"The Lincoln Lawyer" Was Just the Beginning

I’ll confess, I was lured to the movies back in February because of Matthew McConaughey. I mean, come on.  he guy has a certain appeal. Also, I heard the movie was a courtroom drama, and I’ve enjoyed those since I was in middle school and started borrowing Perry Mason books from the library.

"The Lincoln Lawyer," now available on DVD and Netflix this month, is a taut, well plotted drama. There’s a crime with enough rotten underbelly to make one cringe. There’s an attorney with enough vices and moral gray lines that you’re not sure you should root for him. And then there’s a client that really, really makes you long for a weapon of your own. The courtroom scenes are the highlight of the movie, especially the way McConaughey’s portrayal of Mickey Haller convinces you that he’s out for a Sunday stroll when he’s really circling for the kill with a fine tuned sense of pacing. I was engaged throughout the movie. More than that, however, I was now very interested in an author that I’ve never read before. 

Michael Connelly has now published four books with the defense attorney Mickey Haller as the protagonist. Mickey has an alcohol problem. He’s divorced from his wife, yet maintains a quasi professional and personal relationship with her — based on many levels of need. On the surface, he’s driven by money and the thrill of the game. And yet, delving deeper in these books, his true zeal for justice is uncovered, even as he defends the likely guilty parties. Mr. Connelly leaves one or two clues that are seemingly innocuous at the beginning of the story, and yet critical to the final result.  Once you understand that rhythm, finding the clues and analyzing them ahead of Mickey is a very entertaining way to read a book.  

I have a Nook, and I’ve recently calculated that I’ve invested about $50 in Michael Connelly and this Mickey Haller character, once I’ve computed the cost of the original movie and the purchase of the 3 other books in this series — “The Brass Verdict," “The Reversal” and “The Fifth Witness.” However, I would say I’ve been intrigued, entertained and alarmed in the process — and that’s worth the money to me.