Presumed Innocent

By: Scott Turow

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

COMING IN JUNE AS AN APPLE ORIGINAL SERIES FROM APPLE TV+ STARRING JAKE GYLLENHAAL

From #1 New York Times bestselling author and hailed as the most suspenseful and compelling novel in decades, this story brings to life our worst nightmare: that of an ordinary citizen facing conviction for the most terrible of all crimes.

Rusty Sabich, family man and the number-two prosecutor of Kindle County, is handed an explosive case--the brutal murder of a woman who happens to be his former lover. A shocking turn of events suddenly transforms him from the accuser into the accused... and plunges him into a nightmare world where nothing seems real and no one can be PRESUMED INNOCENT.

It's the stunning portrayal of one man's all-too-human, all-consuming fatal attraction for a passionate woman who is not his wife, and the story of how his obsession puts everything he loves and values on trial--including his own life. It's a book that lays bare a shocking world of betrayal and murder, as well as the hidden depths of the human heart. And it will hold you and haunt you...long after you have reached its shattering conclusion.

©1987 Scott Turow (P)2010 Hachette

Critic reviews

"Spellbinding.... The suspense is relentless.... Surprise follows surprise.... The work of a profoundly gifted writer." ( The New York Times)

The best legal thriller I have ever read. Period.

I bought this on a whim, having never heard of it or Scott Turow before. Man, had I missed something. I greatly enjoy the legal thriller genre, even though I haven't read all that many of them. This was far and away the best I have ever read, made even better by Edward Herrmann's literally pitch perfect narration. I've never heard him narrate before, but he ranks right up there with the greats like John Lee and Simon Prebble.

All the characters are beautifully drawn and credible, brought to life by the wonderful narration. It's also really a pleasure to read a book that has been so carefully crafted in every detail, backed up by what is apparently really thorough research and familiarity with the subject matter.

It's almost impossible to really write anything about this book without creating a spoiler, so I'll just say: If you enjoy first-class, intelligent and suspenseful legal fiction get this book. It's brilliant, and I literally couldn't stop listening until I'd finished. And now I'm sorry that I didn't make it last longer, which is always a pretty sure sign of an outstanding read.

SO good.

This book is fantastic. It’s written well AND performed well. I’m finding that’s a rare combo lately (I’ve been picking some duds). I purchased this book a couple years ago after catching the movie on tv and it did NOT disappoint. As usual, the book was far better which is incredible because the movie was awesome, too. It’s thrilling and descriptive all the way through. I re-listen once a year. Five stars !

Pretty good but...

Great story that I remembered from years ago. Thought I would enjoy rereading. Since I already knew the ending, just wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped.

The performance was ok EXCEPT when reader kept significantly dropping the volume at the end of sentences and paragraphs. I listen primarily when in car so having to lower then raise volume frequently became very annoying. This was particularly frequent during key passages (for effect?) after a while I just gave up and missed some of the book.

I’ll avoid future books performed by Herrmann. .

Absolutely Fantastic!

This is Old School in the extreme and so much fun. The story is so finely crafted it feels alive! Every piece of this story fits gets rearranged and fits again, every thread is accounted for. This is a Masterclass in mystery writing. Now it is 40 years old and there are some attitudes and epitaphs that would not be tolerated in a book today. The narration is truly good especially considering the time when it came out.

Save your credit

This was difficult to get into, probably because of the narrator. Very little differentiation in voices. It became more tolerable about midway through the book.

Very compelling suspense.

I loved this book. it was suspenseful till the end. I highly recommend this book.

Great by any medium

This is a wonderful story enjoyed it when I first read it and particularly enjoyed it on audio

Great Story, Outstanding Narrator

I read the book years ago but there is so little decent fiction available on Audible.com (aka Harlequin Romance Online) that when i saw it on sale I download it. Let me advise you not to listen to this on your way to work because you will be sitting in your car in an empty parking lot with the sun going down still listening and will have to explain your strange behavior to your co-workers the next day.

Scott Turow's powerful words enhanced by Ed Herman's perfect rendition is almost too rich an experience. As soon as it ended I downloaded the next Rusty Savage book, at full price mind you, to hear more of Herman's range of voices and emotions. In twenty years of listening to books on tape (as they were once called) I have never heard better.

Great ending

I really liked the story. Unfortunately, after I started listening, I realized I’d seen the movie so I knew who the murderer was. It has a lot of detail and side stories that you never get in the movie. If you’ve seen the movie, it’s not going to be the same experience as someone who hasn’t. I do recommend this book. Holds your attention.

Will Keep You Guessing

I enjoyed this book just a bit long winded. It’s a story of a lawyer middle aged married for over 15 years has a brief affair with another lawyer becomes infatuated by her, affair ends and she is found murdered. He as a practising PA gets assigned to her murder case, and then finds himself accused of her murder. His wife dutifully stands by her man with their son. He is acquitted but the question is who did kill Carolyn??? I guessed it……