The Proving Ground
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.
Following his “resurrection walk” and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty.
Representing the victim’s family, Mickey’s case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way 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. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy’s digging ultimate delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake.
It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM’s Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called “the knight’s sacrifice.” Haller will take a similar gambit in court to defeat the mega forces of the AI industry lined up against him and his clients.
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Michael Connelly
Michael Connelly's name has become synonymous with compelling crime fiction, capturing readers with intricate plots, morally complex characters, and a gritty exploration of justice. Born in Philadelphia in 1956 and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Connelly’s early career as a journalist gave him a front-row seat to the dark undercurrents of the world. His time reporting on crime for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times provided him with an unflinching look at human nature and the law, themes that would later define his fiction.
Lincoln Lawyer
In the high-stakes world of criminal defense, few figures stand out like Mickey Haller. Operating from the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, Haller isn't your typical lawyer. A master at navigating the murky waters of the legal system, he defends clients who others wouldn’t touch, all while grappling with his own ethical dilemmas. As a former prosecutor turned defense attorney, Haller’s career is built on the premise that justice isn’t always as clear-cut as it seems.
Lincoln Lawyer consists of seven books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of two more books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
