Week 13 – The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Last year on Mondays we had fun with books. This year, we'll look at most of the same books but also some new ones, and see if the first line [or first paragraph] met the goal of a first line which is ==> to hook the reader's attention.

Here are some tips on writing a first line

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tips-for-writing-the-opening-line-of-your-novel

Week 13 – The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

https://www.michaelconnelly.com/writing/thelincolnlawyer/

First published: October 3, 2005

Here's what the story is about: Michael “Mickey” Haller is a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles County who works out of a Lincoln Town Car. Most of his clients are drug dealers and gangsters, but he takes on the case against a wealthy Los Angeles realtor, Louis Roulet, accused of assault and attempted murder.

First line/paragraph:
“There is no client as scary as an innocent man.”
–J. Michael Haller, Criminal Defense Attorney, Los Angeles, 1962
Chapter One
Monday, March 7
The morning air off the Mojave in late winter is as clean and crisp as you’ll ever breathe in Los Angeles County. It carries the taste of promise on it. When it starts blowing in like that I like to keep a window open in my office. There are a few people who know this routine of mine, people like Fernando Valenzuela. The bondsman, not the baseball pitcher. He called me as I was coming into Lancaster for a 9 o’clock calendar call. He must have heard the wind whistling in my cell phone.

This story starts with a quote. I've read other books that begin with a quote, but it's usually an actual quote by an actual famous person, not a fictional quote by a fictional character. But this quote sets up the entire book and does it well. The reader is primed for a story about an attorney who will be defending an innocent man.

The first paragraph gives the setting [Los Angeles County, late winter] but not just a list of facts. We learn the setting through the first-person POV of someone enjoying the morning while on his way to Lancaster, the beginning of plot. The rest of chapter 1 describes the morning of a criminal defense attorney on his way to court.

Does this first line/paragraph hook your attention? If you had never heard of this story, would you buy this book in 2024? Knowing the story, would you change the first line? Tell us in the comments!