The Brass Verdict

The Brass Verdict

I read this book by Michael Connelly several months ago and really enjoyed it.  The book is told from the point of view of Mickey Haller who was previously the mail character in The Lincoln Lawyer.  I liked all of Connelly's book, but The Lincoln Lawyer was not one of my favorites.  Haller is a a criminal defense lawyer that works out of a Lincoln Continental vehicle, rather than an office.

As the book opens, Haller has been taking a hiatus from practicing law and he works to overcome a pain killer addiction.  However, an old colleague, Jerry Vincent is murdered and Haller inherits.  Vincent was preparing for a high profile murder trial for Hollywood producer, Walter Elliott.

The police believe that Vincent's murder is related to the Elliott trial and that Haller may be in danger as well.  The Detective investigating Vincent's murder is Harry Bosch, who is the main character in many of Connelly's book.  The strength of The Brass Verdict is the interactions between Haller and Vincent.  There is a natural animosity between a policemen and a defense attorney.  However, Bosch is protecting Haller from a potential danger if the person that killed Vincent is now after Haller.

The novel was told from Haller's point of view which made it interesting since we got his thoughts and perceptions of Bosch, who is more of a secondary character in this book instead of the central figure in most of Connelly's books. Haller and Bosch like each other despite the natural distrust from their jobs and earn each other's respect.

The story of Elliott trial involved jury tampering that had been set up before Haller got involved.  Eventually Haller and Bosch get to the bottom of it, but not before Elliott is murdered.  This was not a typical Connelly  because the Haller / Bosch interaction was as much a part of the story as the the Elliott trial and more interesting.  

I enjoyed the feeling out, conversations and working together between Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch throughout the story.  However, I did not like the surprise at the end when Haller and Bosch discover that they are half brothers.  This was a bit too small worldish for me.

Bosch has been a great character through a lot of books, but there are times that I get tired of him.  Having Bosch as a secondary character worked well in this case, better than it did previously in A Darkness More than Night.  Haller grew on me in this book and I can see that Connelly is adding more depth to Haller and additional secondary characters so I expect there is to be more Haller books in the future.
         
Connelly is a talented writer, whose book are consistently good and at times outstanding.  I would rate this book as an average book for Connelly which means it was very good.  I believe that I have read all of Connelly's book except for a non fiction book he wrote several years ago.  He is one of my favorite authors. I give The Brass Verdict a B.