Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: ballard, Bosch, Michael Connely, netflix, The Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer: Connelly's New Novel Leans Closer to TV Series

In the latest The Lincoln Lawyer novel, The Proving Ground, Michael Connelly makes some shifts that bring things closer to the Netflix series.

The latest "The Lincoln Lawyer" novel, The Proving Ground, is now out, and bestselling author Michael Connelly has written it in a way that brings it closer to the Netflix TV series. Here Mickey Haller has decided to dial down his "Lincoln Lawyer" reputation and help people in civil cases rather than criminal, though he could still get his clients – and himself – a huge payout if he wins. And his first civil case in front of a federal judge is the biggest of them all: suing a tech company whose AI chatbot allegedly told a mentally unstable teenager to kill his ex-girlfriend. Connelly has also brought the general setup and tone of the book closer to the Lincoln Lawyer TV series, which is on Netflix. It's fun to see what's changed in the books without Connelly drawing any attention to them. Warning: minor spoilers ahead. 

Cisco and Lorna are Major Supporting Characters in The Latest Book

In Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer, Dennis "Cisco" Wojciechowski (Angus Sampson) and Lorna Crane (Becky Newton) are key members of Mickey Haller's operation. Cisco is his main investigator, and Lorna, Mickey's second ex-wife, is the legal aide in the law practice. They hardly featured at all in previous books, where Harry Bosch became the main investigator for Mickey's cases. When you open the latest book, "The Proving Ground", it feels like you stepped right into a new story arc in the Netflix TV series where Cisco and Lorna are right there doing what they do for Mickey in the TV series.

Harry Bosch and Renée Ballard Do Not Appear in this Book

In previous "The Lincoln Lawyer" books, Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller's half-brother, had appeared in a prominent supporting role, including serving as Mickey's chief investigator and driver on his criminal defense cases. Mickey put Bosch on the payroll so he would have a healthcare plan that made him eligible for experimental treatments for his recurring cancer. Ballard even made a brief appearance in the previous Haller novel. "The Lincoln Lawyer" is also frequently mentioned in the recent Bosch and Ballard novels, often by criminals who say they have Mikey in their contacts if they get arrested.

Neither Bosch nor Ballard appears in The Proving Ground. It makes sense because Mickey Haller's case is in civil court, and the murder case that drives his lawsuit is not on Bosch or Ballard's radar. It feels like the book is separating itself from the Bosch and Ballard books to feel closer to the Netflix TV show, which can help viewers who decided to check out the books for the first time.

Another Michael Connelly Hero Teams Up with The Lincoln Lawyer This Time

Connelly keeps the "The Lincoln Lawyer" series relevant here by having Mickey's case explore the largely unregulated and rapidly expanding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. This time, he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. McEvoy's digging ultimately delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up.

Jack McEvoy is the hero of three of Michael Connelly's previous novels, including The Poet, The Scarecrow, and Fair Warning, the last of which is referenced in The Proving Ground as becoming McEvoy's last book. McEvoy is still a journalist, but has positioned himself as a freelancer to cover the intersection between tech and crime with a blog on Substack. He becomes a fun foil for Haller, as their dynamic differs from Haller and Bosch's.

"The Lincoln Lawyer" is Also a Netflix TV Series in the Book Universe

In The Proving Ground, the characters casually mention that there's a Netflix TV series based on Haller's career. Both Connelly's books and TV shows have become meta in the way they reference each other. Connelly's first Harry Bosch novel Black Echo spent over ten years in movie development hell in Hollywood and was never produced, but in the Bosch TV series, Black Echo is an in-universe movie that was based on one of Bosch's early cases, which is the plot of that first book, and the money Harry made from selling the rights bought him his gorgeous house in the Hollywood Hills, since no cop could afford it. Connelly's novels featuring Jack McEvoy became books written by him in the book universe.

How the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles was Written into "The Proving Ground"

Connelly announced that he felt the need to include the fires that burned much of the Palisades and Malibu in Los Angeles in the story, so that the book reflected the year it was released. Haller's ex-wife Maggie (played in the TV series by Neve Campbell) loses her house in the fire and moves back in with Haller, which rekindles their relationship. Whether that lasts, well, you'll just have to read the book to find out.

The Lincoln Lawyer is streaming on Netflix. The Proving Ground is now out in bookstores.

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