The Reversal (Harry Bosch Series #16 & Mickey Haller Series #3) [NOOK Book]

Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch Make a Great Team!

Mickey Haller is asked by the District Attorney's Office to cross the aisle and be the prosecutor in the retrial of Jason Jessup. Through use of DNA testing a key piece of evidence from the 1986 trial was thrown out and Jessup's conviction has been overturned. Jessup was convicted of abducting and killing a young girl and dumping her body.

Mickey is reluctant to take the case at first feeling that it is a losing proposition and against his nature as a defense lawyer but he is soon convinced to do it. He chooses Maggie McPherson, his ex-wife as his assistant and none other than his half-brother, Harry Bosch to be his investigator.

Connelly does a masterful job of writing, using first person when the chapters are more about Mickey, and third person when the chapters focus on Harry. This style works quite well.

As the story progresses Harry calls in the services of his old girlfriend Rachel Walling, who blends into the tale quite nicely. Haller tries to use his own experience as a defender to anticipate all the moves of his opponent in court and most times is quite correct in his assumptions.

As Jessup is awaiting trial, he is allowed out and the press follows him around like he is a celebrity. This shows the ugliness of our society where vicious criminals can sometimes be admired Also people mistakenly think that if that if criminals are treated well, they will be your friend and change their ways.

It is apparent that Jessup hasn't changed his ways and his nightly travels suggest that he is up to something. It is up to Mickey, Maggie and Harry to keep all their wits and work at constant overtime to make sure Jessup is taken down again before he can get his way.

The book doesn't have as much action as past Bosch/Haller individual tales, but the courtroom dialogue exchanges are great and Harry's investigative talents are at their best.

I hope Mr. Connelly can come up with more creative ways going forward to keep Harry and Mickey working together!

20 out of 22 people found this review helpful.

The Reversal is a magnificent piece of literature

Harry Bosch has always has always had a clearly defined job with the LAPD standing for the dead and being a voice for those that have had theirs silenced. The last few months have thrown him many curves with the death of his ex-wife and the incorporation of his daughter Madeline into his life full time but he still cuts through on a straight path. Michael Haller has also known what his job definition is until the day the District Attorney made the call and asked him to move across the aisle from defense attorney to prosecutor. The DA makes Mickey a one-time proposition Mickey does not want to turn down but truly questions if he can bear the burden of standing for the people and doing right by them. The opportunity being offered is to keep Jason Jessup, a child killer behind bars even though new DNA testing evidence can exonerate him and would potentially set him free after 24 years in prison. Mickey chooses his side and incorporates his ADA ex-wife, Maggie McPherson and Harry into the mix which makes the entire situation workable and possibly winnable.

Mickey and Harry are half-brothers who have shared some case time but not even that interaction can prepare them for what they are about to face both personally and professionally together. Mickey has no intention of letting this killer walk and plans to use some of his favorite tricks against the high profile lawyer Jessup has working for him who may be clever but Mickey knows slick does not compensate for the facts and if he can find the key missing witness, reconstruct the police work and piece together fact from media hype he will not only win this but make it a slam dunk sending this murderer back to prison.

As the trial moves forward and the days drag on Jessup becomes more intense and his actions more sporadic. The FBI profiler has concerns about what might happen when all the stress builds up and has to be released. The profiler also feels the original case started off in the wrong direction and once re-routed to its proper path Harry discovers something even more horrific may have happened all those years ago.

Along the way Mickey and Harry form a bond that draws their daughters into the mix even though Harry is reluctant to start down this road. Harry has kept Mickey and that family connection at arm's length but now he knows Maddie needs family to help her recover from the loss of her mother and the transition of moving away from friends and living with him. Maddie is Harry's main focus in life and will do anything to make her happy even if it involves doing things that make her very unhappy with him.

I admit openly to being a Harry Bosch fan and find that with age and the addition of the family angle he is even more interesting. The stories could not be told with another character even with Michael Connelly writing them and this is the one factor that shows in his story telling with Harry. Mr. Connelly respects his characters and writes them as if they lived next door and he can relate to them making them plausible to the reader. This story while a horrific nightmare for any parent does also show how venerable Harry has become in his personal life. He was Teflon before and nothing could touch him but now with his daughter in his life what was once armor is now ice cream.

11 out of 14 people found this review helpful.

the audience will relish The Reversal

In 1986, Jason Jessup was convicted of killing twelve year old Melissa Landry. Recent testing of DNA evidence exonerates Jason who will receive a new trial.

Los Angeles Office of the District Attorney prosecutors are embarrassed as they head to the retrial. They ask defense attorney Mickey Haller for help; he agrees with the stipulation that he employs former LAPD cop Harry Bosch as his private investigator and his ex-wife prosecutor Maggie "McFierce" McPherson as the second chair. Bosch works the cold case trying to find witnesses from the 1986 homicide of the tweener. He especially wants to find the victim's older sister whose testimony hung Jessup. At the same time, Haller finds working for the D.A. quite eye-opening as his every move is under scrutiny while he also distrusts Jessup's sleazy defense attorney. However, perhaps the person all should watch is the one who hated the jurisprudence system before he spent a quarter of a century behind bars; now he obsessively loathes it and those who work it.

The second pairing of this obstinate duet (see The Brass Verdict) makes for a fabulous investigative legal thriller with Haller's former wife on the team; he is thankful that having been married to her they can never meet in court as she is that tough and good. Part of the fun is watching Haller switching sides for this case as fans of the Lincoln Lawyer will see how different what a defense attorney can do vs. a prosecutor. With a strong investigation by Bosch and a powerful courtroom drama by Haller and McPherson, the audience will relish The Reversal.

Harriet Klausner

8 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

The Mickey Haller series is a gem!

Trying to review one particular entry in the Bosch/Haller series almost requires the reader to disengage one novel from all that has come before. In fact, reading about these characters again -- Harry, Mickey, and Maggie -- is like catching up with old friends. Finding Mickey working as a prosecutor is an enjoyable angle, and seeing Maggie emerging as a stronger character is also a positive. The premise of having a prisoner released after serving a long stretch of time, and having to gather evidence for a retrial, works well. The one reservation I have is that the strength of both Bosch and Haller is a bit diffused by the ending. Each is such a powerful character that having them share the spotlight detracts a little from the force of each one as an individual. But I absolutely relished seeing these characters together as well as separately -- hope Connelly can work it out. The ending hints at a follow-up.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

michael connelly, the reversal

In "The Reversal," Michael Connelly follows the story of Jason Jessup--a convicted murderer of a twelve-year old girl whose case receives a new trial--after new DNA evidence on the girl's dress doesn't match that of Jason. Defense lawyer Mickey Haller is asked to switch sides and become a prosecutor on this case--a role he agrees to after making his half-brother Harry Bosch (another big character in Connelly's thrillers) the main investigator, and calling his ex-wife Maggie McPhee to become the second chair on the prosecution. Opposing them is Jessup's defense lawyer Clive Royce--a media-hungry attorney who believes this is the case that would enhance his career--and Jessup himself, a cold inscrutable character who is tough to figure out.

However, the main problem for Mickey and his team is that the case is over twenty years old and many of the witnesses--including the victim's sister who was the one to originally identify Jessup as kidnapper--are now untraceable. However when Attorney Royce asks the judge to grant Jessup bail, pending the start of the trial, Haller doesn't object despite the surprise of his prosecution teammates. His plan soon becomes clear--follow Jessup around and see if he inadvertently leaves any clues behind that could compromise his innocence.

In contrast to Connelly's last book, "Nine Dragons," which was an action packed thriller, this book is a slower-moving suspenseful drama. We don't actually get to the court until later in the book, but the plot focuses on the prosecution side and their unraveling of the case. The star of the book is obviously Jason Jessup--a cold-hearted convict who may or may not be hiding something. He vaguely reminded me of Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, in terms of his steely behavior. The pace picks up towards the end, for a surprising finish.

5 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

The best in the series so far! AMAZING!

I absolutely loved this book because not only did it put Mickey Haller on the other side of the justice system, but it also had his ex- wife Maggie working right beside him throughout the entire book Their relationship is so deep and complex that it pulls you in and makes them so realistic. There were also twists and turns that kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning. Im so sad that there is only one book left in this series.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Michael Connelly's Books Just Get Better!

Defense attorney Mickey Haller changes hats to try a case for the prosecution. Convicted child killer Jason Jessup has just been granted a new trial based on DNA evidence after serving twenty-four years in prison. Haller is working as an independent prosecutor and forms his own team with one of his ex-wives, Deputy PA Maggie McPherson, and LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Haller's half-brother. They're facing a celebrity defense attorney who is representing Jessup pro-bono.

While the defense is playing to the press, Bosch is convinced that Jessup is going to kill again. He's working double-time to find the witnesses the prosecution needs for the upcoming trial and to uncover just what Jessup is up to now that he's out on bail. Tension arises when it appears that Jessup might be targeting Bosch's young daughter.

Connelly writes tight thrillers that have great characters and pacing. Bosch is a favorite of mine and Haller is growing on me; putting them together was inevitable. I've read all of Michael Connelly's books and they just get better! Read THE REVERSAL and see for yourself. Lynn Kimmerle

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Gotta read!

Probably one of the best books by Michael that I have read. You feel as if you are part of the team. Fast paced and riveting. Don't pass this one up, you won't be disapointed!Each turn of the page hols more and more adventure.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Very entertaining!

Mick Haller is an honest man and good at what he does, although he may at times allow himself to be caught up in the "game" that court trials have become and lose sight of what it is really supposed to be about-- justice.

Mick brings in his ex-wife Maggie to play second chair during the trial. Maggie pushes him and makes him better. The sexual tension between them adds a lot of nice energy. You feel that Mick is always trying to live up to his ex-wife's expectations of him, and that he dreads ever letting her down. They have the quintessential love-hate relationship.

Mick also has an investigator working the case by the name of Harry Bosch. They didn't really delve into the backstory on these guys, but it seems that perhaps Mick and Harry are half-brothers. There seems to be tension and an air of disapproval between them, but they work well together.

This is my first Connelly story, so I don't know the history of Haller, McPherson and Bosch, but I enjoyed the familiarity that played out amongst them, and there was lots of tension-- sexual chemistry, resentment, old grudges-- along with mutual respect.

My final word: I don't believe there was ever a moment in this story where I found myself bored, as there was plenty of suspense. It was very easy to read, with lots of dialogue, and great characters-- just the way I like it! The conclusion may have been slightly anti-climatic, but not enough to have detracted from the story at all. I normally don't read much crime fiction, but this one left me wanting to go back and read all of the others to precede it in the series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommend, classic Mickey Haller

I am a fan of Mickey Haller, warts and all. I think this book lives up to "The Lincoln Lawyer", a suprising ending indeed!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

STUPID

I actually thought I had accidentally bought an abridged versiin bc the plot was so thin, there were so many loose ends and the characters were so poorly developed. Don't waste yiur $$.

1 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Awesome Book!

I love Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch books! This one was a real page turner... I started it this morning and kept reading till the mystery was solved. Worth every penny!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Boring, boring, boring.....nothing ever happens, it's all about

Boring, boring, boring.....nothing ever happens, it's all about pre-trial evidence gathering....

Excellent...as usual!

I love the Harry Bosch series, it is never disappointing. Go for it!

Horibile

Did not donload properly

DO NOT BUY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent

Excellent as always. This might be my favorite by this author... hard to say, I've loved all his books and read some more than once. Get comfy and dive in, don't forget to come up for air!

Michael Connelly doesn't disappoint with this Mickey Haller novel

I read everything Connelly writes. My favorites are the Harry Bosch novels, but the new Lincoln Lawyer series are wonderful. As an attorney,I am impressed with the level of accuracy about the system that Connelly has. He clearly does his homework. This one is a page-turner like all of the others. Bravo Michael!

Boring. Dull. No action. Couldn't care less about any of the cha

Boring. Dull. No action. Couldn't care less about any of the characters. Waste of precious reading time. Skip this one.

As always

Excellent story. I never get board

Good Read

This was a good combination of the two very unique characters and a well thought out plot. I really enjoy his books.