The Proving Ground: A Lincoln Lawyer Novel
4.7 | 19,253 ratings
Price: 14.99
Last update: 12-30-2025
Product details
- ASIN : B0DZ24GYPN
- Publisher : Little, Brown and Company
- Accessibility :
- Publication date : October 21, 2025
- Language : English
- File size : 1.8 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 387 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-0316563840
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Book 8 of 8 : Lincoln Lawyer
- Best Sellers Rank:#87 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Police Procedurals (Books)
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- Customer Reviews:4.74.7 out of 5 stars(10,356)
Top reviews from the United States
- Richard B. SchwartzAn Absolute StunnerI was not a great fan of MC’s NIGHTSHADE, but I was delighted to see this comeback. THE PROVING GROUND is not just one of MC’s best Lincoln Lawyer novels, it is one of his best novels. Period. Full Stop.
The subject could not be more current and relevant to our cultural challenges. (A similar court case was being reported on the national news just as I was returning to read the novel.) A lonely and lost teenager engages with an AI chatbot who encourages him to commit murder. His victim’s mother and his own parents hire Mickey to sue the tech company in civil court, where he faces two legal adversaries, a set of obnoxious brothers.
The story basically consists of the entire trial process, with a small subplot concerning Mickey’s attempt to have a dying, innocent man released from prison so that he can end his days with his beloved daughter.
The usual elements are all in place: MC’s total command of the California setting, an array of interesting characters, occupying all points on the loveable-to-evil spectrum and a riveting plot with twists and turns aplenty. The dazzling element, however, is the ‘knowledge’ segment—the author’s ability to know and depict the details of a complex subject (in this case, two subjects, the world of AI and the world of the modern courtroom). MC enjoys a large and highly-skilled research team but the bottom line is that he must put the whole shebang together and utilize the numerous factual elements to help shape a complex but fully intelligible plot, without the convoluted, opaque story lines which are, unfortunately, all too common in today’s fiction and films/tv series.
Parenthetically, it is a common complaint that we have a supply/demand problem with courtroom drama. We want more of it but there is very little on offer. Thank the Lord for MC and Mickey Haller. The amazing thing is that MC was originally a crime reporter, not a lawyer. His knowledge of courtroom maneuvering and, of course, the law itself, is stunning.
I sometimes refer to my favorite books as ‘carry around’ books, describing them as so compelling that they never leave your hands and you seize a minute or two of reading time wherever you are and wherever you can. This is such a book.
Five stars; a MC masterpiece. - Mark EvermannAnother Outstanding Tale by Michael ConnellyWhat an excellent book! I’ve read all Mr Connelly’s books and amazingly they just get better and better. Plenty of courtroom drama and big personalities in this one. I love his legal staff and talented character development. This book addresses some interesting AI issues that we will all be facing in the near future. This is a “can’t miss” read.
- charles petersonExcellent, but Heavy on the Courtroom DramaConnelley, along with Amor Towles, is my favorite current author. I started with The Lincoln Lawyer which remains in my personal Top Ten of books. So…..I was really looking forward to this one. And I did enjoy it.
The book read very well. Plus it was informative in its discussion of AI which is all the rage in investment circles these days. I must say, however, that it seemed like something was missing. After thinking about it, I think my issue was that almost the entire book was courtroom drama.
Nevertheless, a Connelley with something missing is better than most other authors’ best effort. - Michael RaineyBrilliant! Maybe Connelly's best.Michael Connelly is to me, the gold standard of mystery/thriller writers. While I have enjoyed the Lincoln Lawyer books, I felt they fell a little short of the Bosch series. Not this one.
The Proving Ground is excellent on all levels; story, character development, pace and intrigue. But it really stands out in two areas: the depth of understandable communication about A/I, and the detailed narrative of trial prep and procedure. To me, this book was brilliant, maybe Connelly's best yet. - Steven AxelrodMichael Connelly is back!After a depressingly flat outing earlier this year, I had begun to think that Connelly was burned out. But Mickey Haller seems to bring out both the passionate lawyer and the devious trickster in him. The new Lincoln Lawyer book is up-to-the-minute as it deals, compellingly, with the dangers of artificial intelligence. A tragic subplot adds resonance to the story. Altogether, a satisfying read and a welcome return to form from one of our finest crime fiction authors.
- lavdAI explained in a humane and nuanced wayI seldom give 5 stars to anythinjg but the most excellent of works. I rate Connelly's novels highly but his one, even though not as edgy as the previous works in the Lincoln lawyer series, is both excellently written and highly informative. In my effort to understand AI and my increasing discomfort with it, I have read several articles on it. I remained confused. Perhaps because Connelly is also a journalist who realizes his audience needs to understand what he is saying, the sections about the technology of AI are both simply written and highly informagtive. He has made me understand far better than I had in the past.
As for the plot? Believable, nuanced, and, as always, highly readable. - Kindle CustomerConnelly is best book yetA solid effort in a most difficult arena. First ten percent of the book are a bit slow, but don't dismiss the storyline in this book and the way it plays itself out. It is a superbly written book with a very important message for all of mankind....and the author makes his characters human in a way I've never experienced in a novel,. Well done, and with some very important issues the world needs to grapple with as this new AI becomes more and more important in, like it or not, each of our lives!