Presumed Innocent (1987)

9780140814828

Murder, sex, political corruption...and a midlife crisis gone wrong. A sad commentary about law, love, and the American justice system. ( )

A famous novel I had been meaning to read since long, Presumed Innocent didn't disappointment me. It is a complex, multi-layered murder-mystery cum court-room-drama that hooked me from the start to finish. Though I had some trouble with the meandering narration, especially that dealing with the narrator's thoughts and feelings, in the end, I felt the satisfaction of having read something good. ( )

This book was a huge bestseller when it came out in the late eighties and predates Grisham type thrillers. I have to say, I don't think it held up very well. I had to force myself to keep reading a few times.

I found myself more interested in noticing details like how much technology has changed since 87 then feeling I was invested or really cared about the characters. ( )

This was good, but I'm pretty sure Turow could do better. It starts too slowly, for at least 100-200 pages, and it really needs a secondary plot line or character for a little spice. Turow is at his best describing the court scenes in the second half. Contrary to the blurb, the conclusion is hardly "shattering," but it works. ( )