Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly 421 pages

Mickey Haller is once again embroiled in a murder defense case. Lisa Trammel is charged with the murder of the banker responsible for foreclosing on her home. Lisa has led protests against the bank which then got a restraining order against her. Her protests are so high profile that the media uses stock video of her when reporting on foreclosures. Haller had been taking foreclosure cases and Trammel was one of his clients. The police collect some evidence against Trammel but Haller taking his normal approach when defending in a murder case, starts digging up questionable actions by others. There is the missing husband, the company contracted by the bank to handle the foreclosure, a suspicious movie producer and an attack on Haller that seems out of place but all fits into the picture. The reader gets the sense that Mickey is not viewing murder defense as he once did without him actually missing opportunities or failing to score points against the prosecution. As usual, second guessing Connelly or trying to solve the mystery early on is nearly impossible.