Personal Injuries

I read Presumed Innocent a long time ago and didn't read any of the sequels. I'm not sure why I started on this one at all, actually. I didn't know any of the characters who may or may not have appeared in earlier books of the series. I feel like I may now legally proceed with the review.

I'm not sure if this would count as a genre book. It has police and crime in it so probably, but it transcends the category in that there are actual characters in it. The narrator is barely a character at all, though I gather he was in previous books of the series. It being a book about crime and lawyers, the law is constantly referenced but though it gives us the rules of the game, it is not what determines what is right or wrong, or who wins or show more loses.

The main character has, in fact, run afoul of the law and is being pressured to turn states evidence (if I am using the legal term correctly). But far from being a bad guy, he is practically the moral compass of the whole story. This is so not because he's perfect or always does the right thing, but because he manages to behave most consistently as a human being.

His FBI handler, disgusted with his lying and manipulating asks him angrily "What matters to you?" with the presumed answer being "Nothing" but he answers, not having thought it through, or ever having entertained the question before, that what matters were the other people whom he cared about. His job was to betray many of them to the FBI and they force him to do so, but in the end, while some get caught and others go free, he becomes the character we identify with and his fate is more important to us than whether the guilty get caught or not, which is usually what novels of this sort are about.

This novel is much more character driven than plot driven and at times the plot takes the kind of turns that make little sense from the standpoint of how some omniscient author might choose to control the situation to further the story. Instead, it frequently seemed almost random, like real life. This feeling is uncommon in genre novels I've read. show less

I love Scott Turow. I've read this book before.....years ago....but couldn't resist when I saw it at a charity sale for $1. This is the story of Robbie Feaver, whose law practice includes bribing judges. He's caught and cooperates with the FBI in return for a lighter sentence. Sounds like a standard plot you might see on TV? But not in the hands of Scott Turow. Great writing, fantastic characters drawn with depth and complexity and a story with enough surprises....not just plot twist surprises, but surprises in the development or back stories of characters. He is truly one of the best writers.

This was a remarkable book from an author and a genre I don't usually read about. I was quite shocked that I liked this. The story was well thought of, well paced and well written. The characters are memorable and they became a part of you. It's a law story that has heart and I think that what was good about it. I think this book is underrated so I recommend everybody to grab a copy and read it! Watch out for the twist at the end!

Scott Turow's legal thriller "Personal Injuries," is aptly named. The focus of the book is on Robbie Feaver(pronounced "favor")who must wear a wire to uncover a bribery ring in the Kindle County Courthouse. While Robbie undertakes the deception to help his own cause, Turow's masterful handling of Robbie's character is the key to the novel's emotional appeal. All the characters, which include Evon (pronounced even)Miller,an FBI accomplice, Stan Sennett,who runs the undercover operation and George Mason, the narrator who is also Robbie's lawyer, are well-developed and perform the unenviable task of guiding Robbie through the toughest "case" of his life. With his wife dying an excrutiating death from ALS, Robbie is a sympathetic character. show more This is evidence of Turow's fine skills as a writer, because Robbie is also a ladies man, a repeat adulterer, guilty of bribing judges and now betraying them to save his own skin. Yet, Turow makes the reader worry for Feaver and applaud his often comic blunders and hope that he can somehow redeem himself in the eyes of his wife and in his estimation of himself. I was pleasantly suprised by the complexity of the characters and the range of human emotions that Turow included in his novel. I would recommend this book to the reader interested in a suspenseful legal thriller with an outpouring of humanity in the most unexpected places. show less

Starting with a complicated sting operation in the fictional Kindle County in America, Turow widens the scope of the book out from the initial operation of the U.S. Attorney into a fascinating and moving novel that examines friendship, loyalty and love. This redeems some of the slowness and complicated plot as the sting progresses to try to entrap Brendan Tuohey, the Presiding Judge of the Common Law Claims Division and several lower-ranked judges who are suspected by the FBI of accepting bribes to issue favourable judgements in cases stretching back over a number of years. As the investigation progresses, those involved, both suspects and investigators are affected by the pressure, leading to a startling conclusion, but one that leaves show more them more experienced, wiser and changed over the course of the ten months. show less

Early on, I was going to give up on this book (something I rarely do). However, I was drawn in and I ended up being quite emotionally invested in the story's main character. Robbie is a shady individual....to say the least, but you end up loving him. QUITE AN ENDING!!!!....enough said. Love your work, Mr. Turow.

Lawyer Robbie Feaver is caught by the IRS evading taxes. He's offered a deal by the U.S. Attorney and FBI to help catch the corrupt judges that are taking bribes from Robbie and other lawyers. Robbie is a slick talking lawyer who agreees but doesn't always tell everything he knows.

This was a complicated legal story with a lot of characters to keep track of. For me it was slow to get started but then it did pull me in. Turow's story is more about the characters than the plot but I enjoyed that. But the story did have a few surprises especially at the end.