The Proving Ground

Increasingly we hear of the possible effects of AI on people's lives. 

In  Michael Connelly's new novel, The Proving Ground, the plot evolves around the death of a teenage girl when her former boyfriend may have been encouraged by his AI friend to kill her. Mickey Haller, now working as a lawyer in the Civil Court, has taken on the case to prove that the company creating the AI chatbot had produced a program with many flaws. The murdered girl's mother wants the firm to publicly admit that their program was responsible for the death of her daughter.

The novel follows the challenges faced by Mickey Haller and his team as they collect the evidence and witnesses to present their case to court, despite obstruction from those opposing the case. The second part of the novel follows the trial. Michael Connelly has produced a crime novel relevant to changes currently occurring in society. It is also a great book to read.

Resurrection Walk

After a successful case resulting in the release of a wrongly accused prisoner, defence attorney Mickey Haller decides to enlist his half brother, former detective Harry Bosch to assist him in reviewing cases of other prisoners requesting help after falsely being imprisoned for a crime. Both Mickey and Harry agree that the case of Lucinda Sanz requires investigation. Cindi was arrested for the murder of her former husband. She had accepted a nolo condendere plea at the insistence of her lawyer, however she always maintained her innocence. The task was now to prove it.

The novel recounts the work and thoughts of Mickey in the first person and Harry in the third person as they build their case. They then have to convince the judge that Cindi was not involved in the crime. Investigations indicated that Cindi's former husband was involved in a police crime clique and that false evidence had been used to ensure that Cindi appeared guilty. Much of Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly involves the trial and the the hunt for additional proof that Cindi is innocent. When a gaoled prisoner is proven not guilty the release of the prisoner is referred to as the resurrection walk.

An excellent crime novel.

The Law of Innocence

After the conclusion of a successful court case defence lawyer, Michael Haller, is stopped by the police on his way home and a search reveals a body in the boot of the car. 

Thus begins the nightmare with Mickey Haller imprisoned for murder. Haller knows that he has been framed and he and a hand picked legal team set out to clear his name. This is made more difficult while he is in prison, especially as people in the legal system conspire against him. As his team investigates it becomes obvious that this is not a straight forward case, especially when it becomes apparent that the FBI is also involved.

In The Law of Innocence Michael Connelly has written a fast paced legal thriller set in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in America. This book is number 6 in the Lincoln Lawyer series.

Fair Warning

Jack McEvoy is a journalist, working on the digital publication, Fair Warning. Returning home one evening he is approached by police who inform him that someone he once met has been murdered. They request his DNA. Needless to say Jack decides to investigate the story and discovers that this is not an isolated murder. He also discovers the link between all the murder victims - they have all had DNA tests with the firm GT23.

In this crime novel, Michael Connelly focuses on the challenges of investigative reporting in the twenty-first century and questions the possible misuse of DNA information if it falls into the wrong hands. He also delves into the dark web. As McEvoy attempts to write his story and solve the crime he is assisted by Emily Atwater, a fellow journalist, and Rachel Walling, a former member of the police force with whom he has worked on other cases.

Fair Warning is a tightly written, exciting  crime novel that I really enjoyed reading. I will now need to look for other works by Connelly, particularly The Poet and The Scarecrow which also feature Jack McEnvoy.