Random Review of the Week: The Reversal

Continuing from last week's review of The Brass Verdict, I am going to review the third book in the Mickey Haller series, The Reversal.  The major twist of this book is how Mickey's role has shifted in the criminal justice system.  While he is still a defense attorney, Haller is asked by the city of Los Angeles to be a special prosecutor in the case against previously convicted child killer Jason Jessup.  With the previous conviction being overturned, the state has decided to try the case once more, asking Mickey Haller to be on the other side of the aisle just this one time.

To help Mickey in is case, he chooses as his second chair, his ex-wife Maggie McPhearson, as well as an LAPD investigator, his half-brother Harry Bosch.  Together, the trio bring together the case of the state, using testimony from the previous trial as well as new evidence discovered by the new advancements in DNA technology in order to form a case against the defense's evidence and put Jessup behind bars once more.

After seeing two novels with Mickey on the defense side of the courtroom, Connelly makes a convincing portrayal of how a person spending years on the defense would act on the Prosecution.  Mickey keeps his usual cocky swagger as him and his team build the case, but little slip-ups in his mannerisms and speech make things fresh and keep the reader interested in whether Haller can truly pull this off.

The novel is the best work of the series, keeping a fresh tempo along with Mickey's new, one-time role.  Gone are the plot twists that made The Brass Verdict seem similar to The Lincoln Lawyer, as Connelly's writing evolved over writing this novel.  New types of twists are used, making the characters much more organic and unique.  You can feel the emotions of the characters as they work to achieve their goals, and the suspense keeps building until the very final confrontation.

This book continues on the cycle of merging two universes that Connelly set up, bringing Harry Bosch and his daughter closer to both Mickey and Maggie, as well as their daughter Hayley.  Using the case as the main story teller, Connelly uses it to perfection to bring the characters and pace to the places that he needs them to be.  Like a chess-master weaving his pieces on the board into the perfect strategy, he uses the tools at his disposal to write the most thrilling and riveting Mickey Haller/Harry Bosch story to date.

The main antagonist(s) of the book is seen in only a few speaking parts, but his main plot is through a police investigation with Bosch and SIS.  This investigation is a major suspense tool along with the courtroom work that the team has to deal with.  When Jessup does speak, his writing reflects the arrogance and anger that is riled up in him through what he portrays as being locked up for a crime that he didn't commit.

This book is a masterpiece both in the courtroom and out.  There wasn't any falter or misstep this time as Connelly wrote his most tightly wound novel to date.  I sat on the edge of my seat the whole time as I was reading, and as I put this book down, I couldn't wait for Connelly's fourth book in the Mickey Haller series, The Fifth Witness.