Innocent
By Scott Turow
(The Sequel to Presumed Innocent)
Grand Central Publishing
$27.99, hard cover, 416 pages, 978-0446562423 (2010)
This book is the sequel to Presumed Innocent published in 1987. If you are one of the half a dozen people who hasn’t yet read Presumed Innocent, do it now. Put down this review and go to Amazon, or your local bookstore, and purchase Presumed Innocent. Don’t try to get by with just watching the 1990 movie of the same name, though it’s an entertaining one (starring Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, and Bonnie Bedelia).
Presumed Innocent is the story of a county prosecutor, Rusty Sabich, charged with the murder of his colleague-mistress. The legal thriller was absolutely riveting when it was published — it contained murder, lust, revenge, ambition, and one of the best portrayals of a murder trial ever written. The surprise ending was the coda to a spellbinding novel.
For all those people who read the first book, Innocent is just as good. Twenty years later, Rusty Sabich is now a chief appellate judge and is once again put on trial for murdering a woman close to him. The story begins with Sabich waking one morning to discover that his wife, Barbara, has died during the night. For unexplained reasons, he waits 24 hours before notifying the police. An investigation ensues, led by Tommy Molto, the same prosecutor involved in the trial of Presumed Innocent. Just as in the earlier book, Sabich hires Sandy Stern to defend him.
After Sabich is charged with his wife’s murder, the entire second half of the novel deals with his trial. This is when readers, especially lawyers, will appreciate the painstaking care that Turow devotes to the court room drama. This isn’t the perfectly sequenced (and often unbelievable) courtroom battle that is often depicted in legal thrillers. Instead, the trial is shown realistically, along with both the skill and the frailties of its participants.
Tommy buttoned his coat. As always, it was just a bit too snug across the belly to really fit.
“Judge Sabich,” he said.
“Mr. Molto.”
From the witness stand, Rusty nonetheless managed a nod and a Mona Lisa smile that somehow reflected the decades of acquiescence. It was a subtle but purposeful gesture, the kind of thing jurors never missed. Tommy suddenly remembered what he had pushed out of mind for months now. Tommy had come into the DA’s office a year or two after Rusty, but they were close enough to being peers that over time they might have competed for the same trials, the same promotions. They never did. Tommy’s best friend, Nico Della Guardia, was Rusty’s main rival. Tommy never ranked. It was obvious to all that he never had Rusty’s smarts, his savvy. Everybody had known that, Molto remembered. Including him.
Turow has the ability to make courtroom scenes so realistic, that you not only feel as if you are there, but his exceptional writing skills make you believe that you are participating in the trial strategy itself. Understanding all the nuances of the participants immerses you even deeper into the escalating tension of the outcome.
For those who enjoy courtroom thrillers, this novel should not be missed. And although it doesn’t reveal everything from the first book, it remains my recommendation that you read Presumed Innocent first. Having full knowledge of the plot twists and turns in the earlier novel only makes the reading of Innocent all the more enjoyable.
Innocent is a serious novel to be savored. If you read the earlier book, you’ll appreciate all of the changes undergone by Sabich in the intervening years. While the trial of a 60-year-old judge might lack resonance with a younger generation, mature readers will fully understand how life’s experiences shape the decisions made by an older and wiser Sabich. For baby boomers who remember the earlier novel, Innocent is not to be missed. For younger readers, savor the time spent reading both books.
Buy it on Amazon here.
Al,
I'll have to check it out. I loved Presumed Innocent and always thought that Scott Turow was ten times the legal writer that John Grisham was.
But it's interesting to see who gets fame and notoriety.
Posted by: Dave | October 17, 2020 at 05:09 PM
nice book… it can be a great help to the amateur personal injury lawyer…
Posted by: Personal Injury Lawyers | October 27, 2020 at 08:57 AM