Another Michael Connelly legal thriller, with his Lincoln Lawyer hero Mickey Haller.  In this story, he is defending Hollywood mogul Walter Elliot on a charge of murder.  Elliot runs his own studio with ambitions of making it big, but he discovered his wife was having an affair.  His wife and lover were found murdered, and there is strong circumstantial evidence against him.  Haller is put on the case when Jerry Vincent, Elliot's previous lawyer, and also Haller's old friend and rival, is murdered too.  Haller gets into a cat and mouse game with his client and also with detective Harry Bosch, who is both protecting him from danger and using him in his investigation. The novel starts with the idea that everyone lies, and this proves to be the case.  But in the end the truth comes out.  There is a surprising twist, but unfortunately Connelly fails to make his readers have any reason to care.

The unabridged audiobook is performed with professionalism by Peter Giles on 10 CDs is easy to listen to, and The Brass Verdict is entertaining and entirely forgettable.  It's good for long trips when it really doesn't make much difference if you doze off occasionally while listening.  The plot won't make much more sense if you stay awake for the whole thing.  You can let the details wash over you, or you can try to guess who is on the side of right and who is crooked.  When the answers tumble out at the end, you will smile or shrug, and that will be it.  It's a book with few pretentions, and fans of the genre should find it adequate. 

© 2009 Christian Perring

Christian Perring, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Dowling College, New York.

Keywords: audiobook, legal thriller