The Reversal by Michael ConnellyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I've read all the Harry Bosch stories, mostly in order, but I'm not sure I've read too many Mickey Haller books. This is a two-for-one, in which Haller - normally a defence lawyer - finds himself prosecuting in a retrial of a serial child-killer who's been in jail for 24 years but where new DNA evidence has shown the conviction to be unsafe. Alongside him he has his ex-wife Maggie, and Bosch is his investigator. It makes for a great team, and some excellent dialogue. And the plot is great, part-courtroom, part detective.
Connelly writes Haller books in the first person and Bosch ones in the third, so technically it would appear to be told from Haller's point of view, but actually Connolly switches the reader viewpoint nicely from chapter to chapter and there's a real sense that the central character is whoever the story is following at the time. That's quite a remarkable achievement for an author, and in truth it's the first time I've ever seen it so successfully done. I recently read an Ian Rankin where both of his central characters appeared together and gave it five stars; I wouldn't now - this is far better.
Really, really clever.
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