The Proving Ground
By Michael Connelly
- Release Date: 2025-10-21
- Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
Description
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly, the Lincoln Lawyer is back with a case against an AI company whose product may have been responsible for the murder of a young girl.
Following his “resurrection walk” and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing 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.
Representing the victim’s family, Mickey’s case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy’s digging ultimate delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake.
It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM’s Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called “the knight’s sacrifice.” Haller will take a similar gambit in court to defeat the mega forces of the AI industry lined up against him and his clients.
Reviews
A must read
5By DdddiceExcellent…as usual.A Very Good LL Novel
4By TigersJC86I did enjoy this Lincoln Lawyer novel but I wouldn’t say it’s the best. There wasn’t quite the threat to Mickey like in most of the LL novels. He also used more dirty tactics that felt a bit unwarranted and seemed wrong even for a guy that bends the rules. It was an interesting case though regarding culpability of AI and the consequences companies and people could face if not handled properly.The Proving Ground
5By suemac78587Excellent! It helped me, as a lay person, to understand the demons that could be lurking in the biases of the human coders who “train” (code) the AI companion app. Beware!The proving ground
5By Bibi Cakes1Wow. What an incredible book. So well written and interesting.Underwhelming
3By Super fun and entertainingWhile the book was entertaining to an extent, I feel like this was the worst of the Lincoln Lawyer novels. The ending felt very anticlimactic and I was left wanting there to be more to the story.Haller at His Best
5By Eyerish21As I read the Lincoln Lawyer series Matthew McConaughey voice is the one in my head as Mickey, not Manuel Garcia Rulfo. It drives me crazy while watching the show that he is called Holler, not Haller.Deeply engaging
5By SheWhoIsFrom page one, this book grabbed my attention and interest. It is as contemporary as it can be concerning AI and the current political angst many of us feel deeply. Thoroughly enjoyable!Fabulous
5By LQ ShopperAnother spellbinding, fascinating story from my favorite author.The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly
5By bogie14086Another fine work by Michael Connelly. It gave me some insight into the world of AI that I previously was lacking. We should all be cautious about this new technology before diving in head first! I’m sure AI can be a very useful technology but it also should be monitored closely by those in the know.The Proving Ground
5By JBLakersOne of his best. Love Haller moving to civil trials that opens up all kinds of possibilities.Very Timely
5By MinRayThis is typical Michael Connelly with well-drawn characters and fun plot twists. The focus on the upside and downside of AI couldn’t be more timely.The Proving Ground
2By Say-Say JaneIt was ok, but he would much better suited going back to writing Bosch novels. More interesting and deeper than Haller, and lawyer stories are not my cup of tea. Prequels, maybe.Excellent
5By Uncle folgerExcellent book. Well written, as always, and compelling story. 5 starsAmazing
5By Wilson BowieAbsolutely worth reading! Looking forward to reading more books this talented author.An interesting read
4By Amigo73The story was a bit drawn-out, but it kept my interest. It is good to see a character grow and evolve, which is very true to like and makes the characters more believable.When is the Lincoln Lawyer not the Lincoln Lawyer …
5By SpideyMac1949… when he moves from criminal to civil cases and still kicks tushy.Connelly delivers as always
5By SharksFanKyI’ve been reading his books forever. Ever since I found a remaindered copy of TheConcrete Blonde at a discount bookstore decades ago. My favorite author, I love his characters and his stories are always compelling. Tackling AI as a subject was a great hook and the resulting story was great. As always I’m sorry to see the last page.The Proving Ground
4By brookseaOkay not great.Great Read
5By Weekly ColumnistGreat read! Revealed a lot of research into AI, especially about generative AI. I see how AI affects my college students every day. Weekly columnist.
