The Reversal by Michael Connelly
It usually was the best moment of a case. The drive downtown with a suspect handcuffed in the backseat. There was nothing better. Sure there was the eventual payoff of a conviction down the line. Being in the courtroom when the verdict is read--watching the reality shock and then deaden the eyes of the convicted. But the drive in was always better, more immediate and personal. It was always the moment Bosch savored. The chase was over and the case was about to morph from the relentless momentum of the investigation to the measured pace of the prosecution.
This is why we read Connelly, this kind of observation that gives us the sense that we're a part of the murder investigation Harry Bosch is currently on. Of course, you'll notice the word "usually" in the first sentence, which all by itself tells us that all the rules are about to be broken.
Twenty-four years before, Jason Jessup was convicted of kidnapping and murdering a little girl. New DNA techniques have caused the courts to throw that conviction out and to bring him to trial again. Because of suspicions of conflict of interest in the Los Angeles DA's office, the DA names defense attorney Mickey Haller as special prosecutor. Mickey picks his ex-wife Maggie McPherson (aka Maggie McFierce, love that nickname) as his co-chair and his half-brother Harry Bosche as lead investigator. The fact that the three of them share two daughters adds a serious degree of personal urgency to the investigation and make it a seriously family affair.
Good plotting, good characters, a villain who should never be taken at face value, and courtroom scenes like this one
"I want jury selection completed by the end of the day Friday. If you slow me down, then I will slow you down. I will hold the panel and every lawyer in here until Friday night if I have to. I want opening statements first thing Monday. Any objection to that?"
Both sides seemed properly cowed by the judge.
make The Reversal a fun read.
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