The Reversal

The Lincoln Lawyer #3

by Michael Connelly

Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.

Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years. With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

Readers of the Enriched Edition will have access to exclusive video and bonus



• Contextual in-line video footage relating to the storyline
• Interactive maps of Los Angeles featuring locations from The Reversal
• Commentary by Michael Connelly for Enriched Edition readers
• The Reversal Video Reading Group Guide hosted by Michael Connelly



• Timeline of Major Events in the Life of Mickey Haller
• Timeline of Major Events in the Life of Harry Bosch
• The Reversal Location Photographs
• Author Q&A
• Linked glossary

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Audiobook, Legal Thriller, Mystery Thriller

485 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2010

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[Cecilia Quick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The end ruined this for me. It's as if the author was driving his car along on a pleasant Sunday outing, didn't watch where he was going, and drove off a cliff mid-drive. Stupid ending. Up until then, I enjoyed the book as a midrange outing for this author. I like it that Bosch and Mickey are awkwardly working their way to a relationship, and how they have many unconscious characteristics in common. I liked the premise. I have to admit, I got tired of the scenes of voir dire, although I liked how Mickey was hoist on his own petard. I like the daughters of both men, and how Bosch struggles with being a father. One gripe-can't stand Maggie. Shut her up or kill her off. And being a government attorney myself, I am in a position to say that prosecutors don't hold defense attorneys in such disdain or spout this "I am so virtuous and noble because I protect the common man from evil" crap. They tend to be flip sides of the same coin, and they recognize that in each other and often have camaraderie and even respect for each other. One other thing this author doesn't quite capture (although he comes close) is that for the good trial attorney, the gamesmanship with the other side is exciting for them; they love one-upping each other, no matter what side of the bench they sit.

I'll read anything this author writes (I'm stupidly loyal that way) but next time I hope he has his head back in the game.

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third entry in Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller series, after The Lincoln Lawyer and The Brass Verdict. The Reversal, though is almost as much of a Harry Bosch novel as it is a Mickey Haller.

As the book opens, Haller gets an unusual offer from the L.A. County District Attorney who wants Haller to join the team as an independent prosecutor for the purpose of retrying a convicted child killer who has been granted a new trial after a successful appeal. Haller agrees to the proposition with several stipulations: He will operate completely independently of the D.A.'s office; he can pick his own second chair from the D.A.'s staff, and he can select his own investigator from the L.A.P.D.

When the D.A. agrees, Haller selects as his second, his first ex-wife, Maggie McPherson, AKA Maggie McFierce. As his investigator, Mickey selects his half-brother, Harry Bosch. This makes for a very interesting cast of characters and it's fun watching the three of them work together. The story is told, basically, in alternating chapters, one from Haller's first-person POV and the next from Bosch's third person POV.

The accused killer, a creep named Jason Jessup, had been convicted twenty-four years earlier. New DNA evidence has raised doubts about his guilt and he has now been freed from prison. Most people, Jessup included, assume that the state will not attempt to re-try him after all this time, and Jessup is looking forward to a big payday upon his release.

Jessup is in for a big surprise and so is the reader, as Connelly repeatedly refuses to do the expected and produces a variety of twists and turns that will keep the reader turning the pages long into the night. A bit of the tension leaks out of the book at the end with a conclusion that seems somewhat rushed and is a bit of an anti-climax after the events that have led up to it. Still, this is a very entertaining book and Connelly fans will not be disappointed.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A SINGING TELEGRAM FROM ME TO MICHAEL CONNELLY

Nobody does it better,
Makes me forget all the rest,
Nobody does it half as good as you,
Baby you're the best...

Every time I'm disappointed by some other author in the genre, it just makes me appreciate Connelly's skills all the more. He leaves all the others in the dust. I read the last 215 pages of this one all in a night. Stayed up till 2:00 a.m. No one else can make me focus like that.

This book is a Mickey Haller/Harry Bosch hybrid. It takes place several months after the events in Nine Dragons. If you are a fan of the Harry Bosch series and you hate spoilers, do not read The Reversal until you've read Nine Dragons. This has been a public service announcement.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't seem to get enough of this series.
The minute I finished, I downloaded the next book. And while these aren't perfection, I'm finding they are highly addictive.



This time around Mickey is on the other side as a special prosecutor in a case where the DA needs it to look like there has been no misconduct by his office.
Why? Because decades later, DNA evidence has revealed that a convicted child killer wasn't responsible for the semen on her dress.
However, it wasn't a sex crime and the State feels like they still have the right guy.
And they need someone outside their office to head up a new trial against him.
Enter Mickey Haller.



This was a really good installment in the Lincoln Lawyer series.
I love the way Connelly kept me off-balance with the guilt or innocence of the defendant. And coupled with Mickey being on the wrong side of the fence this time, I was constantly excited to see where the plot was heading.
Plus, bringing Bosch in as a full-on character that we got to see through the eyes of, really got me hyped up to read his books.



The only real complaint (if you want to call it that) was the somewhat anti-climactic ending.
And don't get me wrong, there was a whole lot of crazy that went down when it came to the defendant and his defense team.
BUT.
The actual ending to the story almost felt like it was a "to be continued" thing. And I'm not sure if that will be continued in a Bosch book or if I'm reading something into the ending that just wasn't even there.



Even with that, I think this is my favorite in the series so far.
Recommended.

[Phrynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I somehow cannot get to like Mickey Haller and I really do not enjoy court scenes so I probably should have left this book out of my reading of the Harry Bosch series. On the other hand there is always the worry that I might miss a bit of Harry so read it I did.

And I did enjoy the Harry Bosch chapters and the parts where he interacted with Mickey and Maggie. I also learned more about the progress Harry is making with his daughter which I would have missed if I had jumped past this book. He showed himself again to be an excellent detective, working on his own to ferret out the whereabouts of a long lost witness. All good.

On the other hand I found the court scenes tedious and dull. That's just me - reviewers who enjoy this kind of thing report that it was really good. Reviewers who like Mickey Haller report that he was good too. It is a wide and wonderful world and we all like different things.

However I think many of us agree that the ending was very sudden, rushed and left hanging wide open. I am still giving it three stars for Harry.

[Sandysbookaday (on indefinite hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

EXCERPT: Jason Jessup was a convicted child killer who had spent nearly twenty-four years in prison until a month earlier when the California Supreme Court reversed his conviction and sent the case back to Los Angeles County for either retrial or a dismissal of the charges. The reversal came after a two-decade long legal battle staged primarily from Jessup's cell and with his own pen. Authoring appeals, motions, complaints and whatever legal challenges he could research, the self-styled lawyer made no headway with state and federal courts but did finally win the attention of an organization of lawyers known as the Genetic Justice Project. They took over his cause and his case and eventually won an order for genetic testing of semen found on the dress of the child Jessup had been convicted of strangling.

Jessup had been convicted before DNA analysis was used in criminal trials. The analysis performed these many years later determined that the semen found on the dress had not come from Jessup but from another unknown individual. Though the courts had repeatedly upheld Jessup's conviction, this new information tipped the scales in Jessup's favor. The state's Supreme Court cited the DNA findings and other inconsistencies in the evidence and trial record and reversed the case.

This was pretty much the extent of my knowledge of the Jessup case, and it was largely information gathered from newspaper stories and courthouse scuttlebutt. While I had not read the court's complete order, I had read parts of it in the Los Angeles Times and knew it was a blistering decision that echoed many of Jessup's long-held claims of innocence as well as police and prosecutorial misconduct in the case. As a defense attorney, I can't say I wasn't pleased to see the DA's office raked over the media coals with the ruling. Call it underdog schadenfreude. It didn't really matter that it wasn't my case or that the current regime in the DA's office had nothing to do with the case back in 1986, there are so few victories from the defense side of the bar, that there is always a sense of communal joy in the success of others and the defeat of the establishment.

The Supreme Court's ruling was announced the week before, starting a 60-day clock during which the DA would have to retry or discharge Jessup. It seemed that not a day had gone by since the ruling that Jessup was not in the news. He gave multiple interviews by phone and in person at San Quentin, proclaiming his innocence and pot-shotting the police and prosecutors who put him there. In his plight, he had garnered the support of several Hollywood celebrities and athletes and had already launched a civil claim against both the city and county seeking millions of dollars in damages for the many long years during which he was falsely incarcerated. In this day of non-stop media cycles, he had a never-ending forum and was using it to elevate himself to folk hero status. When he finally walked out of prison, he too would be a celebrity.

Knowing as little as I did about the case in the details, I was of the impression that he was an innocent man who had been subjected to a quarter century of torture and that he deserved whatever he could get for it. I did, however, know enough about the case to understand that with the DNA evidence cutting Jessup's way, the case was a loser and the idea of retrying Jessup seemed to be an exercise in political masochism unlikely to come from the brain trust of Williams and Ridell.

Unless . . .

THE BLURB: Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.
Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years.

With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

MY THOUGHTS: The Reversal by Michael Connelly is an intense read. I have never been a great fan of the courtroom drama, which this largely is, but I am starting to think that I would read a shopping list if Connelly has written it.

Featuring both Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch, The Reversal is neither a straight courtroom drama, nor a detective story, but a clever and compelling combination of the two. The tension increases throughout the book, relieved only by glimpses into the family lives of the two main characters, and sometimes not even then!

I have previously read #1 in the Mickey Haller series, the Lincoln Lawyer, and rated it 3☆. This is just so much better, a good solid 4☆ read.

I listened to the audiobook of The Reversal by Michael Connelly, narrated by Peter Giles, via OverDrive. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of Haller and Bosch together again, handled with the usual consummate professionalism we expect from Connelly--the only difference being that defense lawyer Haller is working as a special prosecutor this time.

Still nothing special, though.

[Jonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mickey Heller finds himself in the weird position of prosecutor when the 24-year old murder conviction of Jason Jessup is reversed after the DNA results point to someone else. The DA wants an independent counsel and Mickey's tagged. He agrees but with two conditions: Maggie McPherson is his second chair and Harry Bosch is assigned as investigator.

This was headed to a 5-star rating until I reached the end. Everything about this case was interesting and compelling, including the dynamics of Mickey, Harry and Maggie working as a team. It was every bit as delicious as it sounds. The courtroom antics had lots of flavor and Harry's investigation just added lots more spice. (Enough with the food references!)

Peter Giles was masterful in narration performance, effectively giving separate and distinctive voice to not only Mickey, Harry and Maggie but all the other major players. He was excellent.

It was a really, really good story only flawed by an ending that didn't live up to the foreplay. Still, I couldn't stop listening. 4.5 stars

[Em Lost In Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a solid four star for me until I read the climax. It ruined it for me. Hope next one will be better.

[CoachJim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mickey Haller crosses the aisle in this book and sits with the prosecution. The District Attorney is in a jam and asks Haller to take the case. Haller is able to negotiate his terms which include his ex-wife, Maggie McPherson, as second chair, and Harry Bosch as his investigator; he also insists that he will make all decisions about the case. With Maggie and Harry he is able to prosecute the case, but not before some innocent people are killed.

Although he deserves no blame for the killings he questions whether he had set this in motion by agreeing to take the case. He is a defense attorney, not a prosecutor, and wonders whether the steps and maneuvers he had taken in his role for the state were linked to the fate of the victims.

It was nice to see him working with his ex-wife and Harry. They make a good team. Unlike some of the other Lincoln Lawyer stories most of the drama here takes place outside the courtroom.

Many readers have a loyalty to an author and a series. For me its Michael Connelly. He has written 38 books since 1992 and is still writing.

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A literary version of television's "Law and Order"?

The District Attorney of Michael Connelly's LA legal and police universe has encountered a serious problem. As a result of DNA evidence, the 24 year old conviction of child killer Jason Jessup has been overturned and he has been granted a new trial. In the hopes of ensuring a new trial is above reproach and beyond a renewal of the allegations of prosecutorial misconduct that have surfaced in connection with the original trial, the DA has taken the unprecedented move of asking high-profile defense attorney, Mickey Haller, to switch hats and, for one time only, to assume the role of independent special prosecutor.

THE REVERSAL, a title which reflects both the overturned verdict and the complete flip-flop of roles for the protagonist, Mickey Haller, is not so much a legal thriller as it is a noir, complex, richly character driven legal procedural. Mickey Haller, now appearing in his third Connelly novel, sits first chair. Second chair is taken by his wife, the acerbic long-time prosecutor, Maggie McPherson. The investigator for the team ... who else, LAPD Homicide Detective Harry Bosch! Appearing in a role slightly greater than a cameo but considerably less than a full-fledged cast member is Harry Bosch's one-time squeeze, FBI Special Agent and criminal profiler Rachel Walling.

Despite the fact that the bad guy is known effectively from the very get-go, THE REVERSAL is a compelling novel. It speaks eloquently to the intrusion of politics and public opinion in the legal process. It lays bare the twists, turns, abuses and surprises that seem to pervert a search for fairness and justice. It shows in a disquieting and disturbingly incomplete ending that life is never as cut and dried or as simple as we would wish it to be.

Although Harry Bosch, as literary characters go, is mature and exceptionally well-developed in the eyes of his legion of fans, Connelly presents him as an ever-changing and still growing man in his new role as a single father conflicted by the apparently mutually exclusive desires to protect his daughter and allow her to mature into a woman. He is also shown to be a confused widower who may still have warm feelings for a lady from his past. On the other hand, Mickey Haller, Harry Bosch's half-brother and a much newer Connelly character, is just beginning to blossom. THE REVERSAL will have Connelly fans clamouring for his next outing.

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

[Red Heaven · Rating 1 out of 5]

Objection!

Although I haven't read much of Connelly, I've loved almost everything I have read and so I consider myself a fan. This was my first interaction with Mickey Haller, and I wasn't enthusiastic about it, but I had it with me at the airport and decided it was going to be better than nothing.

Straight away, Red Heaven found the alternating between 1st and 3rd person incredibly annoying. The book never settled into a consistent tone as a result.

I also noticed that for a 400 page novel, the characterization of Haller and Bosch was minimal, and much of the focus - way too much, was on the trial.

Red also noticed that several alluring plot points were raised and then pretty much discarded. Was the stepfather involved in the murder? Was the killer a serial killer who buried his victims? The blurb on the back borders on deception as much is promised with Jessup out on bail, but hardly anything happens.

I found the circumstances of the crime fairly interesting, but there was so much more that could and should have been done. I needed a satisfying twist. Instead I got an ending that came jarringly out of nowhere, moving the plot in 90 degree angle and bringing the book to a screeching halt.

Red hated the ending of this book. After investing time reading 350 pages he got an ending that basically rendered those 350 pages irrelevant. It was a shocking way to treat the reader and the lack of meaningful resolution, the lack of paying off on any of the vaguely interesting plot points really sucks. The book is shallow and superficial and a pale imitation of his best work.

[Mihaela Abrudan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unul din cele mai bune volume ale seriei, un caz complex cu o surpriză plăcută la final. Mi-a fost teamă că va apărea o răpite care ar fi fost inutilă, dar mă bucur că autorul a ales un altfel de final. Interesantă ideea cu Haller în rol de procuror.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was the best in the series for me so far! If you love a courtroom drama coupled with police procedural, this one is a must!

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mickey “The Lincoln Lawyer” Haller has, despite his better judgment, joined the Dark Side. In other words, he is now working for the prosecution.

In Michael Connelly’s third Haller novel, “The Reversal”, everybody’s favorite ambulance-chaser is picked to be lead prosecutor in another headline-making trial—-or, rather, retrial—-of Jason Jessup, who has sat in prison for 24 years until recently, when new DNA evidence is discovered that calls into question his culpability in the murder of a young girl.

Haller picks his half-brother, LAPD detective Harry Bosch, to be his lead investigator, and his ex-wife Maggie McPherson to be his co-chair.

Almost immediately, Bosch finds out things about Jessup that may alter the trajectory of the entire trial, in a good way, but it may also put more people in danger.

Bosch and Maggie hoof it in the real world to gather facts and find witnesses, many of whom have either disappeared or died in the 24 years since the last trial. Meanwhile, Haller works his lawyerly magic in the courtroom.

Another exciting courtroom thriller from Connelly. I find Haller to be as charismatic and fun as Bosch is brooding and tough. They work well together, and I look forward to more team-ups.

[Donne · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a huge Bosch universe fan, I’ve been really enjoying the Mickey Haller/Lincoln Lawyer series. One of the things that I’ve enjoyed about the books from the movies and tv shows is that in the books, Mickey and Harry actually work together. In the movies and shows, the producers chose to never allow them to be a part of each other’s lives. HUGE MISTAKE!!! Harry and Mickey work pretty good together and I love that their kids, Maddie and Hayley, are becoming friends.

Anyway, the book summary just basically introduces the primary storyline of reinvestigating a 24yr old murder case because after umpteen appeals the Supreme Court finally granted the killer a new trial because of new evidence as the result of DNA testing. Mickey crosses the “table” (from defense attorney to county prosecutor) for this case at the request of the DA. As part of the agreement, Mickey requests his ex-wife (#1), Maggie, to be his second chair, which she is not pleased about – at all; ex-wife #2, Lorna, is his paralegal. As I mentioned before, there is a secondary storyline of Harry and Mickey finally working together. Even though they are half-brothers (different mothers), they’ve never worked together, never been close, and have barely acknowledged each other.

Most of the story revolves around the reinvestigation of the case, which has Harry as the case investigator. Harry is also struggling as a new full-time parent to teenage Maddie, since the death of her mother. This sort of becomes another storyline too. During the investigation, Harry and Maggie take an overnight trip to WA to talk to a witness from the first case. It’s during this trip that Maggie finds out about Maddie and Harry and Maggie make plans to introduce the cousins to each other so they can get to know each other. Shortly, thereafter, Mickey’s green monster makes an appearance. LMAO Omg! That was so funny! You tell him, Maggie!

The story flips back and forth between Mickey’s preparation for the trial and Harry’s investigation of the case and tracking down witnesses. I don’t read a lot of legal dramas; I find all the legal mumbo jumbo and court drama and antics boring. So, suffice it to say, I enjoyed Harry’s chapters more than Mickey’s chapters. However, I did enjoy the friction as well as banter between Mickey and Maggie in and out of court. Like all of the Lincoln Lawyer stories, the best part of the stories is the explosive ending where Mickey has legally backed the villain into a corner that they become so desperate that they start screwing up.

I loved the character development between Mickey and Harry; it adds so much more to the stories. The pacing was steady to fast, even during the trial chapters. The story was interesting and the writing well done. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.1 that I will be rounding down to a 4star rating.

[Mica Santos ⇢ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Law & Order” versión libro en todo su esplendor.

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. This guy Mickey Haller is something - brash, always looking for the dollar, full of cynicism concerning authority, but a hell-of-a great defence lawyer and, in his own way, a very good father to his preteen daughter, Hayley. The two other stars? Harry Bosch, LAPD detective par excellence, and prosecuting attorney Maggy McPherson (aka McFierce), Haller's former wife and the other parent in the Hayley equation. She's forced to take second chair to Mick! That's one big obstacle. On a DNA technicality, Jason Jessup's conviction of two decades ago is overturned and a retrial ordered by the state Supreme Court. The county DA asks Haller to cross the floor and prosecute Jessup for kidnapping and murdering a 12-year-old girl. Good optics he says. Mick is reluctant but agrees if McPherson and Bosch will be on his team. The fact that all three team members have young daughters is always in the background. Haller is soon convinced Jessup is a brutal killer. You are sure to enjoy Jessup's defence lawyer pulling the same tricks Haller would have conjured up had he not been prosecuting! Indeed Haller predicts them in advance. (January 2020)

[Carol]

The Hook - Author, Michael Connelly, plain and simple. Well, maybe a bit more to say than that. I have read many of Connelly's novels and enjoyed them all. His Harry Bosch series is a favorite. To his credit, I really love how Connelly has added The Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller) and the Renée Ballard Series to his literary accomplishments. All of these have kept me entertained throughout the years.

The Line - ”Her body was found just a few hours later, discarded in a dumpster like a bag of trash”

The Sinker - This legal thriller, Reversal, the third in The Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller) is aptly named. This court case is a true turnaround for Haller, a defense lawyer, now taking on a prosecution role for the people. Reversal is a catch-up read for me, due to the popularity of Netflix's Lincoln Lawyer series, with the promise of a new season. I'm so hooked on both the book and streaming series (hoping for Reversal to be part of season 3), but am also excited by the characters returning in each. The blending of personalities from the Bosch and Haller books has been a pleasure and well done.

Haller, as prosecutor, surprised me as much as it may have surprised himself. Maggie is perfect as Haller's second; this not a surprise as she is a one smart woman and prosecutor. Haller's half-brother, Bosch, as his investigator, provides both sides of the story, the criminal act itself, and the consequences of said; the cop and lawyer, the crime and justice. The meeting of their daughters is also a plus.

I usually do not binge titles and have oh, so much, on my TBR list, but I am going to try to finish my catch-up on The Lincoln Lawyer. I liked it that much.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is listed as the third book in the Mickey Haller series but Harry Bosch plays a prominent role in the story. The story opens with Mickey meeting L.A. District Attorney Gabriel Williams for lunch. Mickey is a defense lawyer. He is The Lincoln Lawyer. Williams has an unusual offer. He wants Mickey to cross the aisle and be the prosecutor in the retrial of a convicted lowlife child killer. Jason Jessup was convicted twenty-four years ago of kidnapping and killing 12 year old Melissa Landy and discarding her body in a dumpster. The California Supreme Court reversed the conviction based on new DNA evidence. Now the Los Angeles District Attorney must either retry or dismiss. They plan to retry Jessup. Mickey agrees to take the lead for the prosecution on several conditions. 1) he will be completely independent, 2) he will choose his second for the prosecution, and 3) he will choose his own investigator.

For his second on the prosecution team he chooses his ex-wife Maggie "McFierce" McPherson. For his investigator he chooses his stepbrother Harry Bosch. It makes for an interesting cast of characters and it was fun watching them work together. The chapters alternate. One chapter is told from Mickey's first person POV. The next chapter is told from Harry's third person POV.

Jessup does not think he will be retried after twenty-four years and is looking forward to a big payday between a lawsuit, book deals, maybe a movie, etc. He is enjoying his new found freedom ... surfing, eating at fast food restaurants, barhopping and the media is there to capture it all. But he and his media savvy lawyer are in for a big surprise. Michael Connelly keeps the reader guessing. I found the ending a little disappointing. It seemed as though the author wanted to wrap this story up and just end it. Overall though it was still an enjoyable story and I like reading how Harry and Mickey interact and how the relationship between them develops. And whether justice will prevail for Melissa Landy.

"It always bothered Bosch when he saw justice and the law being manipulated by smart lawyers. His part in the process was pure. He started at a crime scene and followed the evidence to a killer."

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Mickey Haller book, taking the main character to the other side of the aisle this time, in a special prosecutor role. We also get a greater insight into Bosch, for those of us who have not tackled his own series.



Mickey is asked to play the role of special prosecutor on a case that has come back to bite the D.A. Haller uses his ex-wife to help him build the case again and dig into a murder/kidnapping from back in '86. We learn much about the case in the 1st and 3rd person narratives of Mickey and Bosch, as well as tie up some loose ends about their pasts.



Connelly does another excellent job with the court proceedings, making me feel I was right there. He also uses great narrative to highlight Bosch's investigative skills. I am now convinced that I will read the entire Bosch series after I finish the latest Haller book, which is soon to come to my Kobo!



Great work!

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd listen update: I have decided to increase my rating of this book to 3.5-3.75⭐️’s. I still find some of the middle to be a bit long winded and had to go back a few times to replay parts, but I enjoyed it more this time.

I am not Maggie’s biggest fan and I missed Lorna (she did make a few low-key appearances) and Sisco (sp?). They (Lorna and Sisco) are excellent secondary characters and I love when they have a big presence in the books.

I also prefer Mickey as a defense attorney. It was interesting to see him on this side of the courtroom though. The games in which lawyers play. Geez. The defense attorney in this book drove me a bit nuts and several times I wanted to smack him upside the back of the head and tell him to knock it the heck off. Yes, Mickey plays games too, but I’d like to think that he doesn’t dip quite so low into the bucket of slime that Royce, or whatever his name is, did. Then again……I am remembering some Haller moments from the other books. But I think his intentions are much more noble, for lack of a better word at the moment, than the ever so annoying Royce.

Peter Giles does a good job with narration.

While this is not my favorite of the Mickey Haller books, I am happy that my enjoyment of it increased the second time with it.

Second listen thoughts and updated rating posted: 11/26/25


Audiobook version. A little too long winded for me in the middle. Didn’t enjoy this one as much as I have the others.
Original rating (3⭐️‘s)and thoughts posted: 3/26/25

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars (9/10)
This was another excellent entry in the Harry Bosch Universe. I loved it that Mickey and Harry sort-of shared top dog, although it was really more from Mickey's viewpoint than Harry's. I liked the interaction between the brothers and Maggie...an awkward triangle if ever there was one. I seriously doubt that's the direction Connelly is going, but it was fun to read about Mickey's petty jealousy in that regard...really makes him more human and less "sleazy."
The only thing that kept me from giving this 5 stars (because seriously, Connelly is a masterful writer!) is the ending. It wasn't quite as satisfying as I would have wanted it to be. Although Harry driving off into the sunset chasing a lead is always how I picture him. I will be moving on the next novel The Fifth Witness pretty soon.

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, the problem with sequels… Often, it is like this. You cook a gallon of good soup. You and your family eat half a gallon one day, and then to prolong the culinary feat, you add half a gallon of water to the remaining soup, and have half a gallon of it the next day. Then you add another half a gallon of water the next day, and so on and on, and soon you have no soup at all, just water, and a memory of good soup. "The Reversal" is a sequel to Michael Connelly's "The Lincoln Lawyer", which is a very good book. Alas, "The Reversal" is not a good book. It is mostly water, not much soup.

We have Mickey Haller, Maggie McPherson, Harry Bosch, and Agent Walling, but they are just names on paper. They are not real people. We have to create their characterizations from what we know from the previous books. In "The Reversal" they are just empty vessels, paper agents to move the plot.

The publisher's blurb says "Written with the depth, pace, and insight…". Two out of these three are false. There is absolutely no depth and no insight. Yes, there is pace. The writing is not up to usual Connelly's level. I would guess it was either partially ghost-written or the author wrote the whole book in a few short weeks, not caring about the style.

Big disappointment! I am scared to read the further sequels.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

New York Best Seller List - Oct. 24, 2010 - #1

Mickey Haller (”The Lincoln Lawyer”) crosses his attorney defense “line” & goes to The Reversal on a prosecution “side”.



Jason Jessup, in jail 24 years, convicted for a 12-year-old girl murder. Released, due to the new “Genetic Justice Process” reviewing past murder cases. Jessup had other convictions. Run from LAPD surveillance or wait for The Reversal trial?

Prosecution - Mickey Haller, Harry Bosch (LAPD investigator) & Maggie McPherson (deputy D.A., Mickey’s ex-wife). Defense - Clive Royce.

Melissa Laundry (12-year-old girl) killed & body found in a dumpster. Sarah Ann Gleason (unstable older sister) testifies Melissa taken by Jessup. Enough DNA for tests on Jessup? Jessup dug at “safe-house” under a beach’s pier, why not just escape when released?



YouTube - Micheal Connelly Book interview

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A combination of Haller and Bosch. Jessop a murderer of a 12 year old girl is set for a retrial after 20 odd years thanks to some semen DNA on the murdered girls dress coming from her stepfather, now dead.

Haller is hired by the District Attorney as an independent prosecutor and so is on the other side of the court prosecuting Jessop. Bosch is the investigator looking to find witnesses and evidence that Jessop is the culprit. Sarah the murdered girls sister identified him as snatching her sister.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Jessop is the murderer and his case falls apart when Bosch discredits their key witness. This results in Jessop going postal with his defense team. He then does a Bruce Lee charge at the police resulting in his demise. The story was good but the final showdown felt rushed to me.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number three in the Mickey Haller series.
Michael Connelly never fails to entertain me. This is yet another tight well paced thriller.

This is the first of Mickey Haller books where Harry Bosch plays a major part.
The book takes place partly in a courtroom with Mickey and partly out in the field with Harry. So if you're thing is courtrooms dramas or if you prefer detective dramas everybody's covered.
You are never sure what Jason Jessup, the would be villain of the book, is up to. A times he looks blacker than black and then there are time when you wonder if Mickey and Harry are barking up the wrong tree.

The one thing that you are left in doubt about is how crazy the judicial system is in America. But I'm sure that it's true for the rest of the world as well.

One thing that took a bit of getting used to was moving from first to third person a lot. But that aside I really couldn't fault it.

Recommend as a lively read 4 stars.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars, perhaps one too many. The story looks very promising and quite good to a point, but:
- Haller, Bosch and McPherson, all of them are grumpy and unpleasant, even between them
-the Police is far too stupid for my taste
- the final could be less dramatic, a good thriller doesn't necessary need a bloodbath...

[John McDermott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Another fine instalment in Mr Consistent's Mickey Haller series with Harry Bosch along for the ride. Reliable entertainment.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

** Continuing my read and review of Michael Connelly’s Mickey Haller books *

Michael Connelly’s 22nd book and third outing with Mickey Haller as the protagonist- “The Reversal” - was first published back in 2010. Mickey is the son of Michael Haller, a famous defense attorney in the Los Angeles area back in the sixties and seventies. Mickey himself is a somewhat successful criminal defense attorney operating in Los Angeles County. Unlike his father, his office is a Lincoln Town Car, and his clients are primarily drug dealers, gang members, and gangsters. Mickey’s first ex-wife, Margaret “McFierce” McPherson, is a prosecuting attorney and mother of his daughter, Hayley. His second wife, Lorna Taylor, is his case manager and front-line defense to his clients. Mickey is also the younger half-brother of Detective Harry Bosch, Connelly’s long-running detective series.

When “The Reversal” starts, Haller has been invited to a lunch meeting with Gabriel Williams, Los Angeles County District Attorney. Williams has a favor to ask him. He wants Haller to serve as a special prosecutor in the retrial of Jason Jessup, previously convicted of kidnapping and killing 12-year-old Melissa Landy. After serving 24 years in prison, Jessup has been released because of new DNA evidence testing, and LA County needs an impartial and independent prosecutor to try the case. Once Haller is allowed to have his ex-wife, Maggie “McFierce” McPherson, serve as his co-prosecutor, as well as using this as an opportunity to promote her career, he accepts the job.

Haller is also able to employ Harry Bosch his half-brother and LAPD Special Crimes detective as his case investigator. Harry is trying to balance his workload while learning to cohabitate with his own 14-year-old daughter, Maddie, following the murder of her mother and Bosch’s ex-wife in Hong Kong several months ago. Harry is discovering that being a father to a teenage daughter is harder than tracking down criminals and killers.

Working together as a team, Haller, Maggie, and Bosch soon realize their case has big challenges. After 24 years many of the witnesses are either gone or dead and much of the evidence no longer appears to be as strong as it once was. The retrial was granted based on finding out the DNA evidence from Melissa’s dress was not from Jessup; it was actually from the dead girl’s stepfather who is dead. Other than mostly circumstantial evidence, their case rests mostly on the testimony of Melissa’s older sister, Sarah, who saw Jessup take her from their yard and escape in his two truck. The problem is Sarah sunk into serious drug and addiction problems during the years following and has pretty much disappeared. And to make matters worse, Haller is facing his toughest defense opponent, "Clever Clive" Royce, who is attacking Mickey’s case at every step and mounting a strong media campaign, painting Jessup as a victim of justice.

Together, Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch are facing a full deck and time is not on their side…

This is the second time that Connelly has brought Haller and Bosch to work together on a case and it is absolutely awesome. In reading my way through Connelly’s books from the beginning, I have appreciated the different ends of the spectrum that Haller and Bosch represent. They are great to compare and contrast with one another. Although both are interesting and complex, they are each compelling in their own way. Mickey’s background and upbringing were less stark and dramatic than Harry’s. He handles his legal cases with an entrepreneurial spirit and close relationships with trust. Where Harry focuses on overcoming a past that lacked parental influence, Mickey struggles with being in the shadow of the legacy of his father’s success. In contrast to Harry’s brooding and pessimistic outlook on life, Mickey is more optimistic and optimistic by nature. He focuses on how things can well and scrambles to make the best out bad situations.

I especially enjoyed how Connelly delivered another legal thriller that not only delivers excellent courtroom drama, but also takes the reader through a front-seat view of the entire legal process from beginning to end, including all of the behind the curtain legal maneuvering and politics. There were so many well delivered moments of legal warfare that I almost lost count. Connelly lays out another complex legal thriller and multiple secondary character relationships in a connected, interweaving plot that provides an engrossing page-turning experience. It had a dash of John Grisham at his best, but it was a fresh and original take that had Connelly’s unique crime beat experience written all over it.

It’s almost crazy how I can always count on Connelly to provide me a wining legal thriller reading experience. The narrative flowed effortlessly from one scene to another, one conversation to the next, and one twist to another until the multiple climaxes paid off and I could breathe a sigh of relief. There was no extra verbiage or unnecessary descriptions taking away from the story’s focus. Each of the courtroom scenes built more and more drama until culminating in a delicious climax. And transparency requires me to admit that any appearance by my favorite FBI agent and profiler, Rachel Walling, always makes me happy.

The only thing keeping me from giving this book five stars was that I struggled a bit with the ending. Two things bothered me. The first there was a lack of closure around the primary mystery. I don’t want to spoil anything, but some aspects were left in a vague and unanswered state. The second was a dropping some of the clues and evidence developed throughout the story. Without going into details, Rachel Walling was brought in to provide a criminal profile that was used as a key element of the plotting, and then it just disappeared at the end. No use of it to link the clues to resolution or anything. This was an unusual experience for me when reading Connelly, and I am just going to give him the benefit of the doubt this time.

Overall, (even with my complaints) this book was an absolute joy to immerse myself in. Mickey Haller is a complex character with a few real strengths, many poignant weaknesses, and internal demons driving him to become a lawyer who believes in and seeks for justice. His background and unique quirks make him an interesting addition and balance to the hard-driven dark passion of Harry Bosch. Now that Connelly has found ways for them to work together on a case, we readers get the pleasure of both worlds – legal thriller and police procedural – served in a perfect combination of crime fiction. I cannot think of any better paring in fiction and it leaves me wanting more…