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Untitled Michael Connelly
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly, the Lincoln Lawyer is back with a case against an AI company whose product may have been responsible for the murder of a young girl.
Following his 'resurrection walk' and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty.
Representing the victim's family, Mickey's case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy's digging ultimately delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake.
It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM's Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called 'the knight's sacrifice'. Haller will take a similar gambit in court to defeat the mega forces of the AI industry lined up against him and his clients.
Following his 'resurrection walk' and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty.
Representing the victim's family, Mickey's case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy's digging ultimately delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake.
It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM's Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called 'the knight's sacrifice'. Haller will take a similar gambit in court to defeat the mega forces of the AI industry lined up against him and his clients.
385 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 21, 2025
285 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Michael Connelly
377 books35.4k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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.
After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.
After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with over 30 more novels.
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) .
Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael is one of the producers and writers of the TV show, “Bosch,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Michael lives with his family in Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida.
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.
After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.
After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with over 30 more novels.
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) .
Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael is one of the producers and writers of the TV show, “Bosch,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Michael lives with his family in Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 26, 2025
Michael Connelly does it again
I literally could not put this book down, trying unsuccessfully to pace myself because I didn’t want it to end. The descriptions of AI chatbot programming were brilliant, and I think the book does a great job of showing the enormous potential for both good and bad with AI. And a reminder that, at least for now, humans with all our biases and faults are behind AI. I love the way Connelly continues to develop his characters - to move them on - and The Lincoln Lawyer’s move from criminal to civil work is beautifully realised. Honestly…10 out of 10.
I literally could not put this book down, trying unsuccessfully to pace myself because I didn’t want it to end. The descriptions of AI chatbot programming were brilliant, and I think the book does a great job of showing the enormous potential for both good and bad with AI. And a reminder that, at least for now, humans with all our biases and faults are behind AI. I love the way Connelly continues to develop his characters - to move them on - and The Lincoln Lawyer’s move from criminal to civil work is beautifully realised. Honestly…10 out of 10.
November 2, 2025
Who knew that the way to understand Generative AI was to get a thriller writer to build a plot around it? The simplicity of the descriptions should be an example to the legions of tech writers out there trying to get their messages across.
Oh - and an excellent plot and a great read that I finished in two sessions.
Oh - and an excellent plot and a great read that I finished in two sessions.
December 13, 2025
A nail biter
Micky Haller in his first big civil case after giving up crime cases is a nail biter. I usually read at night, before lying down. This one I could not stop reading. Michael Connelly at his best - Micky Haller at his most skilful.
Micky Haller in his first big civil case after giving up crime cases is a nail biter. I usually read at night, before lying down. This one I could not stop reading. Michael Connelly at his best - Micky Haller at his most skilful.
January 27, 2026
Really enjoyed this Mickey Haller novel, The Proving Ground. I like courtroom dramas and this book ranks with some of the best.
The premise of the future uses of Gen AI, was similar to a 2023 novel by Kevin Wignall called I Arise.
The premise of the future uses of Gen AI, was similar to a 2023 novel by Kevin Wignall called I Arise.
February 2, 2026
AI
Really interesting case about how AI is coming into our lives and what the consequences maybe?
No spoilers here.
Enjoyed another Lincoln lawyer book, great story and a blast from the past.
Highly recommend.
Really interesting case about how AI is coming into our lives and what the consequences maybe?
No spoilers here.
Enjoyed another Lincoln lawyer book, great story and a blast from the past.
Highly recommend.
October 26, 2025
Loved it.
Another great Lincoln Lawyer read. Thank you Mr Connelly.
Dealing with current matters, and making the reader fully aware. Thanks.
Another great Lincoln Lawyer read. Thank you Mr Connelly.
Dealing with current matters, and making the reader fully aware. Thanks.
October 28, 2025
Connelly does it again
Using his Mickey Halley character he introduced the morality issues about AI via a court trial and a thought provoking scenario.
Using his Mickey Halley character he introduced the morality issues about AI via a court trial and a thought provoking scenario.
November 19, 2025
Loved this book as I have with all the others in the series.
December 12, 2025
As good ask have read
So so applicable to these times. From an 81 y,o reader who loves social media but this book brought so much to the possib
So so applicable to these times. From an 81 y,o reader who loves social media but this book brought so much to the possib
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews