Book Log 2011 #9: Innocent by Scott Turow

Fifteen years is a long wait for a sequel, and typically sequels that come out long after the first book pale in comparison (consider Joseph Heller's Closing Time or Ray Bradbury's Farewell Summer). Thankfully, this is a case where the wait results in a fitting companion to the original.

Just as with Presumed Innocent, Tommy Molto is trying Rusty Sabich for the murder of a woman, in this case his wife, Barbara. She apparently died of natural causes, but a day-long delay in reporting the death raises suspicions, which quickly develops into a case based on a variety of evidence (much of it circumstantial).

As much fun as it is to see these two square off again, the book is really driven by the younger characters, such as Rusty's son Nat, Nat's girlfriend Anna (who is more involved in the case than he knows), and a young assistant DA whose rock solid belief in Rusty's guilt leads down some ethically problematic paths. This not only helps inject new points of view into the book, but helps underscore that these books have taken place more or less in real time, adding weight to the histories of all the characters.

And, of course, Turow is the best writer of legal fiction (I can't really use the word "thriller") going. I often lament the wait between books, but would rather have that than the "books by the ton" approach so often taken.

You should read this book, unless you've not read Presumed Innocent. In which case you should read that first and then read this book.