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Mike Connolly Mystery #1
Sober Justice (Mike Connolly Mystery Series #1) by Joe Hilley
Life in the low country of the Gulf Coast can get pretty steamy. But life just got a lot hotter for Mike Connolly, a divorced, alcoholic, 50 something attorney. Usually content when he just makes it through another day, Mike's life takes a dangerous and unpredictable turn when a judge appoints him to defend an indigent man accused of murdering a prominent plaintiff's attorney. Just when he thinks that things can't get worse, Mike stumbles onto a conspiracy and finds himself in the midst of a complicated web of intrigue that will take a miracle to survive. Trouble is--Mike's fresh out of miracles. Or is he?
371 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2004
About the author
Joe Hilley
17 books385 followersI was born in Alabama and grew up on the Gulf Coast. After years of practicing law, I quit to write about people and topics that interest me.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 24, 2012
I randomly found Sober Justice at my local used bookstore, and it turned out to be among the best mystery/thriller novels I've ever read. The characters, plot, writing, etc. were all amazing. I can't wait to read others in the series.
June 21, 2010
Mr. Hilley is probably tired of being compared to John Grisham. But, hey, there are worse authors to be compared to, no?
Sober Justice is a solid, well-written crime novel with an interesting spiritual twist. Our hero, Mike Connolly is a lawyer whose life is pretty much in the toilet. Hooked on gin, divorced, estranged from his daughter and living with an exotic dancer, he’s not the stereotypical protagonist in a Christian novel. Mike is assigned a case by a judge who considers it to be cut-and-dried: a black man with a felony record accused of capital murder in the death of a prominent citizen. But, as Mike digs into the case, oddities begin showing up almost immediately. As you’d expect, he embarks on a twisting and perilous road to discover the truth about the crime. His investigative efforts are both inhibited and, at the same time, oddly enhanced as he discovers himself —or perhaps better, is discovered (you’ll see what I mean)—at the same time.
Mr. Hilley takes us on an incredibly detailed journey through the city of Mobile Bay in deep South bayou country as you follow Mike’s steps in uncovering evidence and protecting his client from a corrupt legal community. We learn as much about the local environment of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ as we do about the legal processes constraining his capital murder case. Intricately researched and intensely written, we sweat with Mike in the relentless heat and humidity of the Gulf coast, burn with frustration as he is beset at both the personal and professional levels by those who have no confidence in him, and muse with him as he wonders what God is trying to tell him through spiritual trials and revelations that come at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected ways.
This is a must-read for those who enjoy a good crime thriller coupled with a unique story of redemption. Sober Justice is the first in the Mike Connolly Mystery series. According to Mr. Hilley’s Web site, this book is currently out of print, but there are still some copies available by ordering through the Web site.
Great story. Worth waiting for.
Sober Justice is a solid, well-written crime novel with an interesting spiritual twist. Our hero, Mike Connolly is a lawyer whose life is pretty much in the toilet. Hooked on gin, divorced, estranged from his daughter and living with an exotic dancer, he’s not the stereotypical protagonist in a Christian novel. Mike is assigned a case by a judge who considers it to be cut-and-dried: a black man with a felony record accused of capital murder in the death of a prominent citizen. But, as Mike digs into the case, oddities begin showing up almost immediately. As you’d expect, he embarks on a twisting and perilous road to discover the truth about the crime. His investigative efforts are both inhibited and, at the same time, oddly enhanced as he discovers himself —or perhaps better, is discovered (you’ll see what I mean)—at the same time.
Mr. Hilley takes us on an incredibly detailed journey through the city of Mobile Bay in deep South bayou country as you follow Mike’s steps in uncovering evidence and protecting his client from a corrupt legal community. We learn as much about the local environment of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ as we do about the legal processes constraining his capital murder case. Intricately researched and intensely written, we sweat with Mike in the relentless heat and humidity of the Gulf coast, burn with frustration as he is beset at both the personal and professional levels by those who have no confidence in him, and muse with him as he wonders what God is trying to tell him through spiritual trials and revelations that come at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected ways.
This is a must-read for those who enjoy a good crime thriller coupled with a unique story of redemption. Sober Justice is the first in the Mike Connolly Mystery series. According to Mr. Hilley’s Web site, this book is currently out of print, but there are still some copies available by ordering through the Web site.
Great story. Worth waiting for.
Want to Read
June 28, 200806/28/08 rec via bookmooch
October 15, 2016
Not sure where this book came from but I found it on my shelf. Currently living in Mobile, AL made this book more interesting. A pretty good lawyer type book but the ending got a little out of control.
March 23, 2014
Great story by Hilley. I just picked this book up randomly because I enjoy the legal thriller set in the Deep South kind of story. What I discovered is one of the best I have ever read in this genre. Definitely look forward to reading more by Hilley!
Read
June 18, 2020What a great book! I was totally surprised by this. Believable characters. Wonderful setting. Compelling story. A little more of a process mystery than legal thriller, but very thrilling. Moving on to Joe Hilley's next book in this series and looking forward to more from the continuing characters.
November 16, 2008
LOVE IT!!!! I bought all of the books!
March 29, 2010
Fairly interesting story that alludes to divine intervention. While the book was ok to read I guess I'm not quite the believer I should be to get the most out of it.
January 23, 2016
Too formulaic for my taste, and the conversations were very trite and predictable.
November 26, 2017
This is the first book of this author that I have read. It's a great legal mystery! It has a lot going on in the book so you need to attention. The ending was surprising but good!
May 2, 2019
This was an easy reading page turner that kept my interest till the end. Just enough soul searching, religion and family issues without overdoing .
May 22, 2020
OK, I think I have found a new Favorite Author. In the style, location and genre of John Grisham.
Joseph writes a legal thriller around a down and out alcoholic lawyer who is given an impossible case to unravel. An innocent man is accused of murder. Mike Connolly gets caught up in a conspiracy that takes him on a road of intrigue that may take his life. In the process, He meets God and experiences a few miracles. I've had this book on my shelf for a year or two and during this downtime, I am catching up on my reading. I just ordered more of his books!
Joseph writes a legal thriller around a down and out alcoholic lawyer who is given an impossible case to unravel. An innocent man is accused of murder. Mike Connolly gets caught up in a conspiracy that takes him on a road of intrigue that may take his life. In the process, He meets God and experiences a few miracles. I've had this book on my shelf for a year or two and during this downtime, I am catching up on my reading. I just ordered more of his books!
October 13, 2020
This is Joe Hilley's first book. He is a NY Times Bestselling author for other work, but this is where his career began and it's easy to see why he has been successful. I read the re-released version of this book and even with some revision to the original text, the story is raw and fresh and alive with the interest and intensity of a new writer. Starts slow but the pace picks up as the story unfolds. Great characters. Wonderful setting. Quirky ending but it works. Reading his most recent book now.
July 15, 2020
Great book. Compelling characters. Excellent setting. Well-developed plot. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series
July 16, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to reading others in this series.
February 19, 2024
Mike Connally is a new person for my reading pleasure. He has been around since 2004 but this is my first book with him.
This was a good mystery. The ALPACA scheme was not clear to me, but the story held my interest. It hit upon the symptoms of alcoholism very well. Reading about some of Mike's bouts was scary but he seemed to clean up in the end and solved the case and also helped an innocent person be free of a stated crime.
I will read Book #2 in the near future.
This was a good mystery. The ALPACA scheme was not clear to me, but the story held my interest. It hit upon the symptoms of alcoholism very well. Reading about some of Mike's bouts was scary but he seemed to clean up in the end and solved the case and also helped an innocent person be free of a stated crime.
I will read Book #2 in the near future.
September 9, 2026
Sober Justice
The story was both interesting and unusual but exciting. I liked the story and enjoyed the read and liked the book it kept my interest and the story was good. I enjoyed it and would like to read the next book to compare the books to see if the stories are similar in story lines. Again a good book and story.
The story was both interesting and unusual but exciting. I liked the story and enjoyed the read and liked the book it kept my interest and the story was good. I enjoyed it and would like to read the next book to compare the books to see if the stories are similar in story lines. Again a good book and story.
January 16, 2024
Christian author, and the story and characters were good, but the ending seemed to fall apart. I still don’t really understand what was happening to cause the conflict, and the last few chapters deviated quite a bit from the flow of the storyline I was expecting.
August 8, 2022
No foul language
Excellent story, lots of mistakes in writing. Really like no rotten language. Excellent story. Reminds me of Baldacci. Good job.
Excellent story, lots of mistakes in writing. Really like no rotten language. Excellent story. Reminds me of Baldacci. Good job.
November 25, 2022
The first book in the Mike Connolly mystery series. Entertaining characters. Great setting.
September 29, 2021
It was good at first but then got too wierd for me. The typos were distracting. Words that spell check would not pick up. Like past and passed. Need a proofreader!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews