Over eighty million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and he has been translated into forty-five foreign languages. He has won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain) . Los procedimientos legales son impecables, pero lo que más llama la atención en todas las novelas es la mente de Haller. En The Law of Innocence, el acusado es el propio Haller. Y, por supuesto, se defiende a sí mismo, con la ayuda de sus habituales y de su medio hermano Harry Bosch. The power of television and film was demonstrated to me by the fact that when I thought of Haller he wore the head of Matthew McConaughey and when Bosch arrived on the scene I saw and heard Titus Welliver. I think it’ll ever be thus.

The book moves at a super swift pace. With Connelly, you never know where he’s going to take you. It’s never a straight line to the finish. And even as he hones in on who may be to blame, how will he prove it? Because let’s face it, just because he’s innocent won’t mean he couldn’t be found guilty. “The only way to prove I didn’t do it is to prove who did...that’s the law of innocence.” Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews. Upon opening the car trunk and seeing a dead body, Haller is immediately charged with murder. So, his whole life is upside down!

Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Inevitably, the plot and Haller's defense will both take a lot of interesting twists and turns. As usual in a Michael Connelly novel, the action is very propulsive, pulling the reader along and making this one, at least, stay up deep into the night to finish the novel. Connelly is best known for his great police procedurals, but he's proved that he has the chops to write great legal thrillers as well. The court scenes are very good, and all the legal maneuvering sounds totally credible. Haller must navigate through a legal landscape where the presumption of innocence is often overshadowed by media sensationalism and public opinion. In true Michael Connelly fashion, the novel is filled with twists, turns, and suspenseful courtroom drama. The pacing is relentless, with each chapter unveiling new revelations and raising the stakes for Haller.

But a great deal of the narrative is devoted to the issue of finding the actual killer, and fans of the series will be delighted to know that biker Cisco, Haller’s main investigator, plays his part (though he isn’t quite as evident here as in some of the other books). Harry Bosch also makes an appearance, but sadly he is consigned to the sidelines as a mere bit player – although his contribution to the cause at hand is, of course, incisive and important. I have read all of Connelly's books and stories, but now I think I will skip the next one. The good old West Coast elitist club just can't keep their politics out of their writing, just like the East Coast ones. With Juror 68, Connelly committed his own version of literary seppuku half way through the book. He didn't have to do it. But, he could not resist the temptation.One night after leaving a party celebrating his latest courtroom triumph, Haller (who is completely sober) is pulled over by a traffic cop. He knows he hasn't violated any laws, but when the cop walks him around to the rear of the car, he sees that his rear license plate has mysteriously gone missing--hence the traffic stop. When the cop sees something dripping from the trunk, he opens the trunk and discovers the body of one of Haller's former clients who has been shot to death, apparently in the trunk. You will see a lot of familiar faces popping up in the novel; if you have read previous novels by Michael Connelly.

For me, the characters truly brought this novel home. I have read every single book Michael Connelly has ever written (having started in the late 90’s) and I feel like I know the characters really well and think of them as friends. (Can I just say that the reappearance of Maggie McPherson was something else?!) After celebrating the latest not guilty verdict in a local bar, Haller proceeds to drive home. He had not been drinking. He is stopped by a policeman who noticed a missing rear licence plate which must have been removed earlier. The body of one of his ex-clients, Sam Scales, is found in the trunk of his Lincoln. This man had been a multiple convicted con-man who was dropped by Haller as a client and had refused to pay for his latest representations in court. On the night of the celebration, he is pulled over by a police officer, who finds the body of his former client in the car’s trunk.

La Cosse, a shady character with connections to organized crime, was brutally killed and found in the trunk of Haller’s vehicle. As the novel opens, we learn that Haller himself is in prison, on remand and awaiting trial for murder after the body of one of his former clients was found in the boot of his car. The case appears fairly strong, and the District Attorney’s Office is pursuing their investigations zealously, feeling extra savour in the thought of perhaps convicting someone who over the years had proved such a thorn in their side. Haller has marshalled his own team, and is working vigorously on his defence from his prison cell, but knows that he is embarking on the most important case of his career.