COURTROOM THRILLER 2025: THE PROVING GROUND by MICHAEL CONNELLY
Michael Connelly’s latest ‘Lincoln Lawyer’ novel, The Proving Ground (Allen & Unwin, 21 October 2025), moves more into John Grisham territory with its David versus Corporate Goliath theme.
Seeking a positive change, Mickey Haller has moved away from criminal cases into public litigation, and has filed 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. Mickey is representing the parents of both the boy and his victim, and is seeking to expose the largely unregulated and expanding AI business and their lack of training guardrails.
The company responsible for the chatbot is at risk of losing billions in potential ruined business opportunities, and throws everything into the case. This may be a more rarified atmosphere than Mickey’s usual criminal haunts, but the game is played just as hard, with the company engaging in witness harassment, hiding evidence and trying to pressure Mickey’s clients. Fortunately, Mickey has a few tricks of his own.
The Proving Ground is an interesting change of direction for Connelly. Although there is no murder mystery as such, there is plenty of tension and the book weaves its way through a good number of surprises and unexpected developments. Connelly is good at showing the ebb and flow of a major court case, and the outcome is certainly in doubt until the final pages. The legal manoeuvring is always fascinating and believable in a Haller novel, and there is certainly no shortage of enjoyable antics and engrossing insider legal detail in The Proving Career. There is also a moving and engaging secondary storyline involving an old case from Mickey’s early career, which adds to the fabric of the book.
In addition, The Proving Ground has the other elements we have come to expect from a Connelly novel: astute and interesting characters, interesting reflections on society, vivid descriptions of LA and a good sense of suspense. There is also a strong contemporary feel to the book, with the story unfolding against ‘real time’ recent events in LA and America, including the effects of the recent devastating bushfires around the city, lingering effects of COVID, the rise of the Incel movement, corporate responsibility, and, of course, the changes caused by AI: “(it) will soon engulf our world like a tidal wave. It can’t be stopped. Not by a lawyer. Not by a jury.”
Fans of Connelly’s novels will also appreciate the reappearance of the journalist turned author Jack McEvoy, who we last saw in Fair Warning, and a nod of the head to new Connelly regulars, Renee Ballard and Maddie Bosch: “that girl is going to be a top-notch investigator”.
In all, The Proving Ground is a slight play on the usual Haller novel, but is none the worse for it. It is a gripping and powerful novel that deals with a raft of fascinating and important issues, and is one of the year’s best crime books. Highly recommended.
The Proving Ground is released in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom on 21October 2025, albeit with different covers and publishers. Thanks to Allen & Unwin and the Canberra Weekly for providing a review copy.