Tag: Jack McEvoy

The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Thriller1 Comment

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 21 October 2025)

Series: Lincoln Lawyer – Book Eight

Length: 389 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The always outstanding Michael Connelly continues to showcase his ability to hit all the crime fiction sub-genres with another wonderful and deeply compelling legal thriller, the new Lincoln Lawyer novel The Proving Ground.

2025 proved to be another outstanding year for acclaimed crime fiction author Michael Connelly, as he not only introduced a new protagonist in his fantastic novel Nightshade (one of my favourite books from the first half of 2025), but he also continued his very entertaining Lincoln Lawyer series with the amazing book, The Proving Ground.  Entries in the Lincoln Lawyer series, which has previously featured such awesome books as The Law of Innocence and Resurrection Walk, are always a guaranteed fun read, and I was excited for The Proving Ground for a while, especially as it had a very intriguing plot.

Plot Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly, the Lincoln Lawyer is back with a case against an AI company whose product may have been responsible for the murder of a young girl.

Mickey Haller has moved from criminal to civil court, but murder remains in his sights—in particular, the case of a chatbot encouraging the killing of a teenage girl.

Mickey files a civil lawsuit against the artificial intelligence company responsible for the chatbot and instantly finds himself on the wild frontier of the billion-dollar AI industry. Grappling with a terrifying lack of regulation and data overload, Haller partners with journalist Jack McEvoy. But they are up against mega-forces, and even the bravest whistleblower faces grave danger.

In 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with an unexpected gambit. In a Herculean new match of man vs machine, can Haller pull off a winning play for humanity?

The Proving Ground was a very impressive new novel from Connelly that cleverly set his most entertaining protagonist against a complex real-world issue.  Featuring an intense and extremely thought-provoking narrative, The Proving Ground was an addictive read, and I easily got swept up in Connelly’s latest captivating tale.

Connelly pulled together an excellent and clever narrative for The Proving Ground, which quickly throws readers into the legal action and ensures you become engulfed in the complex case.  Starting off in the early stages of the case, the author soon introduces you to the latest lawsuit protagonist Mickey Haller is engaged in, suing a major artificial intelligence company, for the encouraging actions of its teenage-focused chatbot.  From there you watch as Mickey and his team, which now also features another major Connelly protagonist, Jack McEvoy (from The Poet, The Scarecrow and Fair Warning), attempt to pull together a suitable case of culpability against the company.  At the same time, Haller continues to try and find redemption by getting a dying former client released from prison.  There is also a dive into the protagonist’s personal life, with a returning love interest once again causing drama in his life after a major real-world natural disaster.

The main plot moves at a fast pace as it focuses on the case, with Mickey dealing with various pitfalls, traps and the machinations of his opponents to try and win the trial.  Connelly keeps the intensity of these proceedings at a high boil the entire way through the book, and there is barely a slow moment in The Proving Ground as the protagonist utilises his trademark tricks, unique arguments and clever legal surprises to make ground.  The personal nature of the case, as well as the dark implications around AI, make for very dramatic reading, and I honestly could not stop reading The Proving Ground at times, as I was very eager to see how everything came together.  Connelly also got the balance right between the main case, and the side stories, with the primary focus on the AI trial proving to be a real winner.  Everything comes to a very dramatic head towards the end of the novel where, after the near destruction of Haller’s case, the protagonist engages in his final clever gambit.  I really loved how this main trial came together, and while it did end a little too suddenly, I appreciated that Connelly was trying to show some realism in how these sorts of legal cases usually go.  I also do think that Connelly could have ditched out the secondary storyline in The Proving Ground, but the attempt to show Haller’s continued growth did ensure it had its place.  Overall, this was quite a strong story, and I felt that The Proving Ground was an especially clever addition to the Lincoln Lawyer series.

I quite enjoyed how The Proving Ground came together, and Connelly worked hard to keep the book as captivating and emotionally charged as possible.  Featuring a particularly compelling central legal case that dives into a major real-world concern, The Proving Ground was an interesting transition away from the criminal cases that the Lincoln Lawyer series is known for.  Indeed, at times The Proving Ground felt more like a legal drama rather than a legal thriller, as there was lack of traditional criminals and high-stakes police elements that Connelly has previously featured.  Still, this was very much a highly exciting read, especially in the multiple cleverly constructed courtroom sequences, where the alternating legal strategies, arguments and growing antagonism between the rival lawyers, really dragged in the readers.  The excellent central focus on Haller as the first-person perspective protagonist added to the thrill of the plot, as you were constantly there when Haller encountered the many swerves and twists that defined the case.  While the tone of The Proving Ground was mostly serious, Connelly did add in some fantastic bursts of humour, which helped to remind the reader that this was a Lincoln Lawyer novel.  Much of this involved the over-the-top reactions that Haller’s opponents had to the protagonist’s strategies, but I also chuckled at some fantastic references and clever jokes added in throughout the book, especially those related to AI.  This ended up being an accessible standalone novel that will appeal both to general legal thriller enthusiasts, as well as established fans of Connelly, and I think most readers are going to have an outstanding time with this book.

One of my favourite aspects of The Proving Ground was the way that Connelly so effectively and cleverly examined and showcased real-world issues.  This primarily involves the central element of artificial intelligence, which the author uses to increase the stakes of the plot and ensure that readers are educated about a complex subject likely to impact them in the future, if it hasn’t already done so.  As part of this, Connelly dives into the whole concept of AI and its potential role in society in a notably detailed manner, examining its applications, its potential for harm, and how it will likely change the way people think and interact in the future.  This was a very well-balanced and thought-provoking look at a subject many people are worried in real life, and I felt that Connelly did an exceptional job examining it through a contemporary lens in this book.  Many of the conclusions about the potential for AI to be abused if not carefully regulated and tailored to its intended audiences was quite troubling, and the reader comes away really thinking about how AI is being used and where it could go from here.

Connelly also takes the opportunity with The Proving Ground to dive into some more recent world issues, notably those occurring in America.  The use of Los Angeles as the author’s preferred setting helped with this immensely, and there were some very interesting looks at how the city started to change in 2025.  The wildfires that hit the city early this year come into play in a big way during The Proving Ground, especially for some of the secondary storylines, and Connelly tried to capture the authentic fear, anger and despair that these events would have on people caught up in them.  This compelling dive into real-world events greatly enhanced the plot of The Proving Ground, and I was very impressed with how Connelly utilised them and portrayed them with his amazing writing.

The final element of The Proving Ground that I want to highlight is the great characters, who Connelly expertly writes and utilises in his compelling story.  Most prominent of these is the main point-of-view protagonist, Mickey Haller, whose continues to try to move away from the grubby world of criminal defence by focusing his practice on helping those in need.  This redemptive phase of Haller has been ongoing for the last couple of Lincoln Lawyer books, and I’ve enjoyed the character’s attempt at growth in his work, especially as it seems to confuse many of the other characters Haller interacts with, especially his legal opponents.  Haller’s attempts to also make up for the mistakes of his past, both in his relationships and his previous defeats, were also well explored in some of The Proving Ground’s secondary storylines, and I very much enjoyed the direction that Connelly continues to take with his high-flying lawyer protagonist.

Aside from Haller, The Proving Ground also follows a compelling group of characters involved with the main case, including the recurring members of Haller’s legal team.  While these characters aren’t explored as deeply in this novel as they are on the Netflix adaptation (an adaptation which is cheekily referred to in several books, including The Proving Ground), you still see some elements about how they are going and adapting to Haller’s change in legal clients and focus, with Cisco’s concerns about Haller not needing an investigator for his civil cases being a very interesting point.  I also quite enjoyed how Connelly crossed over this novel with another one of his major protagonists by bringing in reporter Jack McEvoy as a major supporting character.  McEvoy turned out to be an exceptional part of the book, especially as the concerns with AI really fit this character’s history of writing about controversial and potentially dangerous new technologies.  The interaction between Haller and McEvoy, two characters Connelly has developed apart, felt very natural, and I liked how well he fit in as a member of Haller’s team.  Throw in some other well-written and emotionally charged characters, including grieving parents, flawed and sometimes hostile witnesses, two entertainingly conniving antagonistic lawyers, and a particularly arrogant CEO, and the cast of The Proving Ground was quite exceptional, and you will love getting drawn into their personal struggles.

Michael Connelly produces another top crime fiction read with the wonderful and highly addictive legal novel, The Proving Ground.  An impressive continuation of the always entertaining Lincoln Lawyer series, The Proving Ground was an incredible read, and one that comes very highly recommended.  Due to how deeply compelling I found it, The Proving Ground gets a five-star rating from me, and I will be including it on my best of 2025 list later tonight.

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Fair Warning by Michael Connelly

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery27 Comments

Fair Warning Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 26 May 2020)

Series: Jack McEvoy – Book Three

Length: 404 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare for another incredible murder mystery from leading crime fiction author, Michael Connelly, as he brings back one of his more intriguing protagonists, reporter Jack McEvoy, for another fantastic novel, Fair Warning.

Following several of his past misadventures, veteran reporter Jack McEvoy is now working for the independent reporting website, Fair Warning, investigating scams and consumer issues. However, McEvoy’s true passion is the murder beat, which he once again finds himself dragged into when LAPD detectives accost him one night, asking him questions about a woman he had a one-night stand with several months ago. The woman has been murdered in a particularly brutal manner, and McEvoy is seen as a key suspect in the case.

Against the wishes of the police and his editor, McEvoy begins to dissect the case on his own, and discovers that several women across the country have died in a similar manner. Investigating each of these deaths, he manages to find a unique connection between the victims that points to a serial killer that has been operating unnoticed for years and who has a disturbing way of finding his next kill.

Determined to hunt down this murderer and bring him to justice, McEvoy recruits his old flame, former FBI agent Rachel Walling, to help his investigation. However, this is no ordinary killer they are hunting. Calling himself the Shrike, their prey is brilliant, meticulous and utterly devoid of any compassion. Can McEvoy and Walling bring him to justice, or have they just painted a target on their back?

Wow, Connelly really knocks it out of the park again with Fair Warning, another excellent and captivating piece of crime fiction. I have been really getting into Connelly’s books over the last couple of years, ever since I read his 2018 release, Dark Sacred Night, which was followed up by one of my favourite books of 2019, The Night Fire. Fair Warning is the 34th book in Connelly’s shared universe of crime fiction (which includes his Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller novels), and it is the third book to feature Jack McEvoy as a protagonist. This latest release proved to be an exceptional read, and I was able to power through it in a short period of time. I loved the fantastic mystery that was featured within it, and Connelly has included several unique features that make it stand out from his main police investigation novels, resulting in an amazing and enjoyable read.

At the heart of this amazing novel lies an impressive and clever murder mystery storyline that proved to be a lot of fun to explore. The book focuses on a hunt for a wicked and terrifying serial killer who has been hunting women across the country and getting away with it. The subsequent investigation into the killer is a compelling and multilayered affair, as the protagonist becomes obsessed with solving the case. The entire mystery storyline is an epic and intriguing affair, and Connelly lays it out in a methodical manner that helps to draw the reader right into the middle of the investigation. I really liked where the investigation goes, and it contains some interesting leads, opposition from law enforcement agencies who do not want a report snooping around and several other unique challenges. Just like with the other Jack McEvoy books, Connelly has come up with a distinctive and driven serial killer for the protagonist to pursue. This killer is a ruthless and intelligent hunter with a terrifying method of eliminating his prey, which he parlays into his disturbing but apt moniker the Shrike. He serves as a worthy antagonist for this excellent mystery, and it proved to be really intriguing to fully investigate and unwind all his actions and intent, although there is still some mystery around this antagonist towards the end of the book. I personally liked the occasional glimpse into the killer’s mind that Connelly provided, as there were a few short chapters told from his perspective, which proved to be rather intriguing. An additional chapter from a third character’s point-of-view also introduced the reader to a couple of witnesses, who, while not directly involved with the killings, had their hands in their case in an interesting but messed up way, which added compelling wrinkles to the entire mystery, and also ensured that the reader had additional villains to wish some comeuppance upon. Overall, this was an excellent and enjoyable murder mystery storyline, and I had an amazing time following it from one end to the next.

Connelly has the rare ability to keep coming up with great and distinctive protagonists for his crime novels, and Jack McEvoy is one of his more intriguing characters. McEvoy is a bit of an autobiographical character for Connelly, as both the author and his creation were crime journalists for the Las Angeles Times. He has been utilised as the main character of two previous novels, The Poet and The Scarecrow, and has also had appearances in some other Connelly books, such as A Darkness More Than Night and The Brass verdict. Long-term fans of Connelly’s writing will enjoy learning about how his life has progressed in the intervening years, and about his current journalistic endeavours. It was great to see him once again involved in a murder investigation, especially another one where he has an emotional attachment to the case, having briefly known the first victim. McEvoy is portrayed as a somewhat reckless and impassioned investigator throughout the book, and he ends up riding some moral lines as he attempts to work out what is more important, the story or catching the killer. It was also great to see the return of Rachel Walling, who has served as the main supporting character and love interest of the previous Jack McEvoy books. McEvoy and Walling’s complex relationship is once again a central piece of this story, and the two of them struggle to work together with their romantic entanglements and complicated past. After all this time the reader cannot help but hope that the two of them will end up together, although there are significant barriers to this happening, such as McEvoy’s suspicious and cynical personality, and their often-opposing viewpoints. Both characters are fantastic additions to the story, and their personal issues serve as pleasant emotional backdrop to the murder mystery angles of the book. I really liked their complicated partnership and it looks like Connelly may have some plans for them in the future.

I was also a big fan of the reporting angle that Fair Warning had. The protagonist is not cop, instead he is a reporter who finds himself involved with the story. As a result, while the protagonist does want to bring the killer to justice, he is also interested in writing the story behind it. This leads to several distinctive differences between this investigation and the more traditional police inquiry, including different ways of obtaining information, being less bound by legal procedures and a different way of dealing with potential witnesses or sources. The book also features several faux journalistic articles (which must have brought Connelly back to his reporting days) that cover key events of the book, and there are some great discussions about the techniques behind writing a newspaper article.

One of the most interesting parts of this reporting element, is the fact that the McEvoy is employed at the reporting website, Fair Warning. Fair Warning is an actual real-life website that provides independent watchdog reporting on consumer issues, which features Connelly as a member of the website’s board of directors. The website’s real-life founder and editor, Myron Levin, appears as a character within the book, and I think that it was a fun inclusion from Connelly that did a great job of showing the current state of journalism in the world today. This is the first Jack McEvoy book written in the era of ‘fake news’, and Connelly spends some time exploring how traditional newspapers are suffering and how the role and status of reporters is changing. This proves to be an intriguing background element to the story, and I am glad that Connelly spent the time raising it within the novel, as well as highlighting the importance of an impartial and observant journalists. Other great parts of the reporting aspect of the book include several fun reporting anecdotes (I really, really hope that the story about one of Levin’s articles distressing a grifter so much that he sued the paper claiming the article caused him rectal bleeding, is true), as well as the examination of other parts of other parts of journalism, such as the emergence of podcasts as a source of media.

Another fantastic element to the story was the author’s examination of the massive industry that has formed around DNA testing for criminal, scientific and personal reasons. Through the course of his investigation, McEvoy discovers that the connection between several of the victims is due to DNA testing. This prompts him to investigate the DNA testing from a consumer watchdog perspective, which allows Connelly to examine a number of potential issues behind the current craze of DNA testing, and he shows it to be an extremely unregulated industry where a lot of unethical actions and behaviours can occur. This proves to be an extremely fascinating part of the book’s plot, especially as Connelly puts forth several different ways that such an industry could be abused for personal or criminal purposes, some of which are rather disturbing in their implications. Connelly did an amazing job exploring the downsides of DNA testing in this book, and it was both extremely fascinating and little scary (it made me glad that I’ve never sent my DNA in for testing, that’s all I’m saying), especially in the way that it was tied into Fair Warning’s mystery.

Michael Connelly has once again showed why he is one of the world’s preeminent authors of crime fiction as he has written another outstanding and highly addictive novel. Fair Warning contains an excellent and captivating story that I could not get enough of. I had an incredible time reading this amazing and clever novel and it comes highly recommended. It has also got me extremely excited for Connelly’s next novel, The Law of Innocence, which comes out later this year.

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