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The Lincoln Lawyer
Author	Michael Connelly
Language	English
Series	Mickey Haller, #1
Genre	Crime fiction, mystery
Publisher	Little, Brown (USA), Orion (UK)
Publication place	United States
Published in English	October 3, 2005
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	404
ISBN	0-316-73493-4
OCLC	60311867
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 22
LC Class	PS3553.O51165 L56 2005
Followed by	The Brass Verdict

The Lincoln Lawyer is a 2005 novel, the 16th by American crime writer Michael Connelly. It introduces Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller, half-brother of Connelly's mainstay character Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch.

It was adapted as a 2011 film of the same name, starring Matthew McConaughey. It has also been adapted into a television series starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, which premiered in 2022 on Netflix.

Plot

Moderately successful criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller operates around Los Angeles County out of a Lincoln Town Car (hence the title) driven by a former client working off his legal fees. While most of his clients are drug dealers and gangsters, the story focuses on an unusually important case of wealthy Los Angeles realtor Louis Roulet, accused of assault and attempted murder. At first, he appears to be innocent and set up by the female "victim".

Roulet's lies and many surprising revelations change Haller's original case theory. He reconsiders the situation of Jesus Menendez, a former client serving time in San Quentin State Prison after pleading guilty to a similar and mysteriously related crime.

Haller outmaneuvers Roulet (revealed to be a rapist and murderer) without violating ethical obligations, frees the innocent Menendez, and continues in legal practice. He also conducts much self-examination and acquires some emotional baggage.

Characters

Mickey Haller – criminal defense lawyer
Margaret McPherson – Haller's ex-wife, prosecuting attorney
Louis Ross Roulet – the accused
Ted Minton – prosecutor in Roulet's case
Fernando Valenzuela – The Bondsman
Jesus Menendez – Haller's former client
Dwayne Corliss – jailhouse snitch
Reggie Campo – Roulet's alleged victim
Martha Renteria – Menendez's alleged murder victim
Raul Levin – Haller's investigator and colleague in Roulet's case
Lorna Taylor – Haller's manager and ex-wife
Cecil C. Dobbs – the Roulet family lawyer
Mary Windsor – Louis Roulet's mother
Detective Howard Kurlen – the lead detective on the Jesus Menendez case
Detectives Lankford and Sobel – two cops who investigate Levin's murder

Reception

The New York Times wrote: "Mastering the [legal thriller] on his first try, Connelly delivers a powerhouse drama fueled by cynicism and driven by a criminal defense lawyer named Michael Haller ('People call me Mickey') who works for the scum of the earth and makes no apologies."^[1]

Awards

The novel received much attention from the mystery community. It won the 2006 Shamus Award and Macavity Award for "Best Novel".^[2]^[3] It was also nominated in the 2006 Anthony Awards for the same honor.^[4]

Additionally, in 2010 it was nominated in the "Best Mystery Novel of the Decade" category of the Barry Awards, although it lost to Stieg Larsson, author of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.^[5]

In other media

Film adaptation

The novel was adapted as a 2011 film of the same name, starring Matthew McConaughey as Haller and Marisa Tomei as Maggie McPherson. The film was directed by Brad Furman from a screenplay by John Romano and produced by Stone Village Pictures. Lionsgate holds the US distribution rights, and Lakeshore Entertainment holds international rights.^[6]^[7]

Television series

On June 25, 2019, it was announced that David E. Kelley had developed and written a television series based on the Haller series with a commitment from CBS.^[8] However, on May 2, 2020, it was announced that the pilot would not be moving forward.^[9] Netflix subsequently picked up the series and ordered a 10-episode series of The Lincoln Lawyer, with Kelley, on January 11, 2021. Despite the same name of the eponymous novel, the first season of the series is based on Connelly's second Mickey Haller novel, The Brass Verdict.^[9]^[10] Filming for the series began on March 31, 2021.^[11] On April 6, 2022, the series was given a May 13, 2022, premiere date.^[12] It was renewed for a second season in June 2022.^[13] Based on the fourth novel in the Haller series, The Fifth Witness, the second season is released in two parts, on July 6, 2023 and August 3, 2023, respectively.^[14]