The Law of Innocence

The Lincoln Lawyer, Book #6

By Michael Connelly

ISBN# 9780316485623

Author’s Website:  https://www.michaelconnelly.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

“A murder case is like a tree. A tall tree. An oak tree. It has been carefully planted and cared for by the state. Watered and trimmed when needed, examined for disease and parasites of any kind. Its root system is constantly monitored as it flourishes underground and clings tightly to the earth. No money is spared in guarding the tree. Its caretakers are granted immense powers to protect and serve it.

The tree’s branches eventually grow and spread wide in splendor. They provide deep shade for those who seek true justice.

The branches spring from a thick and sturdy trunk. Direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, forensic science, motive and opportunity. The tree must stand strong against the winds that challenge it.

And that’s where I come in. I’m the man with the ax. My job is to cut the tree down to the ground and burn its wood to ashes.”

Defense attorney Mickey Haller has represented a lot of different clients over the years, but none have been quite as demanding as his newest client; himself.  They say a man that represents himself in the court of law, has a fool for a client.  And, Mickey is about to test the truth of that statement.

He had been out celebrating his latest not guilty verdict, not drinking himself due to his past issues with alcohol.  He got pulled over as he was leaving the party.  His rear license plate was missing and there was something dripping from his trunk.  The officer placed him under arrest and opened the trunk.  The dead body of a former repeat client was found inside.  Sam Scales had been shot while in the trunk and Mickey has no idea how he got there.  One thing is clear; he’s being set-up to take a very large fall.  He must find out who the killer is so that he can exonerate himself.  But who would target him and why?

“In the law of innocence, for every man not guilty of a crime, there is a man out there who is. And to prove true innocence, the guilty man must be found and exposed to the world.”

When Mickey’s investigation leads him to an FBI cover-up, he realizes that it will be that much harder to clear his name.  The government would rather let him go down for something he didn’t do then to threaten their case.  Mickey will have to rely on himself, his team, his half-brother, and his ex-wife to get out of this one unscathed.  But will it be enough? He must convince a jury of his innocence when common sense would tell you that he’s guilty.

It’s been a really long time since I’ve read this series.  *Checks Notes* I read the previous book eleven years ago.  I had to do a little catching up, but it was fairly easy to fall back into this world.  I do have a desire to re-watch the movie though and possibly watch the Netflix series.  I’ve always enjoyed these books though and this installment was no different.

I appreciated seeing how Mickey’s mind works as he was putting his case together from jail, no less.  And, how smart he was to identify and expose illegal monitoring of his phone calls in a way that best benefited his case.

I was a little annoyed with his ex-girlfriend that re-appeared in this book though.  She got mad at him for working so much and ignoring her.  He’s being accused of murder, what do you expect? It left me questioning her motives for even being there.  I wasn’t upset when she made her exit once again.

Based on what happened at the end of this book, which I won’t reveal here, we didn’t get to see Mickey put down that final hammer of his case.  And, I do feel a little jipped in that regard.  He did the best he could, but they had nowhere to go on this case, barely any witnesses to call.  So, most of his courtroom prowess came in his cross-examinations, which were good.  There is always just something about ‘seeing’ him deliver that killing blow though.

Also, in this book COVID hit them.  They didn’t call it by name, but it was obviously COVID.  So, that was a little interesting to see.  During the epilogue they reached the part of the pandemic with trying to shop, but finding the empty shelves.  I’ll be curious to see if this carries over to the next book or if it will fast-forward to post-COVID times.

This wasn’t my favorite book of the series, but it was good.  It kept my interest from start to finish and I can’t really ask for much more than that.