Micky Haller saves the day
355678
Once again Michael Connelly reaches into the past, has it join with the present, and tells a good story about the lawyer. It's a good read once again.
3892610
As a Sox fan, watching one of the most spectacular post-seasons in Boston history was an amazing thing.  This DVD is a definite for anyone who wants to see one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.  I did not feel that the emphasis on Roberts' stolen base in game 4 to turn the tide was enough to honor that moment.  But overall, it's right in line with the 2007 DVD.  If you've stumbled across this one, BUY IT!
1235968
Connelly's last episode of the Harry Bosch series was a bit lame. I recommended that Connelly should phase out good old Harry, who didn't seem to find new cases for himself any more, just repetitions of the same old. I suggested to follow up on the Lincoln Lawyer, the hero of the stand alone book of the same title, defense attorney Mickey Haller.
That's what Connelly has done. He does listen to advice! But being also a little stubborn, Harry shows up in the story, which is told by Mickey.

Mickey has been out of work for a year, a 'sabbatical' following drug (pain killer) addiction and rehab and family disintegration. Now he feels ready to go back, and right away he has a windfall: a colleague has been murdered and Mickey inherits his cases. Harry is the investigating cop on the case of the murdered lawyer.

Biggest case among the inheritance is a great double murder with a Hollywood producer as defendant. Mickey jumps into action, the biggest challenge being that his 'predecessor's' computer and calendar were stolen by the killer.
Though the case against his client looks strong, Mickey manages to find the 'magic bullet' and create reasonable doubt. All seems to be set for a great comeback by the Lincoln Lawyer...

The novel is great entertainment, if you like cop stories and court stories. Here you have two for the price of one.
The book has four main suspense drivers: the murder case of the lawyer whose cases M takes over; the murder case where M is the defense lawyer; his hunt for the magic bullet (ie the tool that cracks the prosecution's solid case); and our growing suspicion that somehow things are quite different in the end.
The magic bullet thing is a bit of a cheap trick by Connelly. The narrator keeps us in the dark for several chapters. That is unfair as narrative device.

The book descriptions here and on the cover of the book make much about the Haller/Bosch relation. I would say: overstated. Just a normal distrustful cooperation, nothing special.
And by the way, Johan Rilz is absolutely not a normal German name. Neither is Malcolm Pepin a normal French name.
90856
Michael Modesto is a rock star, a rock star to the full extreme with the alcohol and the girls, living life hard in the fast lane. Than all of a sudden he begins to tire, the pleasure begins to fade and at twenty-five he begins to question if he's getting too old for the music.

Than one night at one of so many parties he meets Mary Schaeffer, a nurse who pushes her way in determined to speak to him. She wants him to do a benefit concert for crack babies. Michael wants no part of it; he has a reputation, a selfish attitude towards such things. But finally agrees to go to the hospital with her to see the babies. While there Mary forces him to hold one of the babies and pain like a bolt of lightning races through his body till he passes out but the baby- the baby was healed! In the parking lot another miracle a fire ball of protection from two thugs who try to rob them.

From then on Michael decides to stay away from Mary and any thought of a benefit concert but he can't he's drawn to her. He tracks her down at her church to tell her he won't help but before he knows it he starts preaching like crazy words he never knew and doesn't even believe begin to flow out of him.

After that surviving the elevator crash with the message written on the wall that he is God's messenger, messenger of what, has him thinking he is losing his mind. While all the while Mary believes he is chosen for a purpose.

Than there's Ambassador Anthony Stonz and his assistant Selene who seem to appear out of nowhere to help the church but really are set on stopping Michael but know he is not like the others this one won't be easy to stop......

An awesome storyline set against the end times this novel will have you grabbing for your Bible! The author Robert L. Hecker does an amazing job in this mystery page turner. The showdown of good versus evil is a little typical of most end times books but the rest of the book is well worth the time.

But on a negative note if you are offended by profanity than give this book a pass as some Christians may find the language offensive. But otherwise an awesome read.
2233317
This is another great book with Mickey Haller.  Lots of fun courtroom scenes.  I must say I miss Connelly books with Susan and Hawk.
426292
In 1981, the Rochester Red Wings and Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League met for a 32-inning marathon that wasn't halted until 4 o'clock the next morning. The game began around 8 p.m. on Holy Saturday, April 18, and was finally suspended with Eastern Sunrise approaching. When play resumed a little over two months later, it only took a short time for the Pawsox to pull out a victory in the bottom of the 33rd.  The story of the longest game in the history of professional baseball becomes the backdrop for a larger meditation on the transitory and sometimes cruel turns of fate in baseball and in life in this beautifully-written book.

While The Red Wings and Paw Sox play Triple-A baseball, just a step below the majors, and it's only 40 miles from Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium to Boston's Fenway Park, the distance might as well be measured in light years.

Wade Boggs took the field at third base for Pawtucket that night, and his dreams of major league stardom came true. His counterpart across the infield, first baseman Dave Koza, never even tasted the proverbial "cup of coffee" in the big leagues. Their stories are here, along with those of the other players (including Rochester's future Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken Jr.), plus the wives, batboys, broadcasters, owners, clubhouse boys, sportswriters and fans who came together for an evening that none of them ever suspected would be history-making. Although there are many wonderfully-drawn profiles in these pages, Koza's story may be the most moving. He peaked just below the very top level of the game; the decades that followed have brought all kinds of personal and professional struggles, but three decades after his singular moment in baseball, he's finally found redemption. It's fitting that he closes the book.

Dan Barry does a wonderful job of capturing the moment and its lasting meaning, three decades later. This should be a big hit with fans of baseball, but deserves a wider audience as well.--William C. Hall
1746005
Wherever I Wind Up, My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball, by R. A. Dickey, with Wayne Coffey, was surprisingly good. I  have been a long suffering NY Mets fan forever and the one bright light in the last couple of seasons for me has been the emergence of R.A. Dickey. I mean I wanted to like this book and got my wish. Here was a guy who was basically on his last legs in baseball when he decided to take up the knuckleball. With the encouragement of Buck Showalter, his manager at the time and the help of a small group of knuckleballers who seen to be the only group of players that will help players on a different team, works his way back from the edge of retirement.
Throughout the book there are a couple of things that stand out to me and that is his ability to land on his feet even when there is no real reason for it to happen and the discovery of God in his life.  He embraced Jesus and he found the strength to finally open up about being abused sexually by two people. He found a therapist he trusted enough and who also was the right match for an untrusting person who did not feel the right to have a good and happy life.
This inspirational story is. I enjoyed the book especially in the world of now we are seeing R.A. Dickey on the verge of having a 20 game win season and the possibility of being the first knuckleballer to ever win the Cy Young Award. At this point he has 2 starts left and has 19 wins.
4763748
A well thought out book that furthers the character development of Mickey Haller and brings along Jennifer Aronson for a possible spinoff series.  Connelly is becoming very good at cross referencing characters by having cameos of them ( Harry Bosch) and also referencing characters and plots of their latest books.  Also, I like the humor at the problems faced by the character due to the Lincoln Lawyer movie.  Other than that, an Ok book although I do like the Haller character very much.
651711
Like a whore with a heart of gold, Mickey Haller is a lawyer who's a sleaze with smarts and a heart full of love for his young daughter and still in love with his ex-wife. At first, he views his new client as his money ticket to clear his debts. Then he learns his client may be guilty of more assaults and killings than police have charged him with but, if Haller doesn't get the jury to vote not guilty, his client has informed him Haller's ex-wife and their daughter will pay with their lives.
4551977
Exciting and fast moving story line. This book may be fictional but unfortunately the substance is all to true. Three cheers for Halley hope to see more of her.
2925051
Another excellent Lincoln Lawyer/Harry Bosch novel. While this isn't exactly a who done it novel, it fascinating to watch Harry Bosch painstakingly put the pieces of a horrendous homicide to reach the truth. Then throw Mickey Hallers panache into the mix and you have a fantastic story.
4694585
What could be better than a Mickey Haller/Harry Bosch combo for those of us who are Connelly fans?  Characters are interesting,  entertaining, and there really is suspense. ,
2592366
This is the first Michael Connelly book I've read and I really enjoyed it.  It stars Mickey Haller a savy LA lawyer with plenty of court and street smarts to spare.  Mickey's been on a substance abuse sabbbatical and he suddenly inherits some cases from another lawyer who just got shot execution style... two  25 cals to the head. The Elliot case though is a big $$$ one for Haller. Micky unwinds the story in the first person which is quite effective in this crime story.  The story really starts off slow as he establishes the characters and their backgrounds and then switches into a higher gear.

I found the Brass Verdict to be a great 3-4 hour read and entertaining and Connelly does not make the justice system seem very healthy.

SPOILER:  Elliot is the whale of a case and unfortunately Connelly's opening words, "everybody lies" gives away the ending because of course...the movie mogul is lying big time.  So throughout the story I knew the lawyer's whale was lying and guilty as charged.  I didn'[t find it to be a thriller (lite on suspense) but it was a very enjoyable read and I think Haller is a Franchise hero.
1493489
Tough to cross over for a career cop. With Haller's annoying persistence and Bosch's ability to apply and bend his knowledge of how cops and the system works, they team up to make a compelling and formidable team to save an innocent man.
4802903
Jake Wakefield is a star pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks.  While his wife is brutally murdered, her sister, Dr. Lauren Rose, is hard at work in the ER of a local hospital.

The cops charge Jake with the killing and after a number of delays, the trial begins.

We learned early on that Jake is setting Lauren up to take the blame.  The tricks he comes up with and how they are used in his trial are well thought out even though the courtroom scenes stretch your imagination a little bit.

One major flaw in the story is that the #8 hitter in a baseball lineup cannot leadoff the top of the ninth inning of a perfect game.

Give The Perfect Game a try and you will enjoy the Michael Connelly like ending.
3922300
I enjoyed this book and reading about Michaels career in the booth. Much of the book is about Michaeal's journey from one job to the next and about memorable games that he called. There's not much 'behind the scenes' scoop here, though he does discuss Howard Cosell and some of his broadcast partners. As someone who grew up in Cincinnati, I was most interested in his time as the play-by-play announcer for the Reds and he had some solid stories about the early Big Red Machine.
2863565
Until I read this book, I have found that, generally, most baseball books of this nature have different titles but the same exhausting content. Tim Sommer simply made this an interesting and enjoyable read from start to finish. His early stages of baseball youth paralleled mine at least to the point of gaining the attention of major league scouts. A severe medical condition cut my dream short, but this ride down memory lane brought back some sweet memories of what was and what might have been. It was a time when you thrived on raw ability. There were no DVD's, CD's or similar vehicles at the time to determine if your mechanics were in need of tweaking, or your release point was not in synch with the landing of your lead foot and so on. An excellent book. A memorable ride. I thank you Tim Sommer.