The Lincoln Lawyer (Large Print) - Hardcover

Connelly, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316154741 ISBN 13: 9780316154741

Publisher: Little Brown, 2005

Synopsis

In this fast-paced legal thriller, charismatic defense attorney Mickey Haller takes 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.
For defense attorney Mickey Haller, the clock is always running. With two ex-wives, four Lincoln Town Cars that he uses as offices, and dozens of guilty clients, he can't afford to miss a trick. When he gets picked by a Beverly Hills rich boy arrested for assault, Mickey sees a franchise case: a nice, long, expensive trial with maximum billable hours -- until it hurtles him into the last place he wants to be. Suddenly hustling, cynical Mickey Haller is confronted with pure evil and someone who may be truly innocent. Now, for a lawyer who has always gone for the easy score, getting justice means taking the deadliest risk of all.

About this title

Review:

This #1 bestselling legal thriller from Michael Connelly is a stunning display of novelistic mastery - as human, as gripping, and as whiplash-surprising as any novel yet from the writer Publishers Weekly has called "today's Dostoevsky of crime literature."

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.

Q&A with Michael Connelly

Q: The Lincoln Lawyer is your second book to be made into a movie. How does that feel?

A: I am very fortunate to have this experience even once. I wish every writer got a chance to see the written work translated to the visual. It is quite thrilling.

Q: You’ve said that Matthew McConaughey nails the character of Mickey Haller. In what ways?

A: I would say it is in many subtle ways that add up to a big performance. Mickey is a guy who is always looking for an angle. He is a bit cynical and cocky. At different times in the movie McConaughey seems to convey these character aspects without dialogue. Then when it comes to dialogue and action he delivers flawlessly. The story is about a cool, calm man being put into a desperate situation. McConaughey makes that leap convincingly.

Q: What was your involvement in the making of the movie?

A: Almost none. I looked at the first and last versions of the script, took a few phone calls from producers and location scouts, and that was about it. I think my biggest contribution outside of writing the book was giving my trust to Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi, the producers. They promised me six years ago that they would keep the gritty realism of the story – the-law-in-the-trenches aspect of it. I trusted them to do that and with Brad Furman, the director, they came through.

Q: What were your immediate thoughts when you first read the script? When you heard about each cast member?

A: Depends on which script. It was a long-running work in progress. I went from not liking the first effort to being blown away by the last version. I am a huge believer in rewriting in my own work so I knew that the more time they spent with the script, the better it would become. As far as casting goes, I don't write with anybody in mind. But I saw Tropic Thunder with Matthew McConaughey in it and immediately thought he would be good at being Mickey Haller. A year later he was cast, so I was happy from the start. The rest of the cast is just fantastic. As each was announced, I became more and more excited. John Leguizamo was in Brad Furman's previous film and was just excellent. When I heard he was aboard, it was a great day. Same with all the rest. Bryan Cranston happens to be the star of my favorite show, Breaking Bad. So I couldn't be happier with him in the cast.

Q: What was your inspiration for The Lincoln Lawyer? Is Mickey Haller based on someone you know?

A: I met an attorney who worked out of his car, not because he was not doing well but because he believed it was the best way to do the job in L.A. That was the spark, and it went from there.

Q: Are there any scenes in the film that you wish were in the book?

A: There are definitely a few lines I wish were in the book. There is a scene where Mickey drops his sleeping daughter off at his ex-wife's home. It is a poignant scene that I really love and could have used in the book.

Q: Did you visit the set while they were filming the movie? What was that experience like?

A: I went four different times and scheduled the visits to coincide with the shooting of some significant scenes. I loved what I was seeing on both sides of the camera: a lot of dedication to the project. Everyone on the crew felt like they were making something good. It was great to witness.

About the Author:

Michael Connelly (born July 21, 1956, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American author of detective novels, notably those featuring Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. Bosch, named after the Dutch painter of the same name, is the protagonist of a series of Connelly's novels. The character is an LAPD detective. The Black Echo, the first book featuring Bosch, won the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best First Novel of 1992. Connelly has written other books outside the Bosch series, including Blood Work, which was made into a 2002 movie directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. In 2006, The Lincoln Lawyer was selected as one of ten books to feature in Richard and Judy's televised book club. Connelly is a graduate of the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelors degree in journalism. In addition to his books, Connelly has written for television.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little Brown
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0316154741
• ISBN 13: 9780316154741
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 656