Michael Connelly
Michael Connelly's latest novel is The Gods of Guilt.
From his 2013 Q & A with Charles Taylor at the Barnes & Noble Review:
The Barnes & Noble Review: Mickey Haller tells us that the title The Gods of Guilt is lawyer slang for the jury. And guilt takes many forms in the book, not just what those gods will decide but the burden Mickey carries with him. Can you talk a little about the virtues of guilt as both dramatic device and as something that allows you to explore your hero's psyche?--Marshal Zeringue
Michael Connelly: I think it was Raymond Chandler who said there is a quality of redemption in anything that is art. I believe it and so I think that if you have a character in a book who is operating with a sense of guilt then he is a character seeking redemption. This can be very dramatic. In this book I think the heart of the story is Mickey struggling with the guilt of having damaged his relationship with his daughter. He wants her back. That's his redemption and in his way, he sees a not guilty verdict in his case as a means to that redemption.
BNR: Mickey Haller gets to take shortcuts that Harry Bosch couldn't. Is part of the pleasure of writing the character finding ways to indulge that defense lawyer's craftiness?
MC: Yes, Harry has more rules and he is also the one with the noble mission. So when I write about Mickey I feel this freedom to really go down into the trenches of the justice system. I know that no matter what short cuts he takes or how off his moral compass seems to be, I can always bring him into the good graces of the reader by the end.
BNR: Do you see consonances between these two characters?
MC: I think on a very broad level they are moving...[read on]
