Innocent

By: Scott Turow

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Orlagh Cassidy

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The sequel to the genre-defining, landmark best seller Presumed Innocent, Innocent continues the story of Rusty Sabich and Tommy Molto who are, once again, 20 years later, pitted against each other in a riveting psychological match after the mysterious death of Rusty's wife.

Rusty is the prime suspect. Reunited with his charismatic lawyer Sandy Stern, he will do anything to convince his beloved son, Nat, of his innocence. But what is he hiding?

In an explosive trial which will expose lies, jealousy, revenge, corruption, and the darker side of human nature, Rusty Sabich and Tommy Molto will battle it out to finally discover the real meaning of truth, and of justice.

©2010 Scott Turow (P)2010 Hachette

Critic reviews

"Mesmerizing prose and intricate plotting lift Turow's superlative legal thriller, his best novel since his bestselling debut, Presumed Innocent....Once again, Turow displays an uncanny ability for making the passions and contradictions of his main characters accessible and understandable." (Publishers Weekly)

Fantastic.

This book is simply fantastic. It is a complicated plot, well written, and a page turner. And of course Edward Herrmann is the icing on the cake.

Could have been better.

As a stand alone book it was good but not as a sequel. Rusty’s wife tried to frame him for murder in Presumed Innocent. No references were made to this psychotic behavior and Rusty was extremely slow in figuring out his wife’s anger and craziness was behind this one.
A genuine sequel would have woven in this history of attempted framing (it was brilliantly evil) of Rusty.
(adjust narration speed if it’s to slow or fast)

Solid Effort from Turow

I must state at the outset that I have a particular fondness for Turow's work. The rich development of character and articulation of the human condition set him apart from most of his contemporaries. Innocent is a very good sequel to Presumed Innocent, which put Turow on the map 24 years ago. Presumed Innocent is such a good read that attempting a sequel was risky, yet Turow pulls it off with a consistently good read and a surprise or two for the reader. I re-read Presumed Innocent prior to the follow-up, and must say I was impressed by both. "Presumed" stands the test of time and "Innocent" stands the test of its predecessor. The passing years bring a maturity to the characters as well as their creator's skill at his craft. If you like Turow, you will love Innocent.

Great

Slow at first. But really had me guessing until the end. A Must read .

Turow at his best!

It has been years since my last Turow read. It didn't take long to remember and appreciate the excellence of this writer and this novel. The character development is so tight and detailed, you find yourself inside the head of the characters. That intimate perspective does not give away the non-stop mystery and suspense as the tale unfolds. I found myself frustrated and thrilled that I could not guess the entire plot and ending. Be prepared to change your priorities once you begin this read. You won't want to stop.

Disappointing

Let me begin by saying that if there had never been a 'Presumed Innocent' I would probably really like this book. Pretty interesting story line (except when they get bogged down in all of the computer details). But it kind of reminds me of a very smart Nora Roberts book. The plot is pretty thin when compared to 'Presumed Innocent'. The characters of Tommy Molto and Nat, Rusty's son, are fleshed out but Tommy Molto turns out to be a pretty ordinary guy who seems to be trying to do the right thing with an assistant beside him who reminds me of the devil sitting on one of your shoulders. This book is just not as smart, not as interesting, and not as well-developed as the first book. Narrator is great!

Ed Hermann bombed on this one.

With all due respect to Mr. Hermann, he reads this book so sloooooooowly it's agonizing! I want desperately to keep listening, but I can only listen in short segments because it's maddening! He pauses between words, never mind sentences! Why oh why did he read this so SLOWLY? It's a good story, I just might trying speeding up my ipod to listen though.

Scott Turow brilliant as usual

Where does Innocent rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 20 -- I've listened to a lot of books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Innocent?

Finding out that Barbara tried to frame Rusty

What about Edward Hermann and Orlagh Cassidy ’s performance did you like?

I don't like two readers. EH is great. OC was good in her own right but superfluous and even distracting.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A highly ethical but passionate older man allows a sexy younger woman to be his nemesis.

Any additional comments?

I think Rusty's son is a self-centered, self-righteous little prig and nowhere near the larger-than-life figure his father is.

Almost A Romance Novel At Times

I love a good thriller or mystery, but this book is neither. It did have a good plot, and twists and turns that kept me interested. My biggest problem was that at times it started to sound more like a romance novel than a mystery. The gushing descriptions of Anna, and how every man that sees her just can't seem to pass her by, blah blah blah. Yes, she was key to the plot, but it just got a bit nauseating at times. (However, if you're into romance novels, maybe this just enhances the experience.)

If not for the forays into the world of Fabio, I'd have probably given the story 4 stars. This book was worth a credit for the plot, I just wish the gushing goo had been minimized.

You can feel it

Turow has the cop and court language captured perfectly. His depictions of angles and attitudes is right on. Turow does the old forbidden fruit story and the eventual heartache with realistic emotions. The ending didn't have the pop that Presumed Innocent does -- but this one keeps the trip to end riveting all the way.