The Law of Innocence

L.A. defense attorney Mickey Haller takes on the hardest case of his career in bestseller Connelly’s superlative sixth Lincoln Lawyer novel (following 2015’s The Crossing). After the body of a career con artist is found in the trunk of Haller’s Lincoln Towncar, he faces a first-degree murder rap. Opting to defend himself, Haller enlists his own legal defense team to assist. Half-brother Harry Bosch steps in to help investigate, and the unusual case leads to the port of Los Angeles and a biofuel company run by a recidivist criminal with mob ties whom Haller put away years earlier. Bosch suspects that the company is running a complex scam and double dipping on government subsidies payouts. Meanwhile, 2020 is off to a strange start with reports of a deadly virus in China that threatens to spread worldwide. The tension builds as Haller prepares for trial, and it becomes clear that he was framed by a much larger entity than he originally thought. This is a supremely intelligent, well-paced courtroom thriller by a modern master. Agent: Philip Spitzer, Philip G. Spitzer Literary. (Nov.)

Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly referred to this book as the seventh in the series.