Booksology ‘Presumed Guilty’ by Scott Turow. Grand Central, 544 pages, $30
Scott Turow’s debut novel “Presumed Innocent” was one of the game changers for legal thrillers when it was published in 1987. Turow, along with a couple other authors, turned a new lens on the legal thriller, making the minutia of the law and its effects exciting and fresh.
“Presumed Innocent” was an instant best-seller, adapted into a popular movie starring Harrison Ford and is now Apple TV+’s most-watched drama series featuring Jake Gyllenhaal.
“Presumed Innocent,” with its myriad twists and stunner of a finale, was a novel about the law but also a story about marriage, infidelity, ambition and betrayal. The precisely plotted novel centered around prosecutor Rusty Sabich, but he was hardly a hero — brilliant but vain, a family man who was often disconnected from them. Yet Turow made Rusty infinitely interesting, and returns to this character for the third time with “Presumed Guilty.”
While “Presumed Guilty” certainly can be appreciated on its own merits as a stand-alone novel, readers may more deeply appreciate it knowing Rusty’s background and how far he has come.
Rusty is now 77, retired for a while as prosecutor of the fictional Kindle County, a thinly disguised area around Chicago. He seems to have found happiness with elementary school principal Bea Housley.
His plans for a small wedding, then a peaceful retirement, are stalled when Bea’s adopted son, Aaron, is arrested for his girlfriend’s murder. Aaron, who is Black, seems to be the logical suspect since he left his girlfriend in a forest following a fight. Aaron also recently broke the tight probation he received following his conviction for felony drug possession.
Rusty reluctantly agrees to defend Aaron, though he worries his experience as a prosecutor won’t translate to being a defense attorney.
Despite its heft, the plot of “Presumed Guilty” moves briskly as Turow looks at the law, racism, complicated families and, yes, the presumption of guilt. Rusty’s love of the law and his leeriness of its inequities loom large.
Turow’s penchant for twists that at first seem odd but are totally believable, and his intimate knowledge of the law, show how the author remains at the top of his writing skills in “Presumed Guilty.”
Behind the plot: Scott Turow’s “Presumed Innocent” was his first published fiction in 1987, but not his foray into writing. In 1977, his nonfiction book “One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School” was published. The title of this autobiographical book is self-explanatory.
Meet the author
Scott Turow will discuss “Presumed Guilty” with the Brickell Literary Society at noon Jan. 15 at the Temple Israel, Wolfson Auditorium, 137 NE 19th St., Miami. Registration is $75. Discounted option for young professionals under age 35 is $50. Visit brickellavenueliterarysociety.wildapricot.org for information.
Turow also will discuss “Presumed Guilty” with Daniel Rivero of WLRN at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, 305- 442-4408, booksandbooks.com/event. Tickets are required and are $30 plus tax. Each ticket admits up to two guests and includes one copy of “Presumed Guilty.”
Originally Published: January 8, 2025 at 5:21 PM EST
