Lincoln Lawyer Giveaway

   

On March 18th, the film The Lincoln Lawyer, based on the book by Michael Connelly, debuts in theaters nationwide. It stars Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who represents lowlife types and operates out of the back of his Lincoln sedan.  Also in the all-star cast are Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena and Bryan Cranston, with Brad Furman directing.

Forbes magazine said of the book, "Master mystery novelist Connelly has created one of the most memorable characters in modern American literature, defense attorney Mickey Haller, who narrates this tale. Haller is cynical and ethically challenged (he describes how he bribes bail bondsmen to steer good cases his way), and a negligent (divorced) dad to his daughter from his first marriage. But he comes across as a sympathetic, multidimensional character in whom still lurk idealism, humanity, conscience and a desire to do better by his child, even while he exemplifies almost every stereotype of the ambulance-chasing, publicity-seeking, rule-bending defense lawyer."

For an excerpt from the book, check out this link, and you can also visit the movie's Facebook page here, as well as two movie trailers on Michael Connelly's site.

In advance of the film's release, you can be one of five lucky winners to receive a copy of The Lincoln Lawyer novel, as well as a movie poster. Just send along your name and e-mail address to bv@bvlawson.com (your information will be kept private) and put "Lincoln Lawyer Giveaway" in the subject line. The winners will be drawn at random and posted here on the blog February 1st.

You Can Have Three Seconds Free

  Here's a way to start off the New Year right:  you can win one of five free copies of Three Seconds by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellström (being released in the U.S. tomorrow). The book received the 2009 Swedish Crime Novel of the Year award from the Swedish Crime Writers' Association, sold over 1.5 million copies in Sweden and spent 13 months on the bestseller list there.

Ali Karim selected it as one of January magazine's top crime fiction titles for 2010, adding, "Tense and gripping, with a chilling climax, Three Seconds boasts plenty of insider knowledge about the ways in which criminals and undercover agents work."

Roslund, an acclaimed investigative journalist, and Hellström, an ex-criminal who spent years working to rehabilitate criminals, combine inside knowledge of the brutal reality of criminal life with searing social criticism that puts them at the forefront of modern Scandinavian crime writing and has reviewers calling them the heirs-apparent to Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell. Carol Memmott of USA Today said that "Americans are finally catching on to what thriller fans around the world already know — that the Swedish team of Roslund & Hellstrom is writing explosive crime novels as good, if not better, than those of Stieg Larsson."

Three Seconds follows ex-con Piet Hoffman, the Swedish police force's most valuable informant, who has infiltrated the Polish mafia inside an infamous maximum-security prison. Success will mean freedom and the chance to start a new life with his beloved wife and two young sons; failure will mean certain death. His survival depends on Detective Inspector Ewert Grens, a brilliant, complex, neurotic man charged with investigating a drug-related killing involving Hoffman — but unaware of Hoffmann's real identity, Grens instead believes he's on the trail of a dangerous psychopath. To complicate matters further, the cops who helped Hoffman infiltrate the prison and promised to protect him now want him dead, and someone has told Hoffman's fellow prisoners he's a snitch.

If you'd like a chance to win one of the five copies of this book, send your name, postal address and e-mail address to bv@bvlawson.com and type "Three Seconds Giveaway" (or something to that effect) in the subject line. But hurry — entries will be accepted only until midnight EST, Wednesday, January 5th, 2011, with the winners chosen via random drawing and posted the following day. Note:  unfortunately, this one is open to U.S. residents only.