The Lincoln Lawyer

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Adam Grupper

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

The best-selling legal thriller - and CBS TV series - has charismatic defense attorney Mickey Haller taking on a slam-dunk court case involving a Beverly Hills playboy - but as it spirals into a nightmare, he finds himself in a fight for his life.

Mickey Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers - they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it's about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it's even about justice.

A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney's dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career. Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame.

To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal - this time to save his own life.

©2005 Hieronymus, Inc. All Rights Reserved (P)2005 Time Warner AudioBooks

Critic reviews

• 2005 Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award, Mystery/Thriller

"A fast-paced, unpredictable ride." (Bookmarks Magazine)

"[The Lincoln Lawyer] has all the right stuff: a sinuous plot, crisp dialogue, and a roster of reprehensible characters." (Booklist, starred review)

A Solid Read

I don't usually dip into this sort of novel, so I can't give any nuanced review pertaining to the style of Connelly compared to other big names in the genre, or even how well it stacks up to his other books. But as a general reader I really enjoyed the perspective of the book. I don't usually love first person books, but the tone used was extremely vivid and felt realistic. First person perspective allowed the reader to get inside the head of the main character and sort of build up a sturdy image of him, his interesting ethical code, and the kinds of side hustles and legal tricks he uses to get by in his legal practice. While I'm not sure about the idea of him being on relatively good terms with both ex-wives, the cast of characters (with the exception of his second ex-wife) were well fleshed-out and had their own motivations. It was a slightly large cast for me, and I found myself slightly confused as to who was being referenced at first, but as time went on, that quickly passed. The insight of how the character thinks is really interesting to me. It makes it feel much more immediate and the stakes feel higher. You're taken, inexorably, on this ride.

Adam Grupper's performance was stellar, with just enough wry edge to really make the main character come to life. He didn't make the women sound overly shrill or feminine or young (ingenue-esque). However, at least for me, there was a bit of a muddying of the audio, a bit of a buzz that I found distracting. I always try to listen on headphones in a quiet room because I hate missing things, but I could not shake this buzz! I tried other headphones and it stayed. I have been a member for almost a decade and rarely have any feedback on quality, so I'm convinced it's just a buzzy recording. I recommend really thinking on if it will be distracting before purchasing. That kept the performance rating under 5 stars. I'll look for more of Grupper's work in the future, because he really was stellar.

I will look for other works from Michael Connelly as well. I tend to be specific when getting into this literary territory because it's so new for me, but other than some dragging, a few pretty cheesey lines (the ending sentences, some of his spiel with the main client in the book where he's trying to inject gravity), and a little lacking in the development of certain characters, this was a really solid read and a good experience for someone just getting into this genre. I'll also note, I haven't watched the movie adaption of this with Matthew Mcconaughey, but after finishing this, I'm curious to see how they handled the material. If it stays faithful, I think I'll be impressed.

Loved it!

The story was excellent. The performer voiced the characters perfectly! I am a Connelly fan and found this book to be right up to par with his Bosch novels.

The story was interesting and...

This is an interesting story, I never grew tired of it and my mind didn't wander. Just when I thought I had it figured out, the story changed. The narrator is excellent, all the different voices really brought the story to life.

great

excellent book-the character and the narrator were fantastic

Held my interest

Very interesting plot that really held my interest throughout.

Interesting and Educational

A highly interesting and educational view of how defense lawyers work; told inside a suspenseful thriller. This is one of the better legal thrillers I have read. Interesting character development showing a complex personality, with positive and negative attributes. I highly recommend The Lincoln Lawyer.

Well Orchestrated

What did you love best about The Lincoln Lawyer?

The story line is clever, interesting and all the characters are well developed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character because he seems to care about right and wrong.

What about Adam Grupper’s performance did you like?

Everything. He did a great job with all the voices and inflections.

Great legal plot twister

I always enjoy Michael Conelly, but this has to be my favorite. Just when I thought I had the story figured out, which was rare, there was another turn. He really kept me guessing the entire time. Well done!

The Movie Is Just As Good

I saw the movie first and really enjoyed reading this book with visions of Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller in my head. I recommend both the book and the movie. Just another great read from Michael Connelly.

Interesting but...

The story is fun. The reading itself is well done, but the background music is overkill, unnecessary, very distracting, and takes away from an otherwise very good reader.