Presumed Innocent

By: Scott Turow

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Presumed Innocent brings to life our worst nightmare: that of an ordinary citizen facing conviction for the most terrible of crimes. Prosecutor Rusty Sabich is transformed from accuser to accused when he is handed an explosive case - that of the brutal murder of a woman who happens to be his former lover.

©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)

Still really good

A little dated in some cultural references, but still a really well written, clever murder mystery. Narration was fine, though a few times a character’s voice seemed to slip a little in and out of character.

Well above average

This is a lawyer story, not a cops-n-robbers tale. Somehow I missed that detail. And yet, this is a really good yarn. The writing was top shelf.

Perfect narration

One of the all time great legal mysteries! So glad I revisited in the audio version.

Accurate and engaging

I binge-listened to this book over about a 3-day period of a normal work week. That's how engaged I was by it.

This is a dark, but fantastic book. I am a criminal defense attorney. So much legal fiction is inaccurate, but this book's detail about the legal aspects of a criminal prosecution are top-notch.

I found myself empathizing with many of the characters, including not just the narrator, but the corrupt public officials, and others, too. To me, that is a mark of great writing.

The performance by Edward Herrmann is excellent. Perfect tone for this kind of book.

I highly recommend this book if you like mysteries or legal thrillers.

Great Story

This was a great listen, a bit long for the actual content. I found myself drifting off in some of the side bars. Overall a great listen

Wonderful

It is a wondeful book with a phenomenal reader. It should have won a Pulitzer.

Loved

I actually read this after reading Testimony when it came out, in 2016 and realizing that Turow had decades of other books that came first. (I wasn’t even born for more than a decade after this, his first novel was published so give me a break.) This is an incredible book. I’ve seen the movie too, but I don’t think it comes close to Turow’s writing, When you finally realize who’s guilty of the murder, it’s like getting slapped across the face. But in the best way. I love it.

Great Book

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!

Excellent

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.

Don't care but can't stop thinking about it

What do I do with this? The story and characters are jarring, exploring the depths of human fallibility, darkness and brokenness. There is nothing redemptive here. Yet several days later I can't stop thinking about the novel.

In the end I don't really care for any of the characters and as a first novel the writing has several faults - too much repetition of words, the planting of circumstances to be unraveled later is much too obvious, the narrative drags along painfully for hours (I expected Perry Mason and wound up with eight solid hours of The Days Of Our Lives before even getting to a trial), the story is told first person by a truly pathetic character, and at the end there is no payoff of some deep moral truth, a redeeming quality or something to admire & care for in the characters. No payoff whatsoever.

And yet I can't stop thinking about the novel.