To get excited about Michael Connelly’s latest novel, I only needed to hear two names: Haller and Bosch. RESURRECTION WALK pairs up retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch and his half-brother, defense attorney and self-proclaimed “Lincoln Lawyer” Mickey Haller. It has been hard to avoid these two characters as they have grown larger than life thanks to the streaming series “Bosch: Legacy” and “The Lincoln Lawyer.”

The book opens with the most satisfying thing that could ever happen to a defense attorney --- the freeing of an innocent person. Jorge Ochoa enjoys his “resurrection walk” away from the prison where he had been wrongfully stuck inside and tells Haller that he saved his life. This motivates Haller to seek out other opportunities to feel this legal rush of adrenaline, which leads him to Lucinda Sanz.

"RESURRECTION WALK is an outstanding legal thriller from start to finish that contains a dream team of dual protagonists as engaging as any pair found in this genre."

Lucinda is incarcerated for killing her ex-husband, Roberto, who just happened to be a county sheriff. He also was purported to have been a member of an internal law enforcement gang that is definitely not to be messed with and is the likely reason that Lucinda is behind bars. Haller decides to give her case a deeper look. He knows that Bosch has a sixth sense when it comes to a person’s guilt, so he wants to put him in front of her. Their meeting goes well. Lucinda is direct about her innocence and her desire to get back to her now-14-year-old son. Our boys are sold on her.

Next, Haller meets with the attorney who represented Lucinda, Frank Silver, who is a real sketchy type. He immediately has Silver’s number and threatens him with a wrongful representation slap if he doesn’t turn over everything from the case. They make a deal, and Haller learns from the extremely thin files that Silver gave his former client little to no defense. Meanwhile, Bosch talks to other people on their list, including the woman with whom Roberto was having an affair. It seems fairly evident that Lucinda was railroaded.

This all leads to the event that dominates the book’s second half: attempting to overturn Lucinda’s guilty verdict in front of a lone judge. As Haller describes it to Bosch, it is like David taking on Goliath: David is the defense, while Goliath is the State of California and their endless resources. Haller has his work cut out for him as he tries to take down the prosecution with his legal slingshot. It is why so few of these cases ever make it this far, let alone get overturned.

Assistant Attorney General Hayden Morris does not seem to have much cause for worry, despite his many objections to the initial string of terrific witnesses that Haller brings forward for the defense. It is as if Morris has something up his sleeve or knows something that Haller and Bosch don’t. What transpires is a court battle that rivals anything I have read before. It shows off Connelly and his plotting skills at their most impactful.

RESURRECTION WALK is an outstanding legal thriller from start to finish that contains a dream team of dual protagonists as engaging as any pair found in this genre. Saying that a Connelly novel is a must-read is an understatement, and his longtime readers will absolutely love this one.