So this was a really great installment of the Lincoln Lawyer series. Sometimes Connelly gets a little too meta for me though (talking about Matthew McConaughey and who would play Mickey Haller in a movie starring him) but that wasn't too annoying for me. I think the biggest reason I can gush about this one, is that if you read this and "The Gods of Guilt" back to back the development or spiraling of Haller's character was wonderful to read. We also get a pop up of Bosch in this one. Seriously though, he sounds even more anti-social and just odd in the Haller books.
"The Fifth Witness" is dealing with Haller a bit down in his luck. He had to start looking for income elsewhere and has now taken on an associate to help him with foreclosure cases. When a client of his (who is a pain in the ass) is arrested for the murder of a banker that she blames for her losing her house.
Ohh yeah. So I loved that Connelly takes about the foreclosure crisis in America. It was insane to me when I was reading about what was going on. People being approved for loans they 100 percent could not afford all without realizing that due to many of them doing an adjustable mortgage that they would have to pay hundreds of dollars more than they planned. I liked that Haller was going in as a crusader about it and also being straight forward that all he is doing is buying his clients some time, cause they are going to lose their homes.
Haller was really good in this one. He has a new driver (Rojas) and is turning a new page in his relationship with his ex (Maggie) and his daughter. They seem to almost be a family again and Haller really wants them back. With this new murder case he is once again seen as the bad guy cause he's a defense lawyer.
I don't get that though. Everyone is entitled to a defense in this country, I don't get why anyone acts like defense lawyers are garbage. We all going to pretend that there have not been many men who have wrongfully been incarcerated in this country? I really did enjoy Haller's "The Lincoln Lawyer" because it does show Haller having to deal with the fact that a client of his is innocent and the guilt he feels because he was going through his usual motions for that case.
I did love that Haller called out Maggie about her wanting to be with him, but wanting him to do something different cause she's a prosecutor. Haller comes at a turning point in his career in this one due to wanting to do what he can to be with his family. I did hate a love (not really) scene between Haller and Maggie cause it made me cringe inside. Haller also justifying doing something illegal to Maggie made me want to pound my head. What I love is that he justifies verbally but knows he is full of crap.
Haller's client Lisa Trammel is an asshole. Seriously. I can't even imagine having to deal with her. I was the least surprised person by things revealed to us as readers later. But that's because I think Connelly showed his hand there a little bit.
We also get recurring characters in this one. We have Lorna, Cisco (I can't even spell his last name) Maggie, Hayley, and also Bosch.
I did love the legal explanations for things. And also how Connelly shows the timeline in his books. Trials are not these things that just pop up and happen in a week. You get to see Haller and company run down witnesses and evidence. And I loved how Haller has to choose what to push and pull on depending on the witnesses involved.
The flow was really good in this one. I liked how Haller just didn't back down on doing what he had to for his client, even though she drove him up the wall.
The ending was fantastic. I cracked up at what happens and it looks like we get an exciting new chapter for Haller to look forward to.