Book of the Week: Michael Connelly's "The Brass Verdict"

Michael Connelly returns to the world of Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller (first introduced in The Lincoln Lawyer) in this fast-paced and entertaining story. One of Haller's colleagues is killed and he's responsible for taking over the deceased lawyer's cases, one of which has him representing a Hollywood executive accused of murder. The plot is fairly conventional, but the real draw here is Haller, an interesting character with a personality far removed from that of Connelly's regular series character, Harry Bosch. The Brass Verdict isn't as good as The Lincoln Laywer, nor does it match up to the best of the Bosch series, although it's still better than most of the books I've read this year. Readers should note that, although this book is being billed as "Harry Bosch meets Mickey Haller," Bosch only appears briefly and his part is a bit of a letdown.