I usually enjoy a Scott Turow’s books and a great legal thriller. This one was tough to get into. It was very slow in the beginning, too much description in the first half of the book. It didn’t hold my interest.

An interesting approach by an author I have read since Presumed Innocent. Always a good story teller, and story. Loved it

Scott Turow has written another engrossing, detailed, and highly enjoyable courtroom drama. No one does it better.
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: Present Day, small towns in Wisconsin
Characters: The narrator, Rusty Sabich returns along with a new fiancée, Bea, her adopted son, Aaron, her family, Aaron’s girlfriend, Mae, and a perfect cast of prosecution and law enforcement.
Overview: Aaron has been accused of murdering Mae with an overwhelming amount of evidence and Rusty, reluctantly and because of his age, is pressed into service to defend him. His investigator, Susan DeLeo, is particularly intriguing and influential. The prosecution is headed by Hiram Jackdorp - really his name - perfectly portrayed as the nemesis you love to hate. And the interplay between the judge, Jackdorp, and Sabich throughout the trial is a terrific story within a story.
Recommendation: I rate this book 5 stars
Extras: This book is long and takes a while to get into the characters and move the plot along. But when the courtroom scenes begin, it is exceptionally hard to put the book down. This is one book that I’m actually willing to postpone sleep for to see what happens in the next chapter after the last chapter’s cliffhanger line. Highly recommended and equal to Turow’s classic, “Presumed Innocent.”
Thanx to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to provide this candid review.

I have read this author before and enjoyed his books but this one was a disappointment. This one was really slow and never grabbed me. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Scott Turrow’s legal thriller “Presumed Gullty” was definitely a an exiting read. Rusty Sabich retired lawyer and judge is begged by his fiancé to defend her son Aaron for the murder of his girlfriend Mae. The trial brings out a lot of secrets in Aaron’s family and Mae’s family. I definitely could see this as a hit linitec series show to be streamed on Netflix. If you enjoy legal and trial reads you will want this one!

Retired judge Rusty Sabich is finally living the good life in a rural town with his fiancée Bea when Bea’s adopted son, Aaron is arrested for the murder of his on-again off-again girlfriend Mae. Against his own good judgment, Rusty agrees to defend Aaron against the charges. Presumed Guilty is a powerful, lyrical legal thriller that will engross you from page one. Narrated by Rusty (whom longtime readers may remember from earlier novels) who has his own personal baggage, this book hits on a wide range of issues, all delicately handled and presented without bias, as Rusty walks the reader through every step of the legal process. Every chapter provides the reader with pertinent plot information, as well as thought-provoking social commentary that intertwines with Aaron’s journey. This is an outstanding book in so many respects, from the eloquence of the storytelling to the fierce courtroom scenes that will leave you spellbound. One of the best I’ve read this year, absolutely loved it. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rusty knows the ins and outs of the legal system. As both a former judge and a wrongly convicted criminal, he's seen both sides of the law. Bea, his fiancé, also knows the legal system from dealings with her son, Aaron. Aaron has been on probation and recently released to the both of them, mainly because they think Rusty, being a judge, will be a good influence on him and prevent him from running from the law.

Aaron has had a complicated life, with divorced parents and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend, Mae. Having dated since high school, they are constantly on again off again with many issues. One day, Mae volunteers that they should marry. Aaron isn't sure he agrees, but commits to a weekend trip camping to try and figure out if this is the best move for both of them. They agreed to leave their phones, social media, and all others at home. Except Mae doesn't stick to that rule and as soon as they are up there, starts in with the drugs again. Aaron gets very mad, takes her phone, and leaves to go home. Except now Mae is dead. Did Aaron kill her?

It was a great courtroom drama and Turow never disappoints. I had recently watched the Apple series so I had a struggle to see Rusty as an old man at the beginning. Once the trial began, you never knew where it was going. The reader was always waiting for the next shoe to drop and WOW did it. A truly surprise ending. This book kept me awake and away from the TV on election night when I really needed a distraction. I stayed up all night reading it.

PRESUMED GUILTY, despite its way too cute title, is a truly excellent novel that transcends the legal thriller genre. I read a lot of so-called genre books, but the depth and resonance of Turow's narrative here lifts PRESUMED GUILTY to another level of literature altogether.

One quibble. I thought the ending was awkward and unworthy of the fine storytelling that had come before. Turow's effort to mirror the memorable ending of PRESUMED INNOCENT was strained, to say the very least. He's a better writer than that, and a book as extraordinary as PRESUMED GUILTY deserved a better ending than this.

Totally riveting legal suspense read by the master of them all.
Rusty is back - now a retired judge enjoying a peaceful existence with Bea, the woman he hopes to marry, when everything they know is up ended by her son.
With a volatile relationship history, Bea's son Aaron returns home, alone, after going dark for 3 days, with his on again off again love Mae, while on probation. Breaking probation is the least of his worries as the girl, who also happens together as daughter turns up murdered. When all evidence seemingly turns to him, he is arrested and under duress and not entirely convinced of the boy's innocence, Rusty agrees to defend him.
And thus the story begins with the precision, incredible attention to detail and totally entertaining
sidelines that make Turow such a giant in his genre.
Fascinating story with courtroom twists and turns that you never see coming.
Great read with a myriad of fascinating legal instruction.
I almost feel like I could hire myself out as a legal aide.
Almost.

Several years ago I used to really like novels by Mr. Turow. Every so often I try to read one of his newer novels and am sadly disappointed. This was another disappointment. Too much exposition before the novel really starts.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

In this, the third novel featuring Rusty Sabich, he is retired from his judgeship, living lakeside with fiancée Bea and her adopted son, Aaron, in a small midwest town. Aaron has a tempestuous love life with Mae, rogue daughter of the county prosecutor and granddaughter of Rusty’s best friend. Aaron is on probation for earlier drug charges, but has seemed to have turned his life around. When he disappears for a few days, he is violation of a condition of his probation, but reappears saying he went camping with Mae, they had a fight, he took her phone and hitch hiked home.

When Mae is found murdered some days later, Aaron is charged with the crime. Bea begs Rusty to defend her son. Against his better judgement and because they cannot seem to find a suitable defense attorney, Rusty takes the case.

Turow once again demonstrates that he is master of the legal thriller. This tale is well written, with twists and turns and lots of courtroom suspense. Characters are well developed and the reader may learn a bit about legal proceedings. The book is long, but engrossing and a very worthwhile, satisfying read. This would make a great streaming series. Can’t wait for it!

Another excellent addition to Scott Turow’s ongoing Presumed series! Presumed Guilty is a clever courtroom drama filled with stunning twists and turns as evidence is organized, discussed and displayed. Turow is the master at building a multi-faceted slow burn thriller and this new book is no exception as it crescendos to the surprising end. Layer in the raw aspect of highlighting a young black man surrounded by a rural, predominantly white, population as his perspective adds so much richness to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Presumed Guilty
Rusty Sabich, a 77 year old former judge, was involved with Bea, a local school principal several years younger than him.
Bea’s adopted African American son, Aaron, had been in a long term but troubled relationship with Mae, the daughter of the richest family in the area. So one day the young couple went camping in an effort to discuss their future. Mae had been heavily into drugs but Aaron was no longer using drugs.
The couple had a fight and Aaron took away Mae’s phone and decided to hitchhike home. He assumed that she would follow in her car and even returned her phone to her mother. Two weeks went by without a sign of Mae. When she was found, it was off the road in her car in an apparent accident.Further investigation showed that she had been murdered and Aaron was the prime suspect. After his arrest Rusty decided to defend Aaron.
This story is filled with legal terms and procedures. It is long and could have been edited to make a shorter book for an easier read.
I have read other books by Thurow, a former defense attorney. He kept the reader guessing until the last few pages.
I received this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow is the third installment in the Presumed Innocent series. We again follow a much older Rusty Sabich. Rusty is now a retired prosecutor and judge who is returning to the court room again. as a defense attorney.

This is an enjoyable legal thriller with a lot of twists and turns in the story. I’ve read the prior two novels in this series and have seen the latest Apple TV series. With that being said, I look forward to seeing this brought to the screen as well. Excellent read.

Four and a half very strong stars for this great legal thriller from Turow who, thank you, Lord, does not grind one out every six months like SOME lawyers-turners-authors I could name.

Our friend Rusty Sabich, from PRESUMED INNOCENT, the only book that ever made me gasp, audibly, when I reached the twist, #masterful returns in this one, the living embodiment of “may you be cursed with an interesting life” or however the Chinese proverb actually goes (note to self: bone up on Chinese proverbs). He’s a retired judge who is preparing to marry Bea, lives upstate and is looking forward to finally finding some peace in his life. That dream falls apart when Bea’s son Aaron, who is living with them while on probation for drug possession, disappears. Since he’s out on bond if he doesn’t return soon he’ll go to jail.

Aaron returns with a sketchy story about camping with his longtime girlfriend Mae, a relationship ending fight and hitchhiking home. Then Mae is discovered dead and Aaron is arrested and charged with first degree murder. Bea begs Rusty to take Aaron’s case. And there’s no fool like an old fool.

Oh, Scott Turow. You are so good at the courtroom stuff, much better than Grisham ever thought of being (but I am a lawyer, so maybe I appreciate you differently than a layperson, I don’t know.). This, obviously, isn’t PRESUMED INNOCENT, but nothing ever could be. It’s still very, very good and I throughly enjoyed reading it. If you like courtroom drama and murder, you’re going to like this; put it on your short list.

Thanks to Hatchette Book Group for an ARC copy of Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow. Following up on Apple TV’s successful Presumed Innocent, time has elapsed and Rusty Sabitch is well into his seventies, semi retired, and in a new relationship with a much younger Bea. Bea’s divorced with an adopted Black son, Aaron, who’s a recovering addict. Aaron is in an on again off again long term relationship with Mae a fellow addict. After a camping weekend Aaron comes home and later Mae’s badly decomposed body is found. This is Kindle County and Mae’s prominent family is actively seeking a killer. Here ‘s where Turow’s writing excels. There’s no one better at courtroom drama with the right amount of legal procedures to keep the reader engaged but not overwhelmed than Turow. Add in his keen insight into to human nature and relationships and the stage is set. Well drawn characters and a riveting plot more hallmarks of Turow’s writing are well on display in Presumed Guilty. If there’s any weakness it’s in the ending. I felt it was a rush to finish the book and ended up skimming the last few chapters. Screenwriters may want to play a little here. Welcome back Rusty Sabitch!

Thank you, Net Galley, for the advanced copy. Much like the original Presumed Innocent, the last installment Presumed Guilty has Rusty defending a young man that is presumed guilty, and he must find evidence to move the jury to find him innocent. And just like the original the real killer is a BIG surprise.

Wow, what a surprise! The first few pages were a little heavy on description and I thought I was headed for a "ripped from the headlines" (Laudrie/Petito murder/suicide) rehash. But no, this was an entirely fresh story that had me totally engrossed. Rusty Sabich is still a fascinating character, with new and poignant insights that come with age. The characters around him are well-developed and often surprising. The plot is briskly paced and I found myself (once again) staying up well into the wee hours to finish the book. Turow is back with a vengeance. You will not be disappointed!