History Literature / TheGodsOfGuilt

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:If James Marco is indeed the dead body in the cartel execution video Mickey receives in the epilogue. While it's absolutely horrifying to watch, Mickey also doesn't shed any tears and feels Marco got what he deserves.]]

* It'sPersonal: [[spoiler:Following Earl's murder, Mickey becomes determined to bring down Marco to avenge his chauffeur in addition to clearing Andre's name.]]

* EvilIsPetty: Damon Kennedy, Haller's political opponent in the DA Election. Upon winning the election, he retaliated against Maggie (who'd politically supported Mickey's run) by pulling her off all her ongoing prosecutorial cases and drop-kicked her into a demeaning dead-end divisional office filing role; it's one of the reasons Maggie accepts the job transfer out to Ventura County. According to Haller, Maggie ironically got lucky compared to another deputy who'd also politically supported him and got [[ReassignedToAntarctica politically exiled out to Antelope Valley. Said deputy has since quit the business.

* EvilIsPetty: Damon Kennedy, Haller's political opponent in the DA Election. Upon winning the election, he retaliated against Maggie (who'd politically supported Mickey's run) by pulling her off all her ongoing prosecutorial cases and fdrop-kicked her into a a dead-end divisional office filing role; it's one of the reasons Maggie accepts the job transfer out to Ventura County. According to Haller, Maggie ironically got lucky compared to another deputy who'd also politically supported him and got [[ReassignedToAntarctica politically exiled out to Antelope Valley. Said deputy has since quit the business.

* EvilIsPetty: Damon Kennedy, Haller's political opponent in the DA Election. Upon winning the election, he retaliated against Maggie (who'd politically supported Mickey's run) by pulling her off all active court work and leaving her stuck in a dead-end divisional office filing role; it's one of the reasons Maggie accepts the job transfer to Ventura County. According to Haller, in a way she ironically got lucky (compared to another deputy who'd also politically supported him and got [[ReassignedToAntarctica politically exiled to a courtroom out in Antelope Valley. Said deputy quit).

* EvilIsPetty: Damon Kennedy, Haller's political opponent in the DA Election. Upon winning the election, he retaliated against Maggie (who'd politically supported Mickey's run) by pulling her off court work and leaving her stuck in a dead-end divisional office filing role; it's one of the reasons Maggie accepts the job transfer to Ventura County. According to Haller, she ironically got lucky (compared to another deputy who'd also politically supported him and got [[ReassignedToAntarctica politically exiled to a courtroom out in Antelope Valley by Kennedy).

* ReassignedToAntarctica: Maggie's fate in the interim since Mickey's failed DA run thanks to Damon Kennedy's pettiness.

Defense attorney Mickey Haller is in a bad place both professionally and personally. His run for District Attorney blew up after a guy that Haller helped beat a DUI rap then went out driving drunk again and killed two people. The scandal rendered Haller's political career stillborn and estranged him from his daughter Hayley, whose classmate was one of the two people killed. And his law practice has been hurt badly enough that Haller has been left to scrounge around arraignment court trying to pick up any clients he can get.

Haller gets a better job when one Andre La Cosse asks for Haller to defend him on murder charges. La Cosse is a "digital pimp" who arranges internet bookings for various fancy prostitutes, and he has been accused of murdering a client, Gloria Dayton. Gloria Dayton is a former client of Haller's whom Mickey once tried to help get out of the life. Haller's investigation into the La Cosse case and his old friend's murder leads to a dark tale of conspiracy and corruption within the LAPD and the DEA.

* TheBusCameBack: In ''Literature/TheLincolnLawyer'' Haller arranged for Gloria Dayton to turn in fugitive drug cartel kingpin Hector Moya, as part of a complicated BatmanGambit to get himself out of a jam. Detective Lee Lankford appeared in that novel as an LAPD homicide cop bent on putting Haller away for murder. In this book Dayton's murder is the central mystery and both Moya and Lankford appear again as characters.

* ClearMyName: Haller's clients always say this, so it's disappointing when they turn out to be guilty. In this novel he actually gets a real innocent client in the person of Andre La Cosse. It's portrayed as a redemptive moment for him.
* ContinuityNod: There's the whole plot revolving around characters from ''The Lincoln Lawyer'', for starters, as well as the Harry Bosch cameo. Also, back in ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' Mickey has a con artist client name Sam Scales, who goes to jail. Mickey gets him a short sentence plus five years probation but is dubious that Sam will clear the probation. Sure enough, in this story Sam pops up again, having failed to clear the probation and facing prison for another scam.
** In ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' Det. Sobel offhandedly mentions that Lankford hates lawyers more than most cops do, because he had to pay a lawyer a lot of money in a child custody dispute, and he still lost. In this book we find out just what Lankford had to do to get the money to pay that lawyer.

* DrivenToSuicide: Lankford kills himself in the middle of court after confessing to his accessory-before-the-fact role in the Gloria Dayton murder.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The scene where Agent Marco testifies in court establishes that law enforcement officers called as witnesses at trial are allowed to enter the courthouse with their sidearms. This foreshadows Lankford, the next witness, committing suicide with a "boot gun" he had on his person.

* ThePerryMasonMethod: Sort of. Haller reveals to Detective Lankford that he, Haller, has a video of Marco and Lankford planting evidence. (It was a trap set by Haller.). Lankford, facing ruin, testifies on the stand that he was an accessory before the fact. He placed the call that brought Gloria Dayton to the hotel, so he could follow her back to her home. Lankford found out where she lived, then called Marco... and Gloria was murdered two ours later. After testifying to this in open court, Lankford shoot himself.

* ShoutOut: Mickey used to watch the Film/MenInBlack movies with his daughter.

* YourMom: Haller recites a license plate number--"One Echo Robert five six seven six"--and Detective Lankford, the antagonist, shoots back with "What is that, your mom's phone number?"

''The Gods of Guilt'' is a 2013 novel by Creator/MichaelConnelly featuring Literature/MickeyHaller. It's the fifth and, to date, last novel featuring Haller as protagonist, although Haller appears as a supporting character in several novels featuring his half-brother, Literature/HarryBosch.

* TheBusCameBack: In ''Film/TheLincolnLawyer'' Haller arranged for Gloria Dayton to turn in fugitive drug cartel kingpin Hector Moya, as part of a complicated BatmanGambit to get himself out of a jam. Detective Lee Lankford appeared in that novel as an LAPD homicide cop bent on putting Haller away for murder. In this book Dayton's murder is the central mystery and both Moya and Lankford appear again as characters.

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!!Tropes:

* YourMom: Haller recites a license plate number--"One Echo Robert five six seven six"--and Detective Lankford, the antagonist, shoots back with "What is that, your mom's phone number?"

''The Gods of Guilt'' is a 2013 novel by Creator/MichaelConnelly featuring Literature/MickeyHaller.

Haller gets a better job when one Andre La Cosse asks for Haller to defend him on murder charges. La Cosse is a "digital pimp" who arranges internet bookings for various fancy prostitutes, and he has been accused of murdering a client, one Gloria Dayton. Gloria Dayton is a former client of Haller's whom Mickey once tried to help get out of the life. Haller's investigation into the La Cosse case and his old friend's murder leads to a dark tale of conspiracy and corruption within the LAPD and the DEA.

* TheCameo: Harry Bosch, protagonist of the majority of Michael Connelly's novels, pops up briefly in one scene where he and Haller meet each other in court.

* ShoutOut: Mickey used to watch the MenInBlack movies with his daughter.

''The Gods of Guilt'' is a 2013 novel by Creator/MichaelConnelly.

* PosthumousCharacter: Gloria Dayton. Partly because the whole novel is about the mystery of her murder and what led James Marco to her and Hector Moya. But also because she was an old friend of Mickey's, and Mickey thought he'd gotten her a chance at a new and better life when he sent her off to Hawaii at the end of ''The Lincoln Lawyer''. Instead she went to Las Vegas and started hooking again, and Mickey can't understand why things didn't work out./

* YourMom: Haller recites a license plate number--"One Echo Robert five six seven six"--and Detective Lankford, the antagonist, shoots back with "What is that, your mom's phone number?"