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The idea that there could be a 20- some-years-later "sequel" to Scott Turow's brilliant PRESUMED INNOCENT floored me. But I was thrilled. Every so often, you get attached to a character, or a story, and while you don't quite wonder "what ever happened to...", it's there in the back of your mind. And we all know what happened after Reichenbach Falls. While Turow followed up his debut courtroom thriller with the fine and equally complex THE BURDEN OF PROOF, and wrote other books, nothing, after those two books, ever quite did it for me. PRESUMED INNOCENT was a stunning book when I first read it. I had no clue who had committed the crime until the shocking revelation and yet, Turow had always played fair. He also offered a unique voice in Rusty Sabich, a flawed but fascinating character. Sabich is back, now a judge who turns sixty as INNOCENT opens. And we're back with Tommy Molto, Rusty's son Nat (a child in that first book, now 28 and surprisingly pursuing a career in law), and we're back in fictional Kindle County (a stand-in for Turow's own Chicago/Cook County, where he practices law). In the knock-out opener of this novel, Rusty's wife Barbara is dead. Did Rusty kill Barbara? I certainly did not know. There are lots of circumstantial clues to hint that someone might have planned to kill this troubled woman. But they've weathered so much together - and Rusty's found ways to accommodate to her depressive times and her manic threats. Barbara apparently found ways to manage living with his philandering and neglect. So what's the point of killing her? He's troubled but he's no murderer, right? Sabich is a complicated human being and he doesn't give a lot away. And while he's a judge running for a position on the State Supreme Court, there are those who still believe that he got away with murder years ago, when he was acquitted in the death of lawyer Carolyn Polhemus. And those who think he murdered once have no trouble imagining that he could do it again. Turow has a style that which works brilliantly. It's terse but telling. You get a lot from the words used by his characters, and you find out enough to explain, often, why they are the way they are. Sabich talks enough about his abusive father that you understand some of his taciturn behavior and his doubts about himself. The author jumps around in time and shifts narrators; it could be hard to follow but I did not find it so. Again, Turow's skill at knowing each person telling each story makes it work. The author, a laywer, also excels at presenting evidence and offering the reader the opportunity to judge it; the evidence here suggests equally that a murder was planned, or that there's legit coincidence. It's a lesson in "circumstantial evidence" for the crime novel fan. Those who read PRESUMED INNOCENT may wonder if knowing the resolution there taints this story. It does not matter. If you read the earlier book, it adds an amazing layer of information and awareness about this family. And if you've never read a Scott Turow novel, you won't need to have a single clue to the past. The book stands on its own. I jumped at the chance to read and review INNOCENT. It never occurred to me for a second that it might disappoint. Going back isn't always a good idea. But this book is already on my "best of 2010" list. It's a great investigative story, brilliant character study and written by a master. Turow gives nothing away, even to someone like me who often sees the pattern. I had no idea, as I read, who, if anyone, killed Barbara Sabich or why she ended up dead. Every plausible story line worked. There's a spare, almost acidic tone to the narrative in this book and it worked. § Andi Shechter, who has twice has chaired mystery conventions, has an ancient MA in Criminal Justice and is proud to have appeared in a mystery as a New York runway model.
Reviewed by Andi Shechter, May 2010
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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