The Brass Verdict

A Novel

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Peter Giles

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

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

Strong continuation of the series

As expected, this was a great follow up to the Lincoln Lawyer. Although I was able to guess the basic “bad guy” characters sort of early on, I wasn’t able to guess the specifics and there was enough I didn’t suspect to easily keep my interest. I look forward to continuing this series.
Also, I like the tie-in to the Harry Bosch series.

Always best defense.

Michael Connelly is always-right ON- with what he wrights. Love his books. Lots of thought and action.

Great Story.

Well written. This story kept me engaged from start to finish. Haller and Bosch kept me listening. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

Loved it!

Absolutely captivating! Great character development and well throughout storyline. Super excited for the next book!

Connelly at the Top of His Game

I have read half a dozen of Michael Connelly's books (still only a small fraction of his output). "The Brass Verdict" has all the traits that have established him as a master of crime fiction. The writing is muscular and lean, eschewing affectation but also provided keen character insights and even fine visual detail when needed.

While this is about as close as anyone will come to writing the perfect crime novel, it has no special defining features, apart from it bringing Connelly's two franchise protagonists—Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller—together for the first time. Neither the crimes recounted nor the characters involved in them are extraordinary. Los Angeles once again serves as a glimmering, sun-bleached backdrop for the dark deeds that animate the narrative. In a way, however, the very ordinariness of the proceedings only serves to highlight Connelly's skill as a s storyteller. He works through turn after turn in the plot with an apparently effortless efficiency that is breathtaking. To observe this is to see the craft of writing raised to an art form.

I assume Connelly is a big enough star to have control over who reads his books. It's a mystery to me as to why he favors narrators who lay on the hardboiled delivery with a trowel. Peter Giles vocal range extends from hoarse to gravelly. I recognize that the very traits that I'm criticizing appeal to other listeners, and I acknowledge that Giles is a competent professional. For me, however, his performance robs the writing of some of its deftness and grace. This is a shame, but not enough of a flaw to keep me from enjoying this excellent book.

Addictive

After finishing The Lincoln Lawyer and discovering there were more books about Haller, I KNEW I had to start this one.

At first, the narrator wasn’t my favorite but only because the previous one was THAT good that I had HIGH expectations. However, he grew on me and I ended up loving his narration. Maybe not as much as the first book’s narrator, but he was still very good.

The plot had me guessing constantly. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I was surprised once more.

I am hooked on this series and will be buying the next book!

Slippery story

Very nice, lots of twists and turns. Interesting to the very end. Well worth the journey.

Good story... hate the music!

This was another great story from the author, but the music before and after each chapter was annoying to me.

A Fine Yarn

Love this relatively early episode of the Lincoln Lawyer. Especially interesting is the first encounter of Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch. Not the brotherly camaraderie of later stories. They are both prickly and suspicious. The Brass Verdict plot twists and turns with plenty of legal logistics to enlighten the reader.

Fiction that shows how sad the system really is

Great story, very thorough and entertaining. The narrator is excellent. Doesn’t over do accent of different people; especially of the opposite sex. I really hate when someone uses that fake, stereotypical idea of what the opposite sex sounds like. It’s demeaning
What really came home to me is how broken our system, and society is. Once, a person word and honesty was their honor and reputation above all other wealth. Now, even the professionals will twist and color the truth, and outright lie, to win their case. What always bothered me with being a prosecutor was the fact that if there is even the tiniest doubt of innocence meant that not only is the real murderer out there; an innocent person is in prison and shamed for life.
I think that defense attorneys that get guilty people off is disgusting and criminal, but a wrongful conviction is even more horrible. And the icing? In most cases, prosecution is protected from being held responsible for their mistakes…and probably lies that aloud it to happen.