Innocent

Starred review from March 8, 2010
The hero of Scott Turow's first novel faces yet another murder charge involving a woman with whom he had an intimate relationship.
Innocent
Scott Turow
. Grand Central
, $27.99 (406p) ISBN 978-0-446-56242-3

Mesmerizing prose and intricate plotting lift Turow's superlative legal thriller, his best novel since his bestselling debut, Presumed Innocent
, to which this is a sequel. In 2008, 22 years after the events of the earlier book, former lawyer Rusty Sabich, now a Kindle County, Ill., chief appellate judge, is again suspected of murdering a woman close to him. His wife, Barbara, has died in her bed of what appear to be natural causes, yet Rusty comes under scrutiny from his old nemesis, acting prosecuting attorney Tommy Molto, who unsuccessfully prosecuted him for killing his mistress decades earlier. Tommy's chief deputy, Jim Brand, is suspicious because Rusty chose to keep Barbara's death a secret, even from their son, Nat, for almost an entire day, which could have allowed traces of poison to disappear. Rusty's candidacy for a higher court in an imminent election; his recent clandestine affair with his attractive law clerk, Anna Vostic; and a breach of judicial ethics complicate matters further. Once again, Turow displays an uncanny ability for making the passions and contradictions of his main characters accessible and understandable.

Scott Turow's latest legal thriller is a sequel to his 1987 blockbuster, PRESUMED INNOCENT, in which DA Rusty Sabich was accused of murdering his lover, another female prosecutor. Twenty-three years later, Rusty is now an appellate judge; despite his best intentions, he's involved in another affair and soon finds himself accused of murdering his wife, whom he finds dead in their bed. There are so many twists and turns in this one you'll never guess what really happened. The story is expertly narrated from the main characters' points of view by Edward Herrmann in the male parts and Orlagh Cassidy as the female characters (though Cassidy gets no written billing). Herrmann masterfully portrays the stoic Savich, his confused adult son, and the relentless defense lawyer Sandy Stern, who is weakened by cancer. Cassidy is superb as Anna, Savich's new lover, and Marta, Stern's daughter, who bolsters her father's defense team. The frequent switches in point of view have the potential to be confusing, but the dual narrators make them work. Although this is clearly a sequel, one needn't have read PRESUMED INNOCENT to enjoy it. Further, the quality of the writing is high, and the narration sterling. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine