• The Brass Verdict

  • A Novel
  • By: Michael Connelly
  • Narrated by: Peter Giles
  • Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (9,770 ratings)

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The Brass Verdict  By  cover art

The Brass Verdict

By: Michael Connelly
Narrated by: Peter Giles
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Publisher's summary

INSPIRATION FOR THE ORIGINAL SERIES THE LINCOLN LAWYER—THE #1 TV SHOW ON NETFLIX

Defense attorney Mickey Haller and Detective Harry Bosch must either work together or die as they investigate a Hollywood lawyer's murder in this "epic page-turner" (Library Journal).

Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.

Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.

©2008 Hachette Audio; 2008 Michael Connelly

Critic reviews

"The Brass Verdict has the sneaky metabolism of any Connelly book. It starts slowly, moves calmly, hides pertinent bits of information in plain sight and then abruptly ratchets up its energy for the denouement....In the midst of this new story, Mickey rebounds with a vengeance....Like Harry Bosch's mojo, Mickey Haller's is liable to work well for a long time."—Janet Maslin, New York Times
"Connelly is firing on all cylinders in this epic page-turner. The intriguing story line, the chance to view Bosch from another perspective, and Haller's reappearance as a main character add up to a fantastic read. One of the best thrillers of the year."—Jeff Ayers, Library Journal
"The answer to every Connelly fan's dream: Hieronymus Bosch meets the Lincoln Lawyer....By turns wary, competitive, complementary, cooperative and mutually predatory....Connelly brings his two sleuths together in a way that honors them both"—Kirkus Reviews

What listeners say about The Brass Verdict

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5,668
  • 4 Stars
    3,230
  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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Performance
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    68
  • 1 Stars
    39
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    4,354
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    26

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Mickey Haller Is My Favorite Mystery Character

I've got to admit that I don't usually like murder mysteries, but I do like legal thrillers because if written well they test one's intellect. I loved Lincoln Lawyer, and when this title became available I gobbled it up. I was not sorry. Mickey Haller is the perfect companion to Connelly's Harry Bosch - like one of my unexpected discoveries in the world of food couplings, black pepper and chocolate. They are unique protagonists, but come together beautifully creating a savory, thought-provoking mystery which is easily understood audibly, and I imagine would be just as good when being read by eye. I detest novels with too much gory detail, too much blood, too much violence. The story in The Brass Verdict revolves around an ugly crime, but is done in a way which is acceptable to me.

All in all, I give this book a solid four-star rating and recommend it to you.

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68 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Five Star Book; Three Star Narration

If you're a Connelly fan, you won't be disappointed -- he brings Haller and Bosch together in a completely believable way. Seeing Bosch through Haller's eyes (which shows him to be deceptive and rude) is a treat, and reminds you that character is in the eye of the beholder.

However, for me Giles' narration was a bit of a disappointment. First, Adam Grupper did a great job with Haller in the Lincoln Lawyer, and should have been brought back. Second, after you've heard Len Cariou or Dick Hill do Bosch, it's a bit strange to hear Giles' thin take on the character. Same for Jack McEvoy, who plays a bit part: Giles makes him sound like some cub reporter for the Daily Planet.

Still a very credit-worthy book, though, with a great payoff at the end.

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50 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding

As I thought this book is as good as Lincoln Lawyer. I want more!!!! I think mikey and bosch together was the making of the best book michael has written yet!!! I hope that michael continues to write with mikey and bosch just outstandting......

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49 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Horrible Narration

What happened to Dick Hill? This guy Peter Giles is horrible. Constantly emphasizing the wrong words in the sentence. Why oh why was this guy hired?

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38 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Competent as always

Another good story from Connelly and not quite as bleak as usual. The expected interesting characters and interactions, good plot and pacing.

AUDIO: What a disappointment. It's odd that they'd pick someone who can't pronounce "peremptory" to narrate a legal thriller. The real misery, though, is in the reader's constant misemphases, making it hard to understand what the author was really saying without stopping an instant to think, and by then the story has gone on without you. He also has that repellent valley-girl fad of adding ee-oo to words like Malibu and food, making it sound like an adolescent has just spotted a slimy slug. Dump this reader! It didn't help, either, that the producers added pointless pseudo-music at random moments.

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38 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Connelly scores big again

I am a Michael Connelly fan and have read most of his books. His LAPD dectective character, Harry Bosch, is my favorite in this genre. Harry Bosch though is a minor character in The Brass Verdict. Mickey Haller, who appeared earlier in The Lincoln Lawyer is the main character. He is a brillant but flawed criminal defense attorney and Harry Bosch's half brother although not much is made of this. In Verdict, Connelly presents both Bosch and Haller but the Harry Bosch is a little disappointing since he has few of the characteristics readers have come to expect. But Attorney Mickey Haller makes the reader forget Harry Bosch and get totally absorbed in Haller's legal skills. Haller is presented with numerous legal, ethical and personal challenges and Connelly deals with them all with great writing and an uncanny ability to tell a story. Even the most rabid Bosch fan will come away hoping that Connelly gives Mickey Haller another impossible case, as soon as possible.

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32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book; could have had a better narrator

As was the case with many other reviewers familiar with Michael Connelly books, I thought the narrator didn't come up to the very high standards set by Dick Hill. But even with a less than ideal narrator, the book was pretty good. Still worthwhile and I don't think harsh criticism of the narrator is warranted.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Pretty good book, awful narration.

The narrator may be about the worst I have heard in my decades of books on tape/cd/mp3. He is not right for the lead character (but maybe for the surfbum burnout character- he seems to have that one down). The book itself is enjoyable but a small step down from the previous Lincoln Lawyer. My advice: buy the book, narrate it yourself.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

When Legends Meet

Audible dangled a tempting “First in a Series” reduced rate book for “The Lincoln Lawyer”, the first in Michael Connelly’s Mickey Haller series. Haller is a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles county, my stomping grounds as a civil litigator. I don’t end up in the same courtrooms that the fictional Haller does, but I frequently end up in the same courthouses. I really like Los Angeles fiction (Walter Mosley‘s Easy Rawlins series, set in Los Angeles in the fifties and sixties is a favorite), so I thought I would give it a try.

I liked “The Lincoln Lawyer” so much that I immediately went onto “The Brass Verdict”, ignoring several other books I had waiting. In this second-in-the-series, Haller’s taken a sabbatical to sober up after an unfortunate detour into Hillbilly Heroin (oxycontin). The presiding judge of the Los Angeles Criminal Courts calls him in to take over the caseload of a murdered colleague, Jerry Vincent. Haller inherits a first degree murder case, and his new client insists the case must be tried in three weeks. No continuances. Cases like this make Monster Energy Drinks an attorney’s best friend.

While he’s preparing for trial, Haller needs to cooperate with Los Angeles Detective Harry Bosch, who is investigating Vincent’s unsolved murder. Over the years, I’ve read at least half of Connelly’s Bosch series. I like the Bosch character, but I haven‘t followed it closely.

Bosch and Haller have to carefully navigate Bosch’s need to find Vincent’s killer, while Haller has to protect his clients’ confidentiality - even though Bosch strongly suspects one of those clients is Vincent’s killer. The relationship between Bosch and Haller is tightly drawn and tense as Haller learns to trust Bosch and Bosch’s instincts. Bosch never quite trusts Haller, and for good reason - Haller still skirts legal ethics in an endless quest for paying clients.

Although “The Brass Verdict” is listed in both the Bosch and Haller series, it is written entirely from Haller’s point of view.

I like the descriptions of the procedures and rhythm of a trial, because Connelly describes them as a storyteller. Connelly makes routine work interesting, and discusses the reasoning behind Haller’s strategic and tactical decisions.

I’m still stuck a bit by some operational issues I noticed in “The Lincoln Lawyer”. This time, it’s the Court hours. In Los Angeles County, courtrooms are open from 8:30 to noon, and 1:30 to 4:30. Having different hours is a major issue because of bailiff and clerk union rules. So, Haller talking about noon appearances or starting at 1 in the afternoon is jarring for a Los Angeles litigator, but for someone who hasn’t been frustrated by having to stop in the middle of jury voir dire because it‘s 4:30 pm, its not an issue.

I liked Peter Giles narration of “The Brass Verdict” much more than Adam Grupper’s narration of “The Lincoln Lawyer”. Grupper’s Haller would stand out as an outsider in Southern California, but Giles’ Haller would blend right in. Both narrators had the same story telling rhythm, so the transition worked.

“The Brass Verdict” sealed my fate on the series: I immediately purchased the rest of the (too short) series, and listened on. This is my Mickey Haller review, 2 of 4.

[If this review helped you, please let me know by pressing the “Helpful Button”.]

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator ruins it

I am a longtime fan of Connlley's books. Dick Hill is THE voice of Harry Bosch. Even when I read the books I hear his voice. And Dick Hill does a great job with the other character voices also.
Unfortunately, the narrator of this book is only reading the story. He has no character voice changes at all and drones on and on without any excitement or drama. Plus it is quite impossible to tell who is speaking. I couldn't even listen past the 1st 15mins. I tried to skip around to see if anywhere else it got better but it didn't. What a shame.
I will just have to buy the book and read it with Dick Hills voice in my head.
This was a waste of time and money.

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16 people found this helpful