New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly delivers his first legal thriller — an incendiary tale about a cynical defense attorney whose one remaining spark of integrity may cost him his life.

Mickey Haller has spent all his professional life afraid that he wouldn't recognize innocence if it stood right in front of him. But what he should have been on the watch for was evil.

Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense pro who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, to defend the clients at the bottom of the legal food chain. It's no wonder that he is despised by cops, prosecutors, and even some of his own clients.

From bikers to con artists to drunk drivers and drug dealers, they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. But when a Beverly Hills rich boy is arrested for brutally beating a woman, Haller has his first high-paying client in years. It's a franchise case and he's sure it will be a slam dunk in the courtroom. For once, he may be defending a client who is actually innocent.

But an investigator is murdered for getting too close to the truth and Haller quickly discovers that his search for innocence has taken him face-to-face with a kind of evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, Haller must use all of his skills to manipulate a system in which he no longer believes.

"Veteran bestseller Connelly enters the crowded legal thriller field with flash and panache. Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller regularly represents lowlifes, but he's no slickster trolling for loopholes in the ethics laws. He's haunted by how he mishandled the case of (probably innocent) Jesus Menendez, and, though twice divorced, he's on good terms with his ex-wives; one of them manages his office, and the other, an ambitious assistant DA, occasionally tumbles back into bed with him. When Mickey signs on to defend young real estate agent Louis Roulet against charges of assault, he can't help seeing dollar signs: Roulet's imperious mother will spend any amount to prove her beloved son's innocence. But probing the details of the case, Mickey and private investigator Raul Levin dig up a far darker picture of Roulet's personality and his past. Levin's murder and a new connection to the Menendez case make Mickey wonder if he's in over his head, and his defense of Roulet becomes a question of morality as well as a test of his own survival. After Connelly spends the book's first half involving the reader in Mickey's complex world, he thrusts his hero in the middle of two high-stakes duels, against the state and his own client, for heart-stopping twists and topflight storytelling." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Connelly offers intrigue and bracing twists in his first legal thriller....Connelly gets the legal details and maneuvers just right and Haller is a great character....Contains everything readers have come to expect from powerhouse Connelly." Kirkus Reviews

"This is the first legal thriller for Connelly....It has all the right stuff: a sinuous plot, crisp dialogue, and a roster of reprehensible characters." Booklist (Starred Review)

"The book is haunted by Mickey's worst nightmare: the thought of having to defend an innocent man....[B]y the end of the story an Honest Abe conscience has begun to kick in. That's when Mickey becomes a Connelly character through and through." Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"The Lincoln Lawyer is Connelly's first legal thriller and is one of the best novels he has written, if not the best....There are so many things to admire about The Lincoln Lawyer that one hopes Connelly is planting the seeds for a whole new series." USA Today

"Michael Connelly is as fully at home in the world of a criminal defense lawyer as he has always been in the realm of investigators and cops. All the qualities that have deservedly brought him a legion of readers are on display again here: brisk pacing, clever twists, artful writing and an atmosphere of complete authority on every page. Another terrific book from a terrific writer." Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent and Reversible Errors

"Beware of picking up Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer. You won't want to put it down until you've navigated its rapids to the end." Los Angeles Times

"In addition to its steamroller plot, The Lincoln Lawyer boasts plenty of lively anecdotes and smooth prose...Connelly knows a lot about nailing details, creating colorful characters and writing clear sentences." Seattle Times

"[A] crackerjack new hero....Connelly presents a fascinating look at how defense lawyers below the Johnnie Cochran level operate — as well as a compelling mystery that has more sudden turns than Mulholland Drive. (Grade: A-)" Entertainment Weekly

"If the best of Grisham's legal novels grade in at a solid A, The Lincoln Lawyer gets an equally solid B+....Connelly always knows what he's doing. His prose is clean and from time to time betrays a hint of passion." The Washington Post

"The Lincoln Lawyer takes a while to build up a head of steam, but readers should stay with it, because when it finds its tracks it takes off like a bullet train." St. Petersburg Times

"The Lincoln Lawyer is a courageous book in that it catapults Connelly out of the boundaries set by a series....[T]his new novel will not disappoint those familiar with Michael Connelly or those new to his work." BookReporter.com

"In the end we, the jury, are surprised to find ourselves convinced that Haller's shady labors are deeply legitimate and essential for us all. That's some lawyer." The Oregonian (Portland, OR)

New York Times bestselling author Connelly delivers his first legal thriller — an incendiary tale about a cynical defense attorney whose one remaining spark of integrity may cost him his life.

Michael Connelly is the author of the bestselling series of Harry Bosch novels, including A Darkness More than Night, City of Bones, Lost Light, The Narrows, and, most recently, The Closers; and the bestselling novels Chasing the Dime, The Poet, Blood Work, and Void Moon. He lives in Florida.