The Reversal by Michael ConnellyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.
Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years.
With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.
Read as an audio book.
I really enjoyed this installment. In The Reversal, Connelly brings together Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller and Maggie McGinnis, Haller's first wife and mother of his daughter, Hayley. Bosch had more of a role in this book than in the previous Haller books, but not so much that he took over the story. The author allowed us to see some of the trial from Bosch's point of view, which added a nice reprieve from the intensity of the courtroom drama. I also appreciated that Maggie was NOT the woman the male lead tumbled into bed with. She provided a solid, supporting role for both the courtroom and added family touch. Lest we get our feminist knickers in a twist, the story wasn't about Maggie and it's already established she's one of LA's top prosecutors.
So, just a couple of observations - the surveillance around the antagonist, Jason Jessup. For as much as it was built up, Jessup managed to 'slip the net' twice. Bosch was assured that SID never looses their man, yet it happened twice.
Bosch is still an arrogant ass - demanding, rather than asking. Yelling first, rather than getting the facts. And I've noticed he never apologizes. So...why is he still on the force after 35 years? Oh, that's right. Only he knows how to be a detective (insert rolling eyes sarcasm).
The ending came across a bit abrupt. One moment we grinding our way through the legal system, the next, it's as if an ant hill has been turned over by a bear and everyone is running around yelling. The ending also felt a bit like a cop-out (no pun intended), as if the author was just ready to end the darn book for whatever reason. On the other hand, and I'm trying really hard not to drop spoilers here, it could also have been a you don't always get the answers you want sort of lesson. Stuff for thought at any rate.
Overall, a solid legal thriller (is that an oxymoron?), with a well rounded cast of characters and just enough tension to keep the story moving forward and not bogged down in legalities. Despite the quirks, I really enjoyed listening to this book.
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