Chasing the Dime ("Scarce Annotated ARC!" - True First/First - "As New!")

by Michael Connelly

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Little-Brown & Company, Boston, MA (2002) SC w/ no DJ as issued, Annotated ARC. True First Edition/True First Print (front cover states: Advance Reading Copy, Not For Sale; fop states: This Proof Was Made From The Author's Manuscript; Copyright page number series reads: 1-10, Copyright page states: First Edition [CIP or LOC no. tk] [Binder Code tk]; no Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data numbers information) pages; Book: F/VF - "As New", clean, tight and sound, appears a once read or an unread, nothing derogatory of note, soft cover, illustrated boards; Pages: F/VF - "As New", clean, white and secure, nothing derogatory of note; DJ: none issued (an advance reading copy/not a remainder/not a book club ed./not a Library ed.) Synopsis: In what may be the best mystery of the year (2002), author Michael Connelly writes a legal thriller that quickly captures the reader's attention and holds it, riveted, until the end, not because of issues involving legal procedure, or secret information, or questions about the client's guilt, all of which are at issue here, but because the client and his lawyer are ultimately engaged in a chess game in which the lawyer loses if the client wins. The lawyer, Michael "Mick" Haller, son of a famous attorney who died when his son was very young, is an ethical man, determined to do right by his client, but he, like many other attorneys, is looking for a "franchise case," a case for which the client can pay for all services and appeals, and thereby subsidize the pro bono work the lawyer does for indigent clients. In this case, the defense of Louis Ross Roulet, a young man engaged in the family real estate business, against charges of assault against women, may be Haller's "franchise case." His other cases involve Harold Casey, known as "Hard Case," a biker arrested on drug charges, and Gloria Dayton, a prostitute arrested with drugs which may have been planted. An old case, that of Jesus Menendez, who, following Mick's advice, pled guilty to murder, while insisting on his innocence, also emerges, since some of the evidence in the Roulet case is similar to that of the Menendez case. Living and working primarily from his Lincoln Town Car, Mick has problems. With two ex-wives, one of whom is "Maggie McFierce," a deputy district attorney, by whom he has a young daughter, Mick finds himself losing himself in his work while still wanting to stay connected with his daughter. Simultaneously vulnerable but tough, Mick wants to do what is right but sometimes finds himself caught between competing demands on his time. By the time the trial of Louis Roulet finally begins, Haller knows that two of his cases are inextricably connected, and one of the people Haller most respects has been murdered. Connelly's skill as a novelist is obvious in his ability to present procedural issues in an interesting way. The give and take of the legal profession, the compromises and agreements made, and the legal slang all feel natural and give a sense of the tension and tactics to which the various attorneys and police resort as they engage in pre-trial maneuvering. The relationships among defense attorneys, private attorneys, district attorneys, prosecutors, bondsmen, the press, private investigators, and politicians and judges in various court districts are clearly spelled out and convey the sense of how things work in real life. The life of the defense attorney as he moves from case to case, the personal agonies he may face as he decides on the legal moves which will determine the fates of his clients for years to come, and the second guessing that emerges after the cases are decided all come to life here and involve the reader. As Haller comes to know his client Roulet and investigate his past, he recognizes the fiendish intelligence guiding Roulet's behavior, and to some extent controlling his own behavior.  Though the cast of characters here is not large, the case becomes extraordinarily complex as the past emerges in relationship to the present. As Roulet, the client, and Haller, the defense attorney, engage in the high stakes chess game and move/countermove which Roulet's case represents, the conflict becomes intensely personal, challenging Haller both morally and legally. Every aspect of Haller's life is affected, and as he tries to be honest, he must also recognize that the rules by which he plays "the game" are not the same rules which less principled players obey. This was Michael Connelly's 12th work.