I’m not too sure if this book should be rated 2 stars or 3; maybe if there was an option for 2 and a half I would be happy. Let’s start with the story; which was very predictable (well up into about 2/3 of the way through anyway). The characters and the story was just an annoying cliché which made it very difficult to enjoy. There is a line in the novel said by one of his ex wives said that proves just how much of a cliché this book is; "You're a sleazy defence lawyer with two ex-wives and an eight-year-old daughter and we all love you."

Getting away from the bad points; let me look at what I did like about this book. Michael Connelly is a decent writer, and he really knows how to control the pace of the story. The characters (even if typical character types) are well written and drive the story along, very well. I am grateful that I did stick with this story to the end; after the first 2/3 of the book I was ready to quit; because it was just too predictable. But I was surprised with some unexpected twists and fast paced writing the finish off the book.

The book would work well as a movie (coming soon), and I don’t mind wasting an hour and half on a predictable story full of cliché characters, but when it comes to a book, I want something fresh and different.