Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.37 You Save: $9.62 (64%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Presumed Innocent
Book Review: A Tense and Intense Courtroom Drama
Summary: 5 Stars
"Presumed Innocent" (1987) was Scott Turow's break-out best seller in which Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rusty Sabich is put on trial for the murder of his former lover Carolyn Polhemus. In 2010 Turow wrote a sequel, "Innocent" in which Rusty is again on trial, this time for the murder of his wife Barbara. The later book has most of the same characters. Turow knows how to construct a compelling suspenseful story with great characterization and plenty of surprises.
Rusty had a steamy love affair with his prosecutor colleague Carolyn Polhemus. He failed to see that she was a scheming opportunist bent on a political future. Rusty had always been the perfect poster child for an upright incorruptible lawman. When Carolyn is found brutally slain, his boss Chief Prosecutor Ray Horgan puts him in charge of the investigation, but Horgan who is in the midst of a campaign for reelection against Nico Della Guardia (nicknamed Delay), soon finds that Rusty is dragging his feet in the case.
Rusty had been the one who fired Nico from the prosecutor's office. Rusty's friend, detective Lipranzer (known as Lip) also believes Rusty is obstructing and impeding the investigation because he won't let him run a check on all telephone calls from Rusty's house.
After Horgan loses the election, the tables are turned, and Rusty, the investigator, become the accused when Nico and his underling the devious prosecutor Tommy Molto show up with a lot of circumstantial evidence including Rusty's fingerprints on a glass, matching rug fibers from his house and a call to Carolyn's house from Rusty's house the night of the murder.
He is put on trial with the shrewd Sandy Stern as his defense lawyer. Rusty's moody wife Barbara knew about the relationship with Carolyn, was incensed by it, but stands by her man throughout the trial. Rusty at 39 "has the monumental task of being Rusty."
The courtroom scenes are engrossing. The judge is outspoken Larren Lyttle, Horgan's former law partner.
A bribery file that was in Carolyn's possession went missing for a time. Stern keeps hammering away on the file, and it becomes a key element in the case as does the missing fingerprint glass.
Stay with this until the end because Turow is really going to surprise you with the many twists and turns. The author loves the Byzantine intrigue of lawyers, judges, the police, and the politicians.
Book Review: A Time Waster - Nothing More
Summary: 3 Stars
For his first work of fiction, Scott Turow opted for that creature of an infinite number of crime noir books - the innocent man falsely accused. But PRESUMED INNOCENT is not noir, falling instead into the more generic genre of standard mystery. Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor in a fictional Midwestern county, becomes the center of suspicion when Carolyn, a former co-worker and lover, turns up dead. That Carolyn seemed like the type of woman who would have collected a number of enemies at the point in her life when she died, many of whom might have been happy to do the ghastly deed, seems not to dampen anyone's enthusiasm about pointing at Rusty instead.
Turow takes us through several plot twists and legal maneuvers. Rusty is, of course, a lawyer and knows the system. But so is Turow, the author, and his knowledge of the field comes through. The story line flows easily enough and, if not exactly Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is at least as good as the average mystery writer. Although we do not know for sure if Rusty is the killer until the end, we kind of suspect he is not.
While none of the characters are necessarily weak or poorly drawn, none of them are really all that memorable either. Well, with one exception, and it is a detriment that the most interesting character, the coroner, is also the one that is destroyed. Rusty's wife, and his relationship with her in a faltering marriage, is concrete enough for us to connect. But again, nothing memorable.
None of this is meant in a necessarily bad way. Plenty of books stay with me - because of how bad they are. PRESUMED INNOCENT is ok, and if you like your mysteries straight up, then give it a go.
Book Review: As a lawyer, I loved this book
Summary: 5 Stars
I have heard Scott Turow described as "the thinking man's John Grisham," and to the extent that the expression is a compliment, this debut novel justifies the praise. I had read two minor Turow novels before this one, so I was familiar with one of the minor characters (Turow sets his stories in the fictional Kindle County, and familiar faces pop up from book to book) and Turow's intriguing writing style: outside the courtroom, he tends to narrate in a poetic voice that employs an educated and precise vocabulary that usually stops just short of being pretentious, while the courtroom scenes pulse with a rhythm that appreciates the drama inherent in a real trial without sensationalizing events past what a real lawyer would believe. In this novel, Turow uses his talents to narrate an initially straightforward account of a prosecutor who investigates the murder of a former mistress and finds himself accused of the crime, but when the time comes for trial and explanations of whodunit and whydunit, the author indulges himself in much more complicated narration. As a lawyer, I found this book to be inspiring and challenging, and as a fan of mysteries, I appreciated that I was not able to guess the outcome even though Turow was fair in revealing clues. I highly recommend this novel for anyone interested in an exciting but relatively believable courtroom thriller.Book Review: Best courtroom drama ever
Summary: 5 Stars
Rusty Sabich is the chief criminal prosecutor in the District Attorney's office. When a rising star in the office, Carolyn Polhemus, is brutally murdered, Rusty has to supervise the investigation and prosecute whoever the perpetrator turns out to be. Unfortunately, the investigation goes absolutely nowhere, and that embarrassing failure is a major factor in the D.A., Raymond Horgan, being voted out of office. When the new D.A. takes office, Rusty finds himself: 1) out of a job, and 2) charged with murder, after the new D.A. discovers evidence indicating that Rusty may have been having a torrid love affair with Polhemus at the time of her murder. Yikes!
The stakes in the case are enormous for both sides. The new D.A. is going to prosecute the case himself, and the mass of damning evidence he has available looks like it will ensure that his administration will get off to a very good start by successfully prosecuting a notorious murder case. Rusty's motivation to thwart the D.A.'s plan, of course, is much more basic. So the stage is set for a titanic, courtroom duel.
If you like courtroom dramas, it doesn't get any better than this.
The story's basic premise is riveting, the development of the various plot strands is brilliant, all the main characters are well developed and entirely believable, and the numerous courtroom clashes are classics. This is simply the best courtroom drama I've ever read.
Book Review: Compellng storytelling
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the only Turow book I've read and I found it to be excellent. The writing is top notch and Turow crafts an excellent story that will hold your attention throughout. Compared to most fiction that's on the market, this book is definitely a cut above. Paul Gehrman, Author, Kaleidoscope