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Do you remember how blown away you were when you read Turow's first Rusty Sabich book, "Presumed Innocent?" I was an English teacher at a university in Arkansas in 1991 when I read the book. I actually remember where I was when I finished it -- I was the basement snack center of the building where I taught. The book was so good I can recall the location where I read it.

Presumed Guilty, the third of the Sabich series, is the same type. It's sheer courtroom brilliance. But it also has more elements than just courtroom drama. Sabich's girlfriend's son is arrested for the murder of his bipolar girlfriend. Sabich is defending him, but in addition to trying to prove the kid's innocence, Sabich also has to deal with the loss of friendship, the stress on his relationship with the son's mother after a very revealing issue came up, the element of racial divisiveness, political shenanigans and legal corruptness and good ol' boy justice.

There's a lot going on in this book; it's kind of long; I read the large print version from our library and it weighed in at 730 pages. But it reads fast and the courtroom testimony moves quickly. This is one of those books that you don't realize you've read, say, 50 pages before you realize you've read that many.

I've read some reviews of other Turow books in which reviewers say he's lost his touch. That sure isn't the case with Presumed Guilty. I'd offer it as one of the best courtroom thrillers I've ever read.