The Lincoln Lawyer (2005)

Connelly centers his first legal thriller, The Lincoln Lawyer, on a crackerjack new hero: Mickey Haller, a criminal defense attorney who works out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car, shuttling between various Los Angeles courthouses while calling in to ex-wife No. 2, his business manager who runs credit checks on potential clients, and sparring with ex-wife No. 1, a city prosecutor. One day, he scores a potential gusher in Louis Roulet, a wealthy Beverly Hills real estate scion arrested for the brutal attack of a woman he picked up in a bar. While the book's villain turns out to be a tad too one-note, Connelly presents a fascinating look at how defense lawyers below the Johnnie Cochran level operate — as well as a compelling mystery that has more sudden turns than Mulholland Drive.

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