Presumed Innocent

Scott Turow has been on my bookshelf for decades. Now up pops the Audible sale on Presumed Innocent so I buy it. Everything worked together here to make this a pleasing surprise!

First, the narration. My "A" list is short - Dennis Boutsikaris, the late Frank Muller, the rare Michael Beck, and now a too long hidden treasure, Edward Herrmann! This engaging narrator is a star in the genre! He will be the reason I try Turow's Ordinary Heroes, and will anticipate an Audible release of Innocent, Scott Turow's latest novel due to hit the shelves in May 2010.

The book did not seem 30 years old. In many ways, it is refreshing to enjoy a book untainted by our anxious world today. Turow does not beat us over the head with his actual experience as a prosecutor as some lawmen turned authors do. Rather, he leaves us appreciative of his skills in both arenas. Most every character mentioned is well developed and comes alive in the story.

Our main man is Rusty Sabich, a PA with whom Turow requires his readers to become intimate with by his use of the first person in story telling. Rusty works with both friend and foe, and the PA's office as well as the courtroom become a maze of deception, intrigue and surprise. Rusty finds himself in the grip of a nightmarish reality, that being on trial for a murder he didn't commit . . . or did he? That is the hook, the twist!

Turow's familiar character Sandy Stern is perhaps the most personable and brilliant attorney ever detailed in any novel! Sometimes we want a fictional lawyer complete with typical inherent flaws as in Grisham's Nate O'Riley or Clark's Mason Hunt. Sandy Stern is as gentlemanly as he is sharp. In fact, councelor Stern sneaks up on me as THE main character in this fascinating book. I so much want to know someone like Sandy Stern, just not as an opposing lawyer!

I will soon pull down the book & re-read the epic court room exchanges that are now among my favorite in the genre.

I re-read this in preparation to read his new sequel. Read it last when it first came out - totally forgot that this man can really write. Even knowing the ending, I was absolutely riveted. He turns a beautiful phrase and really has characters you feel you know. Wonderful narration too. You won't be disappointed.

I've never stuck with an audio book through as much boring exposition for as long as I did with this one. I only did this because the reviews were so positive, and I figured that many people couldn't be that far off. Boy, I'm glad I didn't bail on this one! What a ride....

The first 2-3 hours are so hard to stay awake for, but trust me, they're setting up what turns into an incredibly original modern-day tragedy. There are no holes in this, which is hard to accomplish with a legal thriller. The last third of this is like a roller coaster, with characters becoming things you never thought they would. The characters are very fleshed out, and each have their own voice, making them interesting and easy to follow. Narration is incredible.

If you like legal thrillers, this is for you!!

I couldn't wait for my commute to school and home again. This was my first audio book and I made an excellent choice. Can't wait to listen to the sequel (my next selection) Edward Hermann did an excellent job narrating. I hated to turn off my Ipod, I understand it was made into a movie and the book is old. The story line in the book is not dated. Kept me guessing. Do yourself a favor and listen to this book if you like who done its!

I enjoyed so much the sequel to this book ( Innocent) that I went back to the original, also read and very well by Edward Herrmann, whom I had not heard before. It's an even better book than the sequel and Herrmann captures Rusty Sabich's (spelling? I never saw it in print) anguish as well as can be imagined. Never thought I would compliment a reader except Frank Muller so extravagantly. Read this again. We all did in the 1980s when it was a unique venture into courtroom drama, and it is just as fresh today. You will have forgotten the detail that make it such fine literature.

I loved this book! Although it got a bit bogged down in the middle, I am so glad I stayed with it because the characters have depth and the story has interesting twists and turns. It is much more than just a courtroom drama. I found myself guessing and then doubting myself and then yup, I was right, how fun to have figured out who "did it". The plot gave more than the who and why though, some internal dialog, some interesting relationships, and unexpected outcomes. I truly enjoyed it, I recommend this book.

After reading some of the other reviews I was apprehensive about the book and almost didn't purchase it. I'm glad that I did. I found that the book is an intellectual thriller. It is however for adults only.

This book kept my interest so much that I listened to it straight through. I could listen to the words of Turow forever. He knows how to tell a story and keep you on the edge of your seat. I can't wait to listen to the next one! I definitely recommend it.

An excellent reader for an enthralling book. This book is better than most legal thrillers because of the verisimilitude not only of the courtroom scenes but of the protagonists' thoughts and fears. Written more than 20 years ago but does not seem dated. Probably the best "legal thriller" I've listened to from many at Audible.

This is an excellently written book that if you have not read is a much. I did not realize until the end that I had watched the movie -it is a book you will hold on to until the finish then think about the story of this family.