The Proving Ground - Michael Connelly

The Proving Ground

By Michael Connelly

  • Release Date: 2025-10-21
  • Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 2,559 Ratings

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

  • Fabulous

    5
    By LQ Shopper
    Another spellbinding, fascinating story from my favorite author.
  • The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly

    5
    By bogie14086
    Another 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

    5
    By JBLakers
    One of his best. Love Haller moving to civil trials that opens up all kinds of possibilities.
  • Very Timely

    5
    By MinRay
    This 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

    2
    By Say-Say Jane
    It 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

    5
    By Uncle folger
    Excellent book. Well written, as always, and compelling story. 5 stars
  • Amazing

    5
    By Wilson Bowie
    Absolutely worth reading! Looking forward to reading more books this talented author.
  • An interesting read

    4
    By Amigo73
    The 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 …

    5
    By SpideyMac1949
    … when he moves from criminal to civil cases and still kicks tushy.
  • Connelly delivers as always

    5
    By SharksFanKy
    I’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.