Lee Goldberg is running a promotion over on his site for The Walk. He's offering free copies to anybody who will accept a free copy of the eVersion of his program and then write a review on their blog or on Amazon. (Limit: 100 freebies) I'm not taking him up on his offer since my November reading list is full. But he DID prompt me into doing another Review Month. Besides, I need this mental work to off-set the absolute joy I'm deriving from The Project From Hell, sarcasm very much intended.
The Reversal by Michael Connelly is both the 16th book in the Harry Bosch series and the third book in the Mickey Haller series. It's also a crackerjack mystery/legal thriller. I've really enjoyed the Mickey Haller series, which debuted to rave reviews in The Lincoln Lawyer. The follow-up volume, The Brass Verdict, was a step down, down to merely enjoyable. But the third book is of a quality seen in the first one. In other words, five out of five stars.
Haller once again gets co-opted into a case, but by the prosecution this time. A hot potato case that smacked of official malfeasance the first time around is going to be re-tried. The DA has DNA evidence that makes this case look like a loser, especially politically. An outside prosecutor is needed to try the course and take the political fall when it loses. So, Haller's tapped to be the fall guy. Naturally, since this is the universe Haller and Bosch live in, Haller demands good ol' Harry accompany him through this process. Oh, and he wants his ex-wife Maggie to second chair. And naturally, his OTHER ex-wife, Lorna, is his office manager. Oh what a world Connelly weaves.
The case features one Jason Jessup, a creep amongst creeps. A child-killer who has won a new trial thanks to DNA evidence not examined two decades ago, now pointing to a deceased step-father, rather than at him. The rest of the evidence at the time consisted of the eye-witness testimony of the kid's sister, then tween-aged. The new trial is going to be short. Many of the witnesses of the original trial are deceased, the step-father by his own hand. The eyewitness, Regina Landy, had grown up troubled (duh!!!) and having finally kicked all kinds of bad habits, found herself at the ends of the continental U.S., living the quiet life of a glass-blower.
So, we have a trial. Evidence glossed over and/or just plain missed has to be unearthed in order to return Jessup back to his prison cell. Jessup, plays the part of an innocent man wrongfully convicted and now out and about as a mini-celebrity, planning to cash in big on that horrible happenstance. His big name defence team, lead by Clever Clive Royce, is using the probable quick verdict as a PR loss leader, hoping to then cash in as well in the civil suit. Royce is the kind of smooth operator TV loves and prosecutors hate because he'll do just about anything to win. Anything.
That's the basic setup. Decently original and all kinds of chances to go wrong. But Connelly deftly weaves between the Haller and Bosch points of view. There are no outlandish leaps of logic, no deus ex machina moments that make you want to slap your head. You DO want to reach out and slap Jessup, the slimeball that he is. You don't have to, of course. Haller wins the day, if not the verdict he was looking for. Some semi-innocent bystanders suffer the ultimate loss and politics rears its ugly head to deny a complete victory for the Haller/Maggie/Bosch team. Real life, I guess.
But it's a great ride, even if it isn't in a Lincoln (Haller actually takes an office at HQ). Can't wait for the fourth book ... or 17th ... or whatever. More Haller please.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
SPORTS: On the Whole, the Sixers Would Rather NOT Be in Philadelphia...Tonight
Well, what's going to be the point-spread tonight when the final whistle blows on the Philadelphia 76ers-Miami Heat game? It's going to be huge. The Sixers might very well be playing without Andre Iguodala and the Heat are coming in off an embarrassment last night against the Celtics that looked like it was edging into humiliation territory one quarter in.
Then, LeBron James turned his team into Cleveland redux, going one on one with the Boston team. It must have felt like old times for the Kingly One as he couldn't get any other teammate to step up and take the pressure of making the game competitive off his shoulders. So he gets his 31, a few rebounds and a few assists and a loss in crunch-time. He left Ohio for the scorn, ridicule and THIS?
But what of the other peripatetic wandering south soul, Chris Bosh?
Bosh's comments to Dave Feschuk in the Toronto Star today paint an incredibly sorry picture. He had to leave Toronto to get on TV. How incredibly vain. Oh, he's going to get on TV but it will be completely obscured by the bright lights shining on James and Dwyane Wade. Despite Wade's virtual complete absence in training camp due to injury and legal proceedings, I don't remember the Heat running a single play for the once-focal point of the Toronto Raptors. Having shucked his hairdo, his number, and by extension his nickname (CB4) in his haste to beat it out of Toronto, Bosh has been looking for a new nickname. Since team play dictates he might have to rebound a few misses and toss them back to get his own points, it's tempting to refer to him as The Garbageman. But that's disingenuous. Nope. Chris 'The Valet' Bosh, I now dub thee.
The Heat weren't going to go 82-0 and even after tonight's piecing of Philly, won't go 81-1. The Heat have holes, largely in the forecourt where Bosh and Anthony were called 'undersized' all night by the broadcast crew. Two seven-footers undersized? Well, yeah. Bosh has never been a good on the ball defender, getting a few blocks coming off his man to make him look better than average at some points. And Anthony blocks shots occasionally. But big, aggressive front lines will give the Heat fits. The Heat's half-court offence is going to be dependent on three things: James' driving ability, James' three-point shooting and the ability for some of the scrubs to hit three-pointers when James and Wade don't have the ball or are in a passing mood. On some nights, one, two or all three of those dependencies won't be operating, making them beatable.
Bosh is going to pay a heavy price for his TV jones. I heard some touts saying he'd drop from 24 pts and 10 rebounds nightly to 20 and 8, based on fewer scoring opportunities and fewer misses by his teammates. Now every team Miami plays isn't going to be the superior Boston defence, but the Miami offence has options 1 (and 1A) in James and 2 in Wade. There is NO WAY IN HELL that Bosh gets a sniff of 20 a night on the scoresheet.
Not if they don't run any plays for him. But at least he'll get an 'also starring' credit on the TV.
Then, LeBron James turned his team into Cleveland redux, going one on one with the Boston team. It must have felt like old times for the Kingly One as he couldn't get any other teammate to step up and take the pressure of making the game competitive off his shoulders. So he gets his 31, a few rebounds and a few assists and a loss in crunch-time. He left Ohio for the scorn, ridicule and THIS?
But what of the other peripatetic wandering south soul, Chris Bosh?
Bosh's comments to Dave Feschuk in the Toronto Star today paint an incredibly sorry picture. He had to leave Toronto to get on TV. How incredibly vain. Oh, he's going to get on TV but it will be completely obscured by the bright lights shining on James and Dwyane Wade. Despite Wade's virtual complete absence in training camp due to injury and legal proceedings, I don't remember the Heat running a single play for the once-focal point of the Toronto Raptors. Having shucked his hairdo, his number, and by extension his nickname (CB4) in his haste to beat it out of Toronto, Bosh has been looking for a new nickname. Since team play dictates he might have to rebound a few misses and toss them back to get his own points, it's tempting to refer to him as The Garbageman. But that's disingenuous. Nope. Chris 'The Valet' Bosh, I now dub thee.
The Heat weren't going to go 82-0 and even after tonight's piecing of Philly, won't go 81-1. The Heat have holes, largely in the forecourt where Bosh and Anthony were called 'undersized' all night by the broadcast crew. Two seven-footers undersized? Well, yeah. Bosh has never been a good on the ball defender, getting a few blocks coming off his man to make him look better than average at some points. And Anthony blocks shots occasionally. But big, aggressive front lines will give the Heat fits. The Heat's half-court offence is going to be dependent on three things: James' driving ability, James' three-point shooting and the ability for some of the scrubs to hit three-pointers when James and Wade don't have the ball or are in a passing mood. On some nights, one, two or all three of those dependencies won't be operating, making them beatable.
Bosh is going to pay a heavy price for his TV jones. I heard some touts saying he'd drop from 24 pts and 10 rebounds nightly to 20 and 8, based on fewer scoring opportunities and fewer misses by his teammates. Now every team Miami plays isn't going to be the superior Boston defence, but the Miami offence has options 1 (and 1A) in James and 2 in Wade. There is NO WAY IN HELL that Bosh gets a sniff of 20 a night on the scoresheet.
Not if they don't run any plays for him. But at least he'll get an 'also starring' credit on the TV.
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