From the Publisher
A compelling, unputdownable legal thriller that explores the dark side of justice in a small town and on a fractured family. Scott Turow is at the top of his game with this complex, emotionally charged courtroom drama that will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can.”—Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“Presumed Guilty takes you out of your comfort zone and challenges you to think long and hard about the most important issues we face as a country. Every time I pick up a new Scott Turow book, I am reminded what a national treasure he is. Few novelists are his peer when it comes to prose, plot, and character. No one does it better.”—David Baldacci, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“Every gift that made Scott Turow a phenomenon is on display in Presumed Guilty. Deep-focus plotting, implacable pace, lapidary prose, stunning climax. But above all... insight. The truth is, Turow is just better at this than the rest of us.”—Greg Iles, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
"The trial that follows is a master class in legal suspense as Turow weaves together the devastation of Aaron and Bea’s families, simmering racial prejudice, and the impact of smalltown politics within a framework of deliciously tense courtroom dynamics. This is manna for legal-thriller fans."—Booklist, starred review
"Turow keeps readers guessing... This easily ranks among Turow’s best."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“No one stages courtroom scenes better than this celebrated Chicago attorney. An absorbing and entertaining read.” —Kirkus
“Turow’s penchant for twists that at first seem odd but are totally believable, and his intimate knowledge of the law, show how the author remains at the top of his writing skills in Presumed Guilty.”—South Florida Sun Sentinel
“His experience shows in the courtroom scenes that effortlessly incorporate tricky legal matters and breathtaking reversals, exactly like Law and Order reruns do. Presumed Guilty has a lot to do with the specifics of a murder trial — particularly the decision whether to have Aaron testify on his own behalf — and Turow makes all of that convincing and gripping.”—Minnesota Star Tribune
“A new installment in the life and times of Rusty Sabich arrives just in time for recent converts coming over from the splashy adaptation of Presumed Innocent. Turow is still at the top of his game and writes a first-class legal thriller.”—Crimereads
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Turow’s penchant for twists that at first seem odd but are totally believable, and his intimate knowledge of the law, show how the author remains at the top of his writing skills in Presumed Guilty.”
CrimeReads
A first-class legal thriller.”
AudioFile
Narrator Grover Gardner, one of the best in the business, affects a smooth and evocative tone…Gardner’s tone and rhythm increase the tension…He delightfully delivers Gen Z slang as heartbreaking revelations come to light. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award.”
Barnes&Noble.com
Tense and thrilling, Turow examines the idea of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ like only a former attorney can.”
Booklist (starred review)
The trial that follows is a master class in legal suspense…within a framework of deliciously tense courtroom dynamics. This is manna for legal-thriller fans."
Minnesota Star Tribune
His experience shows in the courtroom scenes that effortlessly incorporate tricky legal matters and breathtaking reversals…Convincing and gripping.”
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah
This complex, emotionally charged courtroom drama…will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can.”
Kirkus Reviews
2024-09-28
Having been falsely convicted of murder himself years ago, prosecutor Rusty Sabich defies common wisdom in defending his romantic partner’s adopted son against the same accusation.
Now 76, Rusty has retired to the (fictitious) Skageon Region in the upper Midwest, far removed from Kindle County, Turow’s Chicago stand-in, where he was a star attorney and judge. Aaron Housley, a Black man raised in a bleached rural environment, has had his troubles, including serving four months for holding drugs purchased by Mae Potter, his erratic, on-and-off girlfriend. Now, after suddenly disappearing to parts unknown with her, he returns alone. When days go by without Mae’s reappearance, it is widely assumed that Aaron harmed her. Why else would he be in possession of her phone? Following the discovery of Mae’s strangled body and incriminating evidence that points to Aaron, Rusty steps in. Opposed in court by the uncontrollable, gloriously named prosecutor Hiram Jackdorp, he fears he’s in a lose-lose situation. If he fails to get Aaron off, which is highly possible, the boy’s mother, Bea, will never forgive him. If Rusty wins the case, the quietly detached Bea—who, like half the town, has secrets—will have trouble living with the unsparing methods Rusty uses to free Aaron. In attempting to match, or at least approach, the brilliance of his groundbreaking masterpiecePresumed Innocent (1987), Turow has his own odds to overcome. No minor achievement like a previous follow-up,Innocent (2010), the new novel is a powerful display of straightforward narrative, stuffed with compelling descriptions of people, places, and the legal process. No one stages courtroom scenes better than this celebrated Chicago attorney. But the book, whose overly long scenes add up to more than 500 pages, mostly lacks the gripping intensity and high moral drama to keep those pages turning. It’s an absorbing and entertaining read, but Turow’s fans have come to expect more than that.
An accomplished but emotionally undercooked courtroom drama by the author who made that genre popular.
