The Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer
Author	Michael Connelly
Language	English
Genre	crime fiction, mystery
Publisher	Little, Brown (USA), Orion (UK)
Publication place	USA
Published in English	October 3, 2005
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	404
ISBN	0-316-73493-4
OCLC	60311867
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 22
LC Class	PS3553.O51165 L56 2005
Preceded by	The Closers
Followed by	Echo Park

For the film of the same name, see The Lincoln Lawyer (film)

The Lincoln Lawyer is a 2005 novel, and it is the 16th novel written by American crime writer Michael Connelly. It is the first featuring Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller, half-brother of Connelly's mainstay detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch.

Plot summary

Moderately successful criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller operates around Los Angeles County out of a Lincoln Town Car (hence the title) driven by a former client working off his legal fees. While most clients are drug dealers and gangsters, the story focuses on an unusually important case of wealthy Los Angeles realtor Louis Roulet accused of assault and attempted murder. At first, he appears to be innocent and set up by the female "victim."

However, Roulet's lies and many surprising revelations change Mickey's original case theory, making him reconsider the situation of Jesus Menendez, a former client serving time in San Quentin State Prison after pleading guilty to a similar and mysteriously related crime.

In the end, Haller outmaneuvers Roulet (revealed to be a rapist and murderer) without violating ethical obligations, frees the innocent Menendez, and continues in legal practice, though not without much self-examination and emotional baggage.

Characters

Mickey Haller - criminal defense lawyer
Margaret McPherson - Haller's ex-wife, prosecuting attorney
Louis Ross Roulet - the accused
Ted Minton - prosecutor in Roulet's case
Jesus Menendez - former client of Haller
Dwayne Corliss - jailhouse snitch
Reggie Campo - alleged victim of Roulet
Martha Renteria - Menendez's alleged murder victim
Raul Levin - Haller's investigator and colleague in Roulet's case
Lorna Taylor - Haller's manager and ex-wife
Cecil C. Dobbs - the Roulet family Lawyer
Mary Windsor - Louis Roulet's mother
Detective Howard Kurlen - the lead detective on the Jesus Menendez case
Detectives Lankford and Sobel - two cops who investigate Levin's murder

Film adaptation

A film adaptation, starring Matthew McConaughey as Haller and Marisa Tomei as Maggie McPherson, was released on March 18, 2011. The film is directed by Brad Furman from a screenplay by John Romano, and produced by Stone Village Pictures. Lionsgate holds the US distribution rights, and Lakeshore Entertainment holds international rights.^[1]^[2]

Awards

The novel received a lot of attention from the mystery community. It won the 2006 Shamus Award and Macavity Award for "Best Novel".^[3]^[4] It was also nominated in the 2006 Anthony Awards for the same honour.^[5] Additionally, in 2010 it was nominated in the "Best Mystery Novel of the Decade" category of the Barry Awards, although lost to Stieg Larsson with his The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.^[6]

References

^ McDonough, Molly (30 March 2009). "Matthew McConaughey to Star in Legal Thriller". ABA Journal. Retrieved 15 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ "The Lincoln Lawyer Movie Adaptation". michaelconnelly.com. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
^ "The Private Eye Writers of America and The Shamus Awards". Thrillingdetective.com. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
^ "Mystery Readers International's Macavity Awards". Mysteryreaders.org. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
^ "Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Anthony Awards Nominees". Bouchercon.info. 2003-10-02. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
^ "Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine- Barry Awards". Deadlypleasures.com. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2012-04-05.

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[1] McDonough, Molly (30 March 2009). "Matthew McConaughey to Star in Legal Thriller". ABA Journal. Retrieved 15 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[2] "The Lincoln Lawyer Movie Adaptation". michaelconnelly.com. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.

[3] "The Private Eye Writers of America and The Shamus Awards". Thrillingdetective.com. Retrieved 2012-04-05.

[4] "Mystery Readers International's Macavity Awards". Mysteryreaders.org. Retrieved 2012-04-05.

[5] "Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Anthony Awards Nominees". Bouchercon.info. 2003-10-02. Retrieved 2012-04-05.

[6] "Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine- Barry Awards". Deadlypleasures.com. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2012-04-05.

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v t e Michael Connelly
Harry Bosch series	The Black Echo (1992) The Black Ice (1993) The Concrete Blonde (1994) The Last Coyote (1995) Trunk Music (1997) Angels Flight (1999) A Darkness More Than Night (2000) City of Bones (2002) Lost Light (2003) The Narrows (2004) The Closers (2005) Echo Park (2006) The Overlook (2007) 9 Dragons (2009) The Drop (2011) The Black Box (2012) The Burning Room (2014) The Crossing (2015) The Wrong Side of Goodbye (2016) Two Kinds of Truth (2017) Dark Sacred Night (2018) The Night Fire (2019) The Dark Hours (2021) Desert Star (2022)
Jack McEvoy series	The Poet (1996) The Scarecrow (2009) Fair Warning (2020)
Terry McCaleb series	Blood Work (1998) A Darkness More Than Night (2000)
Mickey Haller series	The Lincoln Lawyer (2005) The Brass Verdict (2008) The Reversal (2010) The Fifth Witness (2011) The Gods of Guilt (2013) The Law of Innocence (2020) Resurrection Walk (2023)
Other novels	Void Moon (2000) Chasing the Dime (2002) The Late Show (2017)
Adaptations	Blood Work (2002 film) The Lincoln Lawyer (2011 film) Bosch (2015 TV series) Bosch: Legacy (2022 TV series) The Lincoln Lawyer (2022 TV series)