Limitations

Stephen Lang's low-key presentation fits Turow's protagonist, Judge George Mason. The judge has many years of distinguished service behind him and an election ahead of him. He must deal with a rape case, threatening emails, and a cancer-stricken wife, but he remains calm and rational--even when he's assaulted in a parking garage. It's easy to get caught up in the legal minutiae (the judgment document in the rape case comes complete with notes to an assistant) and miss Lang's subtle vocalizations. Mason's phone call to the female victim of a long-ago fraternity assault is made more poignant in audio. This may be less than Turow's best, but Lang does credit to himself and the plot. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

October 2, 2006
The latest offering from legal thriller master Turow began life as a serial story in the Sunday New York Times Magazine
and won't be mistaken, even by devoted fans, for his finest work. As with his previous novels, the action centers on the fictional Kindle County in Illinois, and he revives some familiar characters, including George Mason from Personal Injuries
and Rusty Sabich, the hero of his acclaimed fiction debut, Presumed Innocent
. Mason is now an appellate judge, faced with the challenge of crafting the decision in a high-profile case involving a sexual assault that reawakens his long-suppressed guilt over his role in a similar incident decades before. To compound his inner turmoil, Mason finds himself the object of threatening e-mails from an unknown source. While Turow's writing is assured as ever, the plot and the legal dilemmas interwoven into it aren't up to his usual high standards, and whodunit fans who loved the brilliant twist that highlighted his debut are likely to be disappointed by the mystery's resolution.