story involves the defense of a spoiled and irresponsible rich young man, backed by his rich family, who is charged with aggravated assault and attempted murder of a young woman.  The defense investigation, as do typical fictional investigations, rankles some people and causes some severe responses.  Ultimately, the trial takes place under very conflicted circumstances for Haller.  The author kept me as a reader interested and in suspense, wondering both who was truly guilty and how the protagonist would be able to get himself extracted from the dilemma in which he had become trapped.  But the biggest impact this story had for me was its probing into the thoughts of opposing lawyers as they relate to presenting their sides of a case to a jury.

When I served as a juror a few months ago, I got the feeling that the lawyers on both sides were manipulating the jury with behavior that was designed to play on our emotions instead of providing us with the evidence and sufficient testimony we needed to arrive at an appropriate verdict.  Connelly's depiction of how trials are conducted did little to change my opinion...it only affirmed it. Both sides act on the surface with an air of deference and respect to those serving jury duty, but actually hold them in low regard. 

I liked The Lincoln Lawyer and will definitely seek out more of Michael Connelly's works.  As it turns out, he was born the same year I was, grew up and went to school in South Florida in the same county as me, just a few miles away, and now resides here in Gainesville.  Those coincidences are interesting...and admittedly a little creepy as well...