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review 2018-01-08 16:25

So I really did enjoy this one, but thought the angst that Haller was dealing with was ridiculous. I also wish that Connelly had showed us Haller running for the DA's office and how the scandal affected him in the moment. We are hearing about events from about a year ago in the series and it just drove me up the wall we didn't get to experience it.

Haller is down and out in this one. He has returned to drinking, and seems to be going through the motions. Haller lost trying to run as a DA after a former client of his ends up killing someone close to Hayley and Maggie. Haller is blamed and just gets destroyed at the polls. What's worse is that Hayley and even Maggie barely speak to him anymore. He hasn't seen his daughter in a year, and when he does see Maggie at the courthouse she turns and goes in another direction. Haller keeps seeing his father's old partner (called Legal) who is doing his best to get Haller to get over his shit and get back to defending his clients. A fire has gone out in Haller and everyone can see it.

When Haller gets a call to defend a man who is charged with killing a prostitute, Haller is curious how his name was brought up. The ties into the case that first brought us Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer) was pretty fantastic. Haller starts to get back a little of what he lost in the preceding year and even gets a love interest in this one (that I ended up feeling sorry for throughout).

Haller is ready to take down the dragon in this one since he realizes that he truly has a client that is innocent, problem is that there are many that want him to go to jail since it would bring up a lot of corruption.

We have Haller get put in harm's way and we lose a character that I loved. Haller talks about the personal jury that judges us all in the end, and I feel for him. He's definitely got his groove back by the end of the book. But what comes before definitely changes him.

We get recurring characters in this one. We have Lorna judging Haller a lot in this one. I wish we had some more dialogue between these two since Haller acts way too much like her husband at times and she is angry at Haller too.

We have a Bosch sighting (seriously though it's weird Bosch was all blase about his half brother almost being killed) that made me shrug a bit.

The court room scenes still are my favorite parts of this series.

The ending leaves Haller at a type of peace for the moment.

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text 2018-01-08 00:25

Reading progress update: I've read 100 out of 400 pages.

Abandoned by Booklikes

I'm finished with The Gods of Guilt: Wow. So we missed a period of time with Mickey. After failing to win when he runs as DA due to a previous case he's involved with leads to two deaths, Mickey is down. His ex and daughter don't speak to him and he's not doing much these days. Until a call brings him another criminal case which has Mickey fighting for his and his clients life.

Michael Connelly The Gods of Guilt

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review 2016-09-01 17:06

Spooky's House Of Books

Defense attorney Mickey Haller returns with a haunting case in the gripping new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly.

Mickey Haller gets the text, "Call me ASAP - 187," and the California penal code for murder immediately gets his attention. Murder cases have the highest stakes and the biggest paydays, and they always mean Haller has to be at the top of his game.

When Mickey learns that the victim was his own former client, a prostitute he thought he had rescued and put on the straight and narrow path, he knows he is on the hook for this one. He soon finds out that she was back in LA and back in the life. Far from saving her, Mickey may have been the one who put her in danger.

Haunted by the ghosts of his past, Mickey must work tirelessly and bring all his skill to bear on a case that could mean his ultimate redemption or proof of his ultimate guilt. The Gods of Guilt shows once again why "Michael Connelly excels, easily surpassing John Grisham in the building of courtroom suspense

What did I think of it:
OMG this was a hole lot better than I thought it would be, I knew going in to it that I would love it since its by Michael Connelly and I love his Harry Bosch series, and even though this is the this book 6 in the Mickey Haller series and the first time I've ever picked up one of the books from that series , I'm not afraid to say that I'm 100% hooked , loved every thing about it, once I started reading I was hooked, it had me pulled in to from the very start, didn't even want to put it down, and the character Mike Haller , doing the enter time I was reading it I kept picturing him to look like Matthew McConaughey, who played Mickey Haller in The Lincoln Lawyer movie,

plus this book made me cry in some parts of it.

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text 2015-12-26 19:45

2015 Reading Recap

Themis-Athena's Garden of Books

The Secret Life of Winnie Cox - Sharon Maas

The Small Fortune of Dorothea Q - Sharon Maas

Joseph Fouché: Bildnis eines politischen Menschen - Stefan Zweig

A Place of Greater Safety - Hilary Mantel

Hogfather (Discworld, #20) - Terry Pratchett

No fancy graphics and no astounding numbers – in fact, rather average numbers for me, these days – but anyway, here we go:

Total Number of Books Read:

68

– including rereads
– but excluding my current read, Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell (which is bound to take me all the way to the end of the year).

Rereads:

21

Including my annual Christmas revisitings:

Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol

Dorothy L. Sayers: The Nine Tailors

Arthur Conan Doyle: The Blue Carbuncle

Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot's Christmas

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens The Adventures of the Blue Carbuncle - Arthur Conan Doyle The Nine Tailors - Dorothy L. Sayers, Elizabeth George Hercule Poirot's Christmas - Agatha Christie Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot) - Agatha Christie

The Year's Top Reads

Sharon Maas: The Small Fortune of Dorothea Q.

The Secret Life of Winnie Cox

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit (reread)

Val McDermid: The Skeleton Road

Hilary Mantel: A Place of Greater Safety

Stefan Zweig: Joseph Fouché

Andrew Nicoll: The Secret Life and Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne

Anaïs Nin: Henry and June

Michael Connelly: The Gods of Guilt

David Baldacci (ed.), Various Authors: Face-Off

Anthony Horowitz: Moriarty

Terry Pratchett: Hogfather (begun Dec. 2014)

Breakdown of Ratings:

10

18

23

6

1

Average Rating

Including Christmas rereads: 3,94

Excluding Christmas rereads: 3,87

Books Shelved as Favorites:

25

Of these, new reads: 14

Rereads: 11 – including 5 Christmas rereads

Breakdown of Shelves:

(Note: Virtually all of my books are shelved in multiple ways)

Nobel Prize Winners: 1

1001 Books: 6

Classics: 46

Short Fiction: 37

Theatre: 3

Poetry: 2

Mysteries and Crime Fiction: 44

– American: 3

– British: 41

Fantasy: 2

Romance: 4

20th Century & Contemporary BritLlit: 16

20th Century & Contemporary America: 1

Canada & Canadian Literature: 1

Germany & German Literature: 1

France & French Literature: 5

Italy & Italian Literature: 1

Scotland: 6

Eastern Europe: 1

Russia: 2

California & Southwestern USA: 1

Down Under (= Oz & NZ): 1

Orient & Asia: 2

– India & Indian Subcontinent: 1

– Southeast Asia: 1

Africa: 1

Historical Fiction: 8

Key Historic / Period Elements or Setting (in contemporaneous fiction): 5

Nonfiction: 7

– History: 4

– Politics: 1

– Memoirs - Biographies - Letters - Diaries: 4

– Essays - Addresses - Lectures: 3

– Art & Architecture: 3

– Travel: 1

– Reference: 1

Humor - Comedy - Satire: 6

Children's & YA Literature: 1

Cats: 1

Anthologies: 1

So, not one of my most diverse and international reading years, it would appear – lots of classics, lots of mysteries and crime fiction, and predominantly British literature. But on the plus side, in their vast majority good or even great reads, which ultimately is what's most important!

reading life reading stats statistics reading experience status updates year in review reading recap 2015 reads yearly recap reading statistics 2015 in review yearly reading

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review 2015-01-09 02:15

The Lincoln Lawyer is Back in Action

Irresponsible Reader

Getting a not-guilty verdict was a long shot. Even when you knew in your gut that you were sitting next to an innocent man at the defense table, you also knew that the NGs came grudgingly from a system designed only to deal with the guilty.

Which is why most novels about lawyers are about defense lawyers -- there's more drama when they win (Mickey's cynicism/realism also says something about our judical system -- but that's a matter for another kind of blog). Note how little time Rachel Knight, the prosecutor, spends in court in her novels.

But from Perry Mason to Ben Matlock to Andy Carpenter to the real life attorneys, we want to read about and watch defense attorneys. We want to see them work within (and outside) the system, up to the point where the jury, the "Gods of Guilt" decide the fate of the defendant. Sometimes these "Gods" choose correctly, sometimes not. We rarely think of the consequences of these verdicts -- in fiction, we almost never see them.

This novel is practically all about those consequences -- and the events spiraling out of them. Almost a decade ago, Mickey Haller used some information one of his client's possessed to get her a good deal. Which worked out nicely for all concerned (except the guy she had the information about), until she winds up dead -- after telling her accused killer that if he's in legal trouble, Mickey Haller is the only name to call.

Mickey's dealing with some more immediate consequences -- a man he successfully defended went on to get drunk and run down an innocent mother and child. Mickey's blamed for this -- which derails his D.A. campaign and derails his relationship with his daughter (who knew one of the victims).

So, when Mickey is presented with a prospective client he believes is innocent, he grabs at the chance for a little public and familial redemption. But before these "Gods" can weigh in, there's a long road to be walked, prices to pay, deals to be made, and secrets to uncover.

I'd forgotten how slow these books start -- Connelly's masterful and putting the pieces together in a way that makes the ending seem inevitable -- once you get there. But man, at times the build up can bog you down. Sure, there were other things going on -- but it took me 3 days to get through the first 200-250 pages, and then 1 day for the next 150-200, because as slow as things start -- when it all starts to come together, it's a smooth and fast ride.

Aside from the twisty and tricky plot, is, of course, character -- which is really what brings readers back to this kind of series. And there's a lot to think about in this one.

For one, there's the new character, David "Legal" Siegel, Mickey's father's law partner. He's living in a fairly totalitarian retirement home (probably for good reason, not that Legal or Mickey seem to care), but still has fantastic defense instincts and helps Mickey and his associate, Jennifer Aronson, with some of their more clever strategies. He's a fun addition to the cast, and I hope to see more of him.

I wasn't quite as impressed with Jennifer Aronson's characterization. I don't care how new she is to the whole criminal defense thing, there's no way that someone with any kind of experience -- or a TV -- needs to have the concept of "burner phone" explained. I get that Jennifer Aronson needs to have some things explained to her -- and the reader via Aronson -- but c'mon, really? Still, it's good to see Mickey mentoring someone, and having someone else in the firm to do some legwork does open up narrative possibilities for future novels. Although, Mickey keeps talking about Aronson leaving him and being more successful than him -- is this Connelly setting up a spin-off series?

Cisco, Earl, Lorna 2 and Maggie were along as well -- nothing both notable and not-spoilery to say about them. They played their narrative roles well, and as they should. There's a notable exception to this, but can't talk about it now.!!!!!

Naturally, the focus is on Micky Haller, in the courtroom (and associated areas), he's a shark. He's a pro. He's a wiz. And he knows it -- which sometimes makes you groan, other times you relish it. Connelly's honest enough to make Mickey's confidence come back to bite him -- it happened once during this trial, and even though I pretty much saw it coming, I still gave him a sympathetic wince. There was another point where I was actually talking back to the book, begging Mickey not to be so cocky. Fairly sure that things were going so well for him that he would screw things up with a witness/suspect.

As (almost) always, his personal life is in shambles. Mickey's relationship with his daughter, Hayley, is always one of the more endearing aspects of this series, and to see the estrangement between them is rough. Connelly isn't a guy that typically gets emotional reactions (other than suspense, and satisfaction from victory) from a reader -- but Mickey having to covertly watch his daughter's soccer practice through binoculars? No way that doesn't tug on a heart string (while you hope no one catches him in the act and thinks he's some sort of predator).

Throughout The Gods of Guilt there's a Palpable sense of loneliness to Mickey, he's always looking for people to be watching him in court. Thanks to the election loss, the DUI, etc. people's perceptions of him are really damaged, really negative. All Mickey wants is someone, anyone really, to see him doing well, to see him doing something good. Sure, it's better if it's someone he cares about seeing him do that, however, and he's always looking for it.

Naturally, things wrap up in a satisfying manner, and then we're treated to one of the best closing paragraphs that Connelly's written (if not the best, and he's written too many of them for this lazy blogger to verify). The last four paragraphs cement in the reader's mind just what kind of person the Lincoln Lawyer really is beneath the headlines, the courtroom antics, and the car.

A slow-burn of a read, like I said, but once you reach the tipping point, the reader is hanging on every word -- just like the jury, Mickey's Gods of Guilt are to the drama unfolding before them.

Source: t.co/7VnIDBNhqP