Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Reversal-Michael Connelly

The Reversal
Michael Connelly
Little, Brown, Oct 5 2010, $27.99
ISBN 9780316069489

In 1986, Jason Jessup was convicted of killing twelve year old Melissa Landry. Recent testing of DNA evidence exonerates Jason who will receive a new trial.

Los Angeles Office of the District Attorney prosecutors are embarrassed as they head to the retrial. They ask defense attorney Mickey Haller for help; he agrees with the stipulation that he employs former LAPD cop Harry Bosch as his private investigator and his ex-wife prosecutor Maggie “McFierce” McPherson as the second chair. Bosch works the cold case trying to find witnesses from the 1986 homicide of the tweener. He especially wants to find the victim’s older sister whose testimony hung Jessup. At the same time, Haller finds working for the D.A. quite eye-opening as his every move is under scrutiny while he also distrusts Jessup’s sleazy defense attorney. However, perhaps the person all should watch is the one who hated the jurisprudence system before he spent a quarter of a century behind bars; now he obsessively loathes it and those who work it.

The second pairing of this obstinate duet (see The Brass Verdict) makes for a fabulous investigative legal thriller with Haller’s former wife on the team; he is thankful that having been married to her they can never meet in court as she is that tough and good. Part of the fun is watching Haller switching sides for this case as fans of the Lincoln Lawyer will see how different what a defense attorney can do vs. a prosecutor. With a strong investigation by Bosch and a powerful courtroom drama by Haller and McPherson, the audience will relish The reversal.

Harriet Klausner

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