26 September 2011

Book Banter -- The Reversal

Title: The Reversal
Author: Michael Connelly
Genre: legal/mystery
Length: 398 pages
Plot Basics: When new DNA evidence looks like it could reverse the charges against a man convicted nearly a quarter-century ago of kidnapping and murdering a young girl, defense attorney Mickey Haller agrees to cross the aisle and serve as a special prosecutor to put him away again. Haller teams up with his ex-wife and prosecutor Maggie McPherson and taps LAPD Detective Harry Bosch to help as the team's investigator to dig up new evidence and refind witnesses in this old case. But as the evidence points away from the alleged killer, his behavior makes the team suspicious that he might be preparing for even worse crimes.

Banter Points: I'm always a little leary of authors doing mash-ups when they bring characters from two series together, but Connelly has done it in the past and does it well again in The Reversal. It was always clear who was the main character of each chapter, going back and forth from first person with Mickey to third person with Bosch.

The book was a legal drama, so the timeline was fairly predictabe with courtroom proceedings, but the book moved along as the investigation took unexpected turns.

Bummer Points: I didn't know Connelly wrote cliffhangers. I'm not a happy reader with where they book left off and how I have to wait another two months for his new one, The Drop, to come out that sounds like maybe will finish off this plot.

Word Nerd Recommendation: If you haven't ever been introduced to Bosch or Haller before, this is not the book to start with. Go back and read at least The Lincoln Lawyer and Nine Dragons to get a little bit of who these guys are. If you're already into the series, what are you waiting for?

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