“The Brass Verdict” by Michael Connelly – When Worlds Collide

In The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly we see the return of two beloved characters, mixed together in the same story. On one side, we have Mickey Haller, the infamous Lincoln Lawyer, who after struggling for two years has finally bade it back in the courtroom.

What’s more, he has been tasked with defending the suspected killer of a Hollywood Lawyer, a studio executive by the name of Walter Elliott. However, Haller learns through his own channels that not only is Elliott innocent, but that the real killer is still out there and is coming for him next.

At this point, we enter the second character, Harry Bosch. Hell-bent on finding the real murderer, decides to work together with Haller in order to bring that free-roaming maniac exactly where he belongs.

Though at first the premise of mixing these two characters from different books may sound a bit too far-fetched to work successfully, Connelly, merges the two characters’ worlds fantastically.

They balance each other out quite well, as the young and ambitious lawyer serves as a counter-weight to Harry Bosch whose tragic life experiences have left with a dark outlook on life. This time we even get to see both sides of the law working at the same time, witnessing how Bosch and his police force hunt down the criminal while simultaneously being presented with detailed accounts of Haller’s work and the events in his courtroom.

As far as murder mysteries go, I have to say that this stands among some of the more solid ones out there. Yes, I do agree that the premise feels a bit overused at this point, but the way in which the events unfold and the characters participating in them make this book feel like anything but a cliché.

There are plenty of important topics explored pertaining to law and order in the real world, such as bribery, jury tampering, police misconduct, malpractices, international crime, and more.

However, Connelly never dwells too much on complex matters and doesn’t really spill over into philosophy, allowing the readers to keep on following the story in all of its glory without having to make too much of an effort.

All things considered, The Brass Verdict is certainly a much better novel than what I expected initially, and I’d go as far as classifying it amongst the most solid murder mysteries of the last few years.

Regardless of whether or not you are already acquainted with Connelly and his characters, this book is more than worth a read if you are just a fan of the genre in the first place.

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Michael Connelly Personal site Michael Connelly is perhaps one of the most popular modern writers, starting has career when he discovered Raymond Chandler’s writings at his university. To support himself, he worked at the local newspaper while specializing in crime, which shows in virtually all of his works touching on criminal subjects, such as The Black Box and The Lincoln Lawyer.