The Lincoln Lawyer

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Adam Grupper

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)

Excellent legal thriller

I am going to see what my attorney son thinks of this... but it was hard to stop listening since the plot has many unexpected twists and turns. Recently I have been able to predict the ending of most novels but in this case, my thoughts kept changing. Well worth the read or listen.

Nearly perfect

Connally can write and plot.

The narrator, Adam Grupper, brings the our hero to life beautifully, with his strengths and weaknesses.

(we'd like to have Mickey for our lawyer, but not necessarily our friend--on the other hand both his ex-wives still like him)

All audiobooks should be this good!

This is a book that captures your imagination from the very beginning! The main character is imperfect but still quite likeable and very intelligent. The suspense kept me going up to the very end. This is one of those books that you don't want to stop listening to! I took my Ipod out of the car and kept listening in the house, something I never do! I'd never read or listened to any of Connelly's books before, but I may be hooked, now!

Nice Twist

I have enjoyed Connelly's books in the past. However, I do think this is one of his better. It isn't quite as dark as his past work. The pacing is intense enough to hold the listener's interest and he includes a nice twist at the end. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys legal thrillers or suspense books.

Captivating !

I've read almost all of his books - this one was just fantastic. Couldn't stop listening to it - with it's twists and turns. You were never quite able to figure out the ending and even when it finally came IT had twists & turns.
Brilliantly written AND read !

A fun but far fetched read

I enjoyed this book but thought it was a bit unbelievable in parts. For example, Mick has two ex-wives and both still play a prominent role in his life! The circumstances surrounding the different stories and explanations of what Mick's client did or didn't do at the hooker's apartment strained credulity. The client's mother and her attorney were a bit too stereotypical. Author Connelly seemed like he was trying to give us a cross between Grisham and Hiassen. And I think he succeeded.

Worth the Credit

I tried not to watch the movie before reading the book, but I caught a few snippets of it while my son watched it on Netflix. So while reading the book I kept picturing Matthew McConaughey as the defense attorney. But that's OK, because I think it was good casting as the author doesn't get so much into character descriptions as he does attitude...and Matthew has the right attitude.
So with that mental picture I listened to the book and enjoyed it. The plot twists were well done, the plot was plausible, and the little side trips to other cases made it all the more interesting.
In short, it is well worth the credit. Maybe I'll watch the movie now just to see what actors they thought would fit the other characters.

Self Inflicted Wounds

What made the experience of listening to The Lincoln Lawyer the most enjoyable?

Innovative twist on court/legal thrillers. Didn't see any of the plot twists and turns coming.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot was slow to develop, but really picked up towards the end. Became a nail biter in the last ten percent of the book.

Would you be willing to try another one of Adam Grupper’s performances?

Adam is a gifted performer. Unfortunately, the editor's completely wrecked the production with a series of music/noises in the background and as bridges between chapters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Don't use stupid background sound effects

Any additional comments?

This is the second book I've listened to where a clueless editor wrecked that entire productions trying to be cute with sound effects.

Just listened again

Gripping, exceptionally well-read and fundamentally interesting. I recommend the unabridged version because even as long as this is I didn't want it to end. I listened to it 6 months ago and went back to listen to it again -- it was that good. I give it my highest recommendation -- a true can't miss.

Couldn't Put It Down

Any additional comments?

Very engrossing, fast-paced book with interesting characters and great plot twists. The author seemed to know so much about being a defense attorney, I was surprised he wasn't one in real life. A terrific audiobook.