Highly enjoyable entry into the Mickey Haller universe with guest appearances by half-brother, Harry Bosch.
This is more of a courtroom tussle of a book as Haller attempts to prove himself not guilty (not inncocent) in the eyes of the law as he is charged with first degree murder.
The swiftness of plot and effortless of character arc and narrative is second to none; the inclusion of Bosch is deliberate but not overbearing.
I spent the whole time with the voices of Matthew McConnaughey and Titus Weliver in my head; this would be a tale ripe for adaptation - and Connelly makes it very much of now with the tale taking place over November 2019 to March 2020 with the threat and worry over the Wuhan disease incoming for the inhabitants of Los Angeles.
Thoroughly enjoyable fare of the highest order.

Michael Connolly brings back defence lawyer, Mickey Haller, the half brother of Harry Bosch, a Los Angeles set nail biting legal thriller, a compulsive courtroom drama that sees Haller becoming uncomfortably closely acquainted with his clients experience as he finds himself framed for murder. Haller is stopped by a police officer due to his missing rear licence plates. When the officer opens the boot of the car, there is a dead body which turns out to be a former client of Haller's, the multiple convicted con man, Sam Scales, a man Haller had eventually stopped representing, owing money Haller had given up on. Before he knows it, Haller finds him incarcerated in a jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Centre, under constant threat, paying for protection from black prisoner, Bishop. In a situation where the stakes have never been higher, Haller opts to defend himself.

With the prosecution led by Dana 'Death Row' Berg, Haller has a supporting team who are rock solid in their belief in his innocence, his law partner, Jennifer Aronson, investigator Dennis 'Cisco' Wojciechowski, and later joined by Harry Bosch, lending his considerable expertise. Haller needs all the help he can get, he is hamstrung by being in jail, which takes a considerable toll on his health, as the weight begins to drop off his body. Haller is surprised by just how much support and loyalty he receives, including a grateful former client offering to pay bail, his law student daughter, Hayley, and his ex-wife, prosecutor Maggie McPherson. With Berg intent on doing everything she can to ensure he is convicted of murder with what appears to be a slam dunk case, Haller has to work out who set him up, amidst all the obstacles that litter his path, his life in constant danger.

As always, Connelly's research is impeccable, illustrated with his attention to detail, the legal process in the American legal system and the courtroom is riveting as it is applied to Haller. Haller is not just chasing a not guilty verdict, he needs to apply the law of innocence, which states you not only have to prove you are innocent but identify the actual guilty party of the crime of which you stand accused. In the novel, the first inklings of the horrifying Covid 19 pandemic, beginning at Wuhan in China, that will go on devastate the country and the world, are interspersed in a narrative that concludes with self isolation and lockdown. Connolly can be relied on to write a compulsive, entertaining and riveting crime thriller, as he demonstrates once again here, with well plotted and adrenaline fuelled storylines that had me glued to the pages until I had finished. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.