I’ve read every single book written by Michael Connelly and continue to pluck them off the shelf immediately when a new one comes out. Previously, I have always preferred the Harry Bosch character but in The Fifth Witness, Connelly develops the Mickey Haller character in a way that demands a new respect for him.
Mickey Haller’s LA based legal practice has fallen on hard times so he ventures from criminal law into mortgage foreclosure law where the demand currently lies. He helps those being foreclosed upon by finding legal loopholes and even fraud in the bank’s and their agent’s practices. At the very least Haller has been successful in extending the stay of his clients in their homes. This type of law agrees with Haller’s style of defending the underdog and allows him to continue to practice law from the back seat of his Lincoln Continental and avoid the expense of keeping a law office. It’s kind of a ‘law mobile’ and reminds me of the ice cream trucks that troll suburbia with the jingle broadcast over loud speakers to attract children.
Nonetheless, Haller is a brilliant legal strategist especially when it comes to criminal law and particularly in the court room. So, when one of his foreclosure clients is arrested for murder, Haller is in perfect position to defend her. Lisa Trammel has been charged with murdering her banker, Mitchell Bondurant. Lisa is the favored suspect because after being served a foreclosure notice she had started an online foreclosure support and protest group and organized pickets and protest marches against the bank which led to a court ordered injunction against her. Lisa, a former school teacher whose husband has abandoned her, has no money to pay Haller or post a bond for bail, so Haller accepts literary rights as collateral for his services and expects her to remain in jail until trial. Herb Dahl shows up with bail money and a plan to capture Lisa’s story on film plus he shows a personal interest in Lisa. This immediately puts client and attorney at odds since the advice from counsel seems to take second position to her confidant’s. As the evidence against Lisa builds, Haller must develop an alternative plausible theory as a defense. This leads him to entanglements with the mob and puts his own life in jeopardy. His brilliance as a court room lawyer shines through as he weaves and bobs his way through surprises presented him by both prosecution and by his client.
Meanwhile, his personal life is in shambles. Twice divorced he finds himself still in love with Maggie, his first wife and mother of his teenage daughter. Maggie is also a friend and coworker of the lead prosecutor in this case but can’t ignore Haller’s affection for her. Tortured by self doubts about previous life choices, Haller keeps it all in perspective and gives his best for his client, deserved or not.
I find myself really liking the main character, Mickey Haller in The Fifth Witness. Are his actions to defend his client righteous and what is expected of any good attorney or is he crossing the line and manipulating the system thus doing a disservice to society? Is he always the good guy or is he sometimes the bad guy? Connelly delivers his story so that Mickey Haller is constantly asking himself these same questions, not only as an attorney but as a husband, father, and person. Don’t we all similarly examine ourselves this same way at times? I think that’s what makes this book a good read and why I look forward to the next Michael Connelly book. Now I’ll take either Harry Bosch or Mickey Haller, equally intriguing characters.
Mickey Haller’s LA based legal practice has fallen on hard times so he ventures from criminal law into mortgage foreclosure law where the demand currently lies. He helps those being foreclosed upon by finding legal loopholes and even fraud in the bank’s and their agent’s practices. At the very least Haller has been successful in extending the stay of his clients in their homes. This type of law agrees with Haller’s style of defending the underdog and allows him to continue to practice law from the back seat of his Lincoln Continental and avoid the expense of keeping a law office. It’s kind of a ‘law mobile’ and reminds me of the ice cream trucks that troll suburbia with the jingle broadcast over loud speakers to attract children.
Nonetheless, Haller is a brilliant legal strategist especially when it comes to criminal law and particularly in the court room. So, when one of his foreclosure clients is arrested for murder, Haller is in perfect position to defend her. Lisa Trammel has been charged with murdering her banker, Mitchell Bondurant. Lisa is the favored suspect because after being served a foreclosure notice she had started an online foreclosure support and protest group and organized pickets and protest marches against the bank which led to a court ordered injunction against her. Lisa, a former school teacher whose husband has abandoned her, has no money to pay Haller or post a bond for bail, so Haller accepts literary rights as collateral for his services and expects her to remain in jail until trial. Herb Dahl shows up with bail money and a plan to capture Lisa’s story on film plus he shows a personal interest in Lisa. This immediately puts client and attorney at odds since the advice from counsel seems to take second position to her confidant’s. As the evidence against Lisa builds, Haller must develop an alternative plausible theory as a defense. This leads him to entanglements with the mob and puts his own life in jeopardy. His brilliance as a court room lawyer shines through as he weaves and bobs his way through surprises presented him by both prosecution and by his client.
Meanwhile, his personal life is in shambles. Twice divorced he finds himself still in love with Maggie, his first wife and mother of his teenage daughter. Maggie is also a friend and coworker of the lead prosecutor in this case but can’t ignore Haller’s affection for her. Tortured by self doubts about previous life choices, Haller keeps it all in perspective and gives his best for his client, deserved or not.
I find myself really liking the main character, Mickey Haller in The Fifth Witness. Are his actions to defend his client righteous and what is expected of any good attorney or is he crossing the line and manipulating the system thus doing a disservice to society? Is he always the good guy or is he sometimes the bad guy? Connelly delivers his story so that Mickey Haller is constantly asking himself these same questions, not only as an attorney but as a husband, father, and person. Don’t we all similarly examine ourselves this same way at times? I think that’s what makes this book a good read and why I look forward to the next Michael Connelly book. Now I’ll take either Harry Bosch or Mickey Haller, equally intriguing characters.
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