My Readers Guide to The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly discusses book eight in the Lincoln Lawyer series. The Proving Ground features some big changes for Mickey Haller, and I’m here to discuss it all with you!
Readers Guide to The Proving Ground
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Table of Contents:
- Jen’s Quick Take on The Proving Ground
- Character List
- Brief Summary of The Proving Ground and My Thoughts
- My Questions on The Proving Ground Answered! What are yours?
Jen’s Quick Take on The Proving Ground
- The Proving Ground is book eight in the Lincoln Lawyer series featuring Mickey Haller.
- The Lincoln Lawyer series has been adapted for Netflix.
- There’s also a 2011 movie starring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, and Ryan Phillippe.
- Mickey was called the “Lincoln Lawyer” because he was a defense lawyer who ran his business out of his car.
- But as of this book, Mickey has decided to switch from criminal defense to civil cases.
- The legal case in The Proving Ground is an interesting one, featuring an AI bot how convinced a teen boy to commit murder. It’s based loosely on a real (and ongoing) case, Megan Garcia v. Character Technologies.
- To me, this read a bit like an old school David and Goliath John Grisham legal thriller, which I enjoyed.
- Publication date: October 21, 2025. Thanks so much to Little, Brown/Hachette for the advance copy.
Character List for The Proving Ground
- Mickey Haller: The Lincoln Lawyer
- Maggie McPherson: Mickey’s ex-wife, the LA County DA
- Jack McEvoy: reporter (and characer in The Poet
- Brenda Randolph: Mickey’s client
- Rebecca Randolph: Brenda’s late daughter
- Bruce and Trisha Colton: join Brenda’s suit as plaintiffs
- Aaron “AC/Ace” Colton: their son
- Cisco Wojciechowski: Mickey’s investigator
- Lorna Taylor: Mickey’s ex-wife and office manager
- Cassandra “Cassie” Snow: daughter of Mickey’s former client David Snow
- Judge Margaret Ruhlin: presiding over Randolph v. Tidalwaiv Technologies LLC
- Marcus Mason: lawyer for Tidalwaiv
- Mitchell Mason: lawyer for Tidalwaiv
- Rikki Patel: Tidalwaiv employee
- Naomi Kitchens: former Tidalwaiv employee
- Clair: Tidalwaiv’s AI companion
- Wren: Aaron’s customized AI companion
Brief Summary of The Proving Ground and My Thoughts
In the early Lincoln Lawyer books, Mickey works in a shady world
He’s a criminal defense attorney and some of his clients are not the greatest people. Many are guilty, and he’s using his legal skills to get them off.
In Mickey’s last book, Resurrection Walk, he’d already started his rehabilitation. After freeing a wrongfully convicted man, Mickey is inundated with pleas from others who need help.
In The Proving Ground, he’s practicing civil litigation. In essence, his case is a product liability case, which might sound dry.
But the “product” he’s suing over is an AI “companion” (chatbot) that convinced a teen boy to murder his girlfriend.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (which is understandable these days; no judgement!) you know that we’re in the midst of an AI explosion. The company Mickey’s client is suing is large and lucrative and the three M’s (Meta, Microsoft and Musk) are sniffing around about an acquisition.
This gives The Proving Ground a David vs. Goliath feel
Mickey against a large and very powerful company that has no qualms about using technology to spy on Mickey. (I guess civil law can be shady too!)
I didn’t do a plot summary because this book is very straightforward: courtroom wrangling, settlement talks, Mickey trying to outwit and outplay his opponents.
But I did have questions:
My Questions on The Proving Ground Answered
Who is Jack McEvoy and why is he in the book?
Jack McEvoy dates WAY back to The Poet, the first book in a three-book series featuring Jack, a reporter. In book one, he investigates the murder of his twin brother, a homicide cop. In The Scarecrow (2009), he investigates a 16 year old drug dealer who confessed to murder. But Jack thinks he might be innocent. Finally, in Fair Warning (2020) he tracks a killer who is using genetic data to pick his targets (this case is mentioned in The Proving Ground.)
McEvoy also made cameo appearances in other books. He married Keisha Russell, a reporter who often appeared in the Bosch series. He was in A Darkness More Than Night (a Bosch book published in 2000, in which he’s investigating a movie director accused of murder) and The Brass Verdict, in which he wrote an article about Mickey Haller. (The first season of the Netflix adaptation of the Lincoln Lawyer was based on The Brass Verdict.)
Why didn’t Mickey remember Jack, and why didn’t Jack mention this?
That’s weird, right? I’m going to have to look at the book and see. It’s definitely possible that they never met, and that Mickey forgot about the article, but it’s a bit odd that Jack didn’t mention it.
What is the real case that inspired the book?
The case is Megan Garcia v. Character Technologies. Garcia’s fourteen year old son, Sewell, took his own life. The suit alleges that Sewell fell into an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship with a Game of Thrones of Thrones inspired AI chatbot.
How Do We Feel About Mickey Getting Back with Maggie?
Mickey has had two ex-wives and (I believe) had a relationship with a client as well. In this book, Maggie’s house burns down in a fire which seems inspired by the LA Palisades fire of early 2025. She moves in with Mickey, and well, old habits die hard.
What Are Your Questions?
I’m a member of The Proving Ground bookclub that is hosted by Michael Connelly’s publisher. (I emailed my subscribers about this). If I get any inside info on this, I will add it here!