Resurrection Walk

Resurrection Walk: A Lincoln Lawyer Novel by Michael Connelly splits the time between Bosch and his brother, Mickey Haller. At its core, the novel is about a flawed justice system and trying to get innocent people released. But, the read is far more complicated than that.

Mickey Haller is doing pretty well. He just got Jorge Ochoa out after years of being wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and he likes the feeling that kind of victory. He enjoyed that thrill of victory as Ochoa walked out, a sort of “resurrection walk.”

These days Bosch works for him so that he has insurance. Bosch was going to let the cancer do what it did, but changed his mind. Bosch is fighting, and when he isn’t in treatment, he is driving show more Haller around and reading letters from inmates seeking help to overturn convictions.

It is their own version of the “Innocence Project” and Bosch thinks he may have spotted a case worth looking at in greater detail. Lucinda Sanz was convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of her Los Angeles County Deputy Husband. She pleaded nolo to manslaughter as a plea deal. She has no idea who killed her husband in the front yard of their house, or why, but she took the deal because her public defender said to do so. Now she urgently needs to get out and back home to her son.

While Haller is doing various things, Bosch does some poking around and is soon questioning the merits of the case against her. Overturning her plea is going to be damn near impossible, but going to Federal Court might be a step in the right direction. That case and the fight to get Lucinda Sanz out of prison is the primary overarching storyline.

Other cases, Bosch’s cancer fight, and various ongoing matters make up secondary storylines in a complex novel.

While the caner fight is tough reading for those of who have gone through it with a loved one, the overall novel does not spend a ton of time in that storyline. Many things are going on in Resurrection Walk: A Lincoln Lawyer Novel by Michael Connelly. The result is a highly entertaining read that pulls the reader along at a rapid clip. The book is well worth your time.

After the publisher skipped my NetGalley review request, my reading copy came by way of the Libby/OverDrive App and the Dallas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023 show less

Resurrection Walk, Michael Connelly, author; Christine Lakin, Peter Giles, Titus Welliver, narrators
Connelly rarely disappoints and this 7th book in the Lincoln Lawyer series is no exception. My two favorite characters team up to bring justice to innocent people behind bars. Mickey Haller is The Lincoln Lawyer, and Harry Bosch is a retired police detective who works for him now. Although one works to defend criminals and one used to capture them, they get along well. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case with Mickey’s ex-wife, however, since Maggie was a prosecutor who worked to jail those Mickey, a defense lawyer, worked to free.
Harry and Mickey are half-brothers. Harry has an aggressive form of cancer and needed insurance in order show more to participate in a study at UCLA that might impact his disease. Mickey provides that as a perk when he employs him as an investigator. Harry searches through the letters from potential clients. He is looking for those that Mickey might defend, who truly might be wrongfully convicted. The cases are often pro bono, but sometimes the civil suits afterward, for wrongful conviction, are very lucrative. The pro bono work is far from it. It is sad that one side is against the other side, when they are only exposing the flaws in the system. If the flaws are real, and the system is corrupt, it seems to me that both prosecutors and defense lawyers should be on the same team, wanting the innocent to remain free and only the guilty to be incarcerated.
The book opens with one of Mickey’s clients finally doing what Mickey calls “the resurrection walk”, the walk to freedom. His innocence was proven and the charges were reversed. When Harry brings Mickey another client to review, the case concerning Lucinda Sands, Mickey agrees with Harry’s assessment. The woman is in prison for the murder of her husband in a fit of rage. However, the evidence, investigation, and legal representation seemed to leave a lot to be desired. The background and the court case seemed flawed and was compelling. They believe her conviction is in question.
As Mickey and Harry work to prove her innocence, one wonders if those who are really guilty of the crime will ever be brought to justice. Sometimes, the arrogance of the judge, adhering to the letter of the law, prevents the truth and the facts from being exposed. It is frustrating, not only for the reader, but also for Mickey Haller as he mounts Lucinda’s defense and is thwarted by injustice, rather than justice, prevailing. The original prosecution had been tainted, but it is hard to prove it, five years later. Who determines what counts as new evidence when it is presented? The novel may make one wonder about how many other innocent people are behind bars because of technicalities and the manipulation of evidence and facts. Sometimes the sentences simply cannot be reversed because of the rules of presenting evidence, even though it proves the person’s innocence. They remain guilty in the eyes of the judge because of the technicalities. Information is stricken from the record even when it is definitely exculpatory.
So should the judge be the be-all end-all when the facts are so obvious, but the rules’ book won’t allow them to be aired. Shouldn’t there be some leeway regarding the presentation of evidence so that it is acceptable if it is the actual representation of the truth. The judge’s rulings gave Mickey pause, and he wound up doing his own “resurrection walk” at the end, but to where, the reader is unsure.
Until the very end, the book was really a five-star endeavor, but certain scenes in which the judge held Mickey in contempt, when her own behavior seemed contemptible, turned me off a little. If a judge is more concerned about how she is treated, than the guilt or innocence of the plaintiff, in what could be a wrongful conviction case, it means the system is very flawed. I hope that in a more perfect world, it would not take so long to present the facts, nor would a convoluted approach to justice have to be created in order to do it. show less

I eagerly await each new book from Michael Connelly. He's hands down one of my favorite authors. And then...I finish it far too quickly. I couldn't put down Resurrection Walk. It's one heck of a page turner.

While the cover is labelled as a Lincoln Lawyer book, it also features Harry Bosch. Harry is now working for his half brother, Mickey Haller, as a part time investigator. Haller is coming off of a big win and has Harry vetting requests for another 'Resurrection Walk' case.

This is not a jury case, instead Mickey is presenting his case to only one person - a Federal judge. The stakes are high, as is the tension. And the other is are just as determined. Connelly's courtroom legalese is detailed and is presented and written so readers show more understand what's going on. The courtroom machinations, the ups and downs of rulings and Mickey's plans are fascinating to read.

Connelly's characters' personal lives are always moving forward. Familiar supporting players, Cisco, Lorna, Maggie Fierce, Maddy and more, make cameo appearances. It's been hard to see Harry age and take a lesser role. I think of him as an old war horse. It was different to see him on the defense side of the table instead of the prosecution. Mickey may be making some changes as well. Only the next book will tell.

An absolute addicting, can't put it down book! More please. show less

In Michael Connelly novel, “Resurrection Walk,” half-brothers Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller team up to convince a judge to free Lucinda Sanz, who was convicted of killing her ex-husband, Roberto. She pled nolo contendere on the advice of her lawyer, but continues to maintain her innocence after five years behind bars. She longs to be reunited with her family, but first Mickey and Harry will have to present convincing evidence of her innocence.

Although Connelly could have put Bosch out to pasture years ago, it is refreshing to see that Harry—a tough and tenacious former homicide detective—still retains his sharp insight, honed over decades on the job. Mickey can be brash at times, but he is also compassionate, devoted to the show more cause of justice, and clever at using all of the tools at his disposal to achieve his goals.

Every aspect of this story works wonderfully. The plot is tight and intriguing. It involves corruption in law enforcement, gang violence, threats and intimidation, and an engrossing trial in which the momentum shifts frequently, leaving us uncertain about the outcome. The characters are well-drawn, and Connelly enthralls us with fascinating testimony in which an expert witness recreates a shooting, using a new and sophisticated computer program. With “Resurrection Walk,” Michael Connelly reinforces his status as an author who consistently produces high-quality police procedurals and legal thrillers. show less

Another primarily Lincoln Lawyer book, but worth the read for Bosch's time in the book. Harry is now working for Haller, as a driver and a consultant - the set-up is too rich not to be thoroughly enjoyable. Harry's job is to vet cases of potentially wrongly convicted people. Haller makes a deal that he'll only work the cases Harry feels are righteous. Bosch should have gotten more caveats added to the agreements, as Haller often uses strategies that drive Harry crazy. The case they settle on is a woman who essentially pleads guilty to murdering her husband, a cop. But Harry smells a rat, in more ways than one.

5 bones!!!!!

I picked up this Michael Connelly book against my better judgment. I've read several of his books and enjoyed the TV adaptations (both "Bosch" series and "The Lincoln Lawyer"), but Connelly writes like a Wikipedia TV episode summary. I've seen more vivid writing on nutritional labels.

There are sometimes interesting stories buried in these cardboard plot-boxes, however. I love a courtroom drama, and the second half of this book is mostly courtroom, full of lawyer-witness dialog without the need for Connelly's monotone exposition. And it's a mostly convincing portrayal of a real courtroom situation: in this case, a hearing to overturn a conviction argued to a judge with no jury present.

I also liked that Bosch is an old man in this book. show more He's fighting cancer and he's lost a step; pathetically, he acts as Haller's driver, although his dignity insists on Haller riding shotgun instead of working in the back seat. While it's somewhat sad to see, I think it's appropriate to let Bosch age. I think Connelly might be preparing to let him go.

The only gunshots in this book happen before the book even starts. No fisticuffs. (Some shoving and macho threatening: toddler readers are warned.) A rarity: a legal thriller that's actually about prevailing—fairly—in court! Now that's something new at the airport bookstore. show less

This book combines Harry Bosch with his half-brother, Mickey Haller (aka The Lincoln Lawyer). There's history between the two; Bosch especially doesn't approve of Haller defending criminals given his background with the LAPD. For reasons that are explained in the book, Bosch is now working with Haller to free a woman who says she was wrongfully convicted. In Bosch's ethics that is acceptable if she really is innocent and he thinks she might be.

Mickey Haller helped a man in jail prove his innocence. He was at the prison to see the man take his "resurrection walk" out of the prison gates. Ever since he has been inundated with letters from inmates claiming they are innocent and asking Haller to take their case. Bosch has recently come on show more to Haller's payroll because he has been diagnosed with cancer and he needs the medical insurance to get a trial treatment that may cure him. So Bosch is driving Haller in his Lincoln from courtroom to courtroom and while he waits he sifts through the letters. He shows Mickey the one from Lucinda Sanz who pleaded nolo contendere (a plea in which defendants do not admit guilt but agree to be sentenced) to the charge of shooting her ex-husband. She did this on the advice of her lawyer at the time, Frank Silver, who told Lucinda they didn't have a chance of a not guilty verdict. (There were other reasons but we don't learn them until the conclusion.) Lucinda is now desperate to get back with her son who has been living with his grandmother for the past 5 years. He is now 13 years old and the neighbourhood gangs are starting to take an interest in him. Haller agrees to take the case and files for a writ of habeas corpus (you shall have the body) which will give him an opportunity to re-examine the evidence.Bosch does his usual stellar job of finding evidence and Haller presents it masterfully. The courtroom scenes are fantastic.

I listened to the audiobook which had three narrators including Titus Welliver for Bosch. I've listened to him narrate a number of these books now and, while I miss Len Cariou as the voice of Bosch,he seems like the embodiment of Harry Bosch. show less