Best-selling author Michael Connelly, whose character-driven literary mysteries have earned him a wide following, breaks from the gate in the over-crowded field of legal thrillers and leaves every other contender from Grisham to Turow in the dust with this tightly plotted, brilliantly paced, impossible-to-put-down novel. Criminal defense attorney Mickey Hallers father was Best-selling author Michael Connelly, whose character-driven literary mysteries have earned him a wide following, breaks from the gate in the over-crowded field of legal thrillers and leaves every other contender from Grisham to Turow in the dust with this tightly plotted, brilliantly paced, impossible-to-put-down novel. Criminal defense attorney Mickey Hallers father was a legendary lawyer whose clients included gangster Mickey Cohen (in a nice twist, Cohens gun, given to Dad then bequeathed to his son, plays a key role in the plot). But Dad also passed on an important piece of advice thats especially relevant when Mickey takes the case of a wealthy Los Angeles realtor accused of attempted murder: The scariest client a lawyer will ever have is an innocent client. Because if you [screw] up and he goes to prison, itll scar you for life. Louis Roulet, Mickeys franchise client (so-called becaue hes able and willing to pay whatever his defense costs) seems to be the one his father warned him against, as well as being a few rungs higher on the socio-economic ladder than the drug dealers, homeboys, and motorcycle thugs who comprise Mickeys regular case load. But as the holes in Roulets story tear Mickeys theory of the case to shreds, his thoughts turn more to Jesus Menendez, a former client convicted of a similar crime whos now languishing in San Quentin. Connelly tellingly delineates the code of legal ethics Mickey lives by: It didnt matter...whether the defendant did it or not. What mattered was the evidence against him--the proof--and if and how it could be neutralized. My job was to bury the proof, to color the proof a shade of gray. Gray was the color of reasonable doubt. But by the time his client goes to trial, Mickeys feeling a few very reasonable doubts of his own. While Mickeys courtroom pyrotechnics dazzle, his behind-the-scenes machinations and manipulations are even more incendiary in this taut, gripping novel, which showcases all of Connellys literary gifts. Theres not an excess sentence or padded paragraph in it--what there is, happily, is a character who, like Harry Bosch, deserves a franchise series of his own. --Jane Adams