He also throws doubt as to whether the couple's murderer was actually after Mitzi or her lover. He manages to get Patrick off the charges against him by playing on a hunch that the stolen diamonds were not genuine.Īssisted by his investigator, Cisco, and his office assistant, Lorna (who is one of Haller's two ex-wives), Haller works out a strategy to defend his client, based on the fact that the gunshot residue found on Elliott's hands is the result of having travelled in a police car used earlier in the day to transport another prisoner. Haller feels sorry for Patrick because of his own history of addiction, and employs the young man to drive his Lincoln. Meanwhile, Haller shakes off the rust, and lingering self-doubts, as he prepares for the double-murder trial.Īmong the cases Haller takes on is that of a former surfing champion, Patrick, who, while addicted to painkillers after a surfing accident, has stolen a diamond necklace while at the home of a friend. Bosch, warning that Vincent's killer may come after Haller next, persuades the reluctant lawyer to cooperate in the ongoing murder investigation. Meanwhile, maverick LAPD detective Harry Bosch, the main character in several earlier novels written by Connelly, is investigating Vincent's murder.

Haller secures this 'franchise' case, persuading the mogul to keep him on as counsel by promising not to seek a postponement of the trial, which is due to start in nine days. Haller inherits Vincent's caseload, which includes the high-profile trial of Walter Elliott, a Hollywood mogul accused of murdering his wife Mitzi and her German lover. He is called back to the practice of law when an old acquaintance, defense attorney Jerry Vincent, is murdered. Since the events of the previous novel, attorney Mickey Haller has spent a year recuperating from his wounds and a subsequent addiction to painkillers. Connelly introduced Haller in his bestselling 2005 novel The Lincoln Lawyer. The Brass Verdict is the 19th novel by American author Michael Connelly and features the second appearance of Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael 'Mickey' Haller.

Hex Appeal by P.N. Elrod