Book Talk: Connelly, ‘The Proving Ground’

Michael Connelly’s protagonist, Mickey Haller (formerly known as the Lincoln Lawyer) was King of the Courtroom when he handled criminal cases. However, he’s sold off the Lincolns and is now located in a warehouse with an internal chamber that is safeguarded against electronic surveillance. Connelly writes, “The cage was a twelve-foot-by-twelve-foot cube of chain link. Across the top was a crosshatch of wires supporting copper mesh that also draped down all four sides of the cage, preventing all manner of electronic intrusion.” 

Haller now handles only civil cases, but he’s been approached by the daughter of a man who was Haller’s client twenty years ago, found guilty (although he was innocent), and is serving a life sentence. David Snow has cancer and less than nine months to live. Cassandra, his daughter, doesn’t want her father to die in prison, and Haller has promised to try to get him released.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles is burning with the recent fires that have consumed the home of his ex-wife, L.A. District Attorney Maggie “McFierce.” On the plus side, from Haller’s point of view, the fire has reunited him with his former wife who has taken up residence in his house while awaiting processing by the insurance company and the City of Los Angeles.