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Joey R.'s Reviews > Presumed Guilty
Presumed Guilty (Presumed Innocent #3)
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5.0 stars� As a longtime Scott Turow fan, I was very excited to read his latest legal thriller, ‘Presumed Guilty.� Turow is most famous for his book “Presumed Innocent� but he has written numerous books since then that were as good, if not better, than “Presumed Innocent.� Most of Turow’s books take place in the courtroom, and it is obvious that Turow is an excellent trial lawyer. He is the best at writing direct and cross-examinations in narrative form, and I always enjoy reading how Turow’s characters breakdown a witness. ‘Presumed Guilty� brings back Rusty Sabich who is now in his mid-70s and has been retired for years. As you might remember, in “Presumed Innocent� Sabich is arrested and tried for a murder he didn’t commit. So, when his fiancé’s son is accused of murder in which he professes his innocence, it is Rusty to the rescue. The book is very long but not cumbersome because Turow does an excellent job of laying out a trial in a small rural courtroom from beginning to end. The book sets forth a lot of stereotypes about prosecutors, law enforcement and how race is viewed in small town America that I believe were completely off base, but despite my disagreement, it does not take away from the absolute brilliance of this book. As a longtime prosecutor, I have never seen a defense attorney so thoroughly dismantle each witness the prosecution called in the trial as I did in this book. If I were the prosecutor in this case and had a Judge that hostile towards me (which were reflected in nearly all her rulings) I would immediately retire. To say I enjoyed this book would be an understatement. Turow has produced a true masterpiece that I highly recommend if you enjoy legal thrillers.
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Reading Progress
February 9, 2025
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Started Reading
February 18, 2025
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to-read
February 18, 2025
– Shelved
February 18, 2025
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Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-34 of 34 (34 new)
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This as a compelling review Joey. Only two years ago I started reading thrillers and mysteries. Just about a year ago I started reading PI thriller series and even more recently stepped out and read a couple of forensic pathologist thrillers.In the past the only legal thrillers I have read were Grisham and Hank Phillippi Ryan. Having never read Turow where would you suggest I start? TIA
Cheryl wrote: "This as a compelling review Joey. Only two years ago I started reading thrillers and mysteries. Just about a year ago I started reading PI thriller series and even more recently stepped out and rea..."I would definitely start with “Presumed Innocent.’� It is very well written and Turow’s most famous. There are 13 or so books of his legal thriller books and 2 or 3 non-fiction books. His non-fiction books are good too. As long as you don’t mind long books with plenty of extra details, you will love Turow.
You are making me even more excited about reading this story, Joey. I am still waiting for my library print copy. Excellent review! 🙂
Great review, Joey! As a former defense attorney, I was intrigued to read your take on this book. Looks like we both enjoyed it!
Great review, Joey. Thanks for letting us know that even though it is long, it is not cumbersome! It is a 20-hour audiobook!
Unfortunately it seems we have more than our fair share of such biased judges who are supposed to be impartial.
Wow. Scary when either innocence or guilt is presumed! Your review has sparked my interest in the book, which I'll read after finishing research on abstracts related to the themes of my short CIA thriller, Bleeding Stubs, set in Africa. I need to complete this so the magazine sponsoring the education can select the right applicant. It would be great if you could spare a few minutes to share your thoughts on the title, "Language Liberation: African Authors Shifting from Africanized English to Standard English." Keep up the excellent work!
Karen wrote: "You are making me even more excited about reading this story, Joey. I am still waiting for my library print copy. Excellent review! 🙂"Thank you.
Pang wrote: "Absolutely amzing review, Joey! :D"Thank you.
Tini wrote: "Great review, Joey! As a former defense attorney, I was intrigued to read your take on this book. Looks like we both enjoyed it!"That is great. We found an author that both a defense attorney and a prosecutor can agree on
Jayne wrote: "Great review, Joey. Thanks for letting us know that even though it is long, it is not cumbersome! It is a 20-hour audiobook!"I hope you have a long commute. It is definitely long but worth the effort
Joe wrote: "Unfortunately it seems we have more than our fair share of such biased judges who are supposed to be impartial."I agree. It is sad when a judge gets mad at an attorney and shuts down listening to him/her. It is definitely not fair to their client.
TXGAL1 wrote: "Stellar review, Joey!😊"Thank you.
Donald wrote: "Wow. Scary when either innocence or guilt is presumed! Your review has sparked my interest in the book, which I'll read after finishing research on abstracts related to the themes of my short CIA t..."Actually both the book’s subject matter and title sounds fascinating. The title “Bleeding Stubs� is a little graphic and might turn away some readers in fear of reading violent graphic descriptions. The other title is great and sounds intriguing —although I’m not sure what “Africanized English� is � please feel free to share
Joey wrote: "Donald wrote: "Wow. Scary when either innocence or guilt is presumed! Your review has sparked my interest in the book, which I'll read after finishing research on abstracts related to the themes of..." No. Bleeding Stubs is already a book title. I was trying to get an opinion only on the title of a paper that students are writing on Bleeding Stubs. I am the author of Bleeding Stubs, which is a good title for a thriller.Bleeding Stubs by Donald Besong.
. The following books sell well, even though their titles suggest a greater violence.
Ice Massacre by Tania Warner.
. The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell.
.
Terrific review, Joey. I should read a courtroom thriller as I've just been called for jury duty availability for the month of March. Hopefully if I get selected for a jury (again), the case won't be quite so dramatic as this one!
I loved this one and Presumed Innocent. Which other novels of his did you love?
Wonderful review, Joey! I loved this one too.
Great review! I’ve never read this author but sounds like one to check out
Keri wrote: "Great review! I’ve never read this author but sounds like one to check out"Thank you, Keri. You should definitely give him a try if you enjoy courtroom thrillers
Debbie wrote: "Wonderful review, Joey! I loved this one too."Thank you.
Kat wrote: "Terrific review, Joey. I should read a courtroom thriller as I've just been called for jury duty availability for the month of March. Hopefully if I get selected for a jury (again), the case won't ..."lol. Maybe you will get selected for a civil case instead. Not as much pressure for sure.
As a white man that raised a biracial child it was clear to me Turow did zero research on the experience of a black child raised in a white family. For not the first time Turow exhibits poor understanding of black culture and experience. Exhibit 1: The dialogue of black characters in his novel The Laws of Our Fathers could be considered offensive. I personally found it comical and not in a funny way. I think Turow should avoid race issues in the future.
This is an incredible review, Joey! It sounds like a captivating read, and it’s great that you have experience in this field as a prosecutor. Your authentic perspective adds a lot of value to the review. Terrific job! 🥰🥰🥰
Turow, as Deaver, is in a league of his own...
Jennifer (Jaye) (catching up slowly) wrote: "This is an incredible review, Joey! It sounds like a captivating read, and it’s great that you have experience in this field as a prosecutor. Your authentic perspective adds a lot of value to the r..."Thank you Jennifer. I appreciate the compliment.
Razvan wrote: "Turow, as Deaver, is in a league of his own..."I agree. Both are rock solid in my opinion
I just read Presumed Innocent this year and loved it and have a Kindle Unlimited copy of Innocent to read while I wait for the library to give me a copy of this one. I am so happy you can add insight to this as a prosecutor. I feel like I’m in good hands when you give your seal of approval, Joey.
hi! as wondering whether i need to read Presumed Innocent or Book #2 first before reading Book #3. Reason being, Book #3 is on sale at my bookstore right now!
Since I have not read Turow yet where would you suggest I start? TIA