Yet another cannot put down thriller by Scott Turow. This one is primarily a courtroom drama, where an aging retired Judge reluctantly takes on the job of defending his fiancee's son accused of murder. Every character in this story is fully developed and compelling, and yet almost until the end of this book, I was never sure who the murderer was and what the jury verdict might be. What I most enjoyed in reading this story was Turow's remarkable ability to write dramas that so connect his readers to the story, that we cannot put aside whatever else we might be doing in our own lives to finish reading his novel. I cannot wait for Mr. Turow's next thriller!


I received and ARC for free and gave my honest opinion voluntarily.

This was really good! It was almost as good as the original Presumed Innocent. I loved them both. Rusty is older and getting his life back together, with a new woman, when her son gets arrested and he has to become his defense attorney. Very good and very hard to put down. I highly recommend it.

Well, I will start off by officially announcing myself as a Scott Turow fan, thank you very much. I have three older books on my shelf with his name and I’m ashamed I haven’t read them. — Legal thriller fans …. Now read this!

I will also include that this story is an investment! You will get in depth character development, extensive courtroom scenes and a story that is very intricate. Period. However, I was enthralled the whole time. If you want a non stop thriller, this isn’t it. I must admit, when I got to a huge twist, I was reading this while blow drying my hair. True story 🤣

If you’re a fan of What Happened To Nina, this one’s for you! A very different story, yes, but similar. Rusty Sabich is a beast in the courtroom who is defending his client for murder. That’s all I needed to read it! I had watched Presumed Innocent on Apple TV, so I had knowledge of his past. However, you do not need to read the others to enjoy this one!

Massive thanks of gratitude to Grand Central Publishing and Scott Turow for my gorgeous finished copy!!!

- Release date- January 14, 2025
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Can Pop Fiction Make Murder Boring?

“Rusty is a retired judge attempting a third act in life with a loving soon-to-be wife, Bea, with whom he shares both a restful home on an idyllic lake in the rural Midwest and a plaintive hope that this marriage will be his best, and his last. But the peace that’s taken Rusty so long to find evaporates when Bea’s young adult son, Aaron, living under their supervision while on probation for drug possession, disappears…” The disappearance/kidnapping plot device is too commonly used in modern novels and movies. It’s an easy way to give the “hero” something to fight for. But, as in this case, if the disappeared person is someone readers have barely met in the novel, and they are not particularly likeable in what they do know (he’s a drug-user in this case); then, it’s unclear why readers are expected to care about this as a tragedy enough to keep reading.
“If Aaron doesn’t return soon, he will be sent back to jail. Aaron eventually turns up with a vague story about a camping trip with his troubled girlfriend, Mae, that ended in a fight and a long hitchhike home. Days later, when she still hasn’t returned, suspicion falls on Aaron, and when Mae is subsequently discovered dead, Aaron is arrested and set for trial on charges of first-degree murder…” I think this might be echoing the plot of Gabrielle Venora Petito’s murder in 2021 by her boyfriend while they were doing a blogged “vanlife” journey. I used to watch those vanlife shows on YouTube, but it seems that since that murder it has become less popular for beautiful women to advertise that they are traveling (mostly alone, or with boyfriends) across the country with barely a lock between them and those outside their vans. If that is the intended setup, it makes more sense that Aaron has been deliberately made unsympathetic, as in reality he would have been the murderer. Though of course, according to the rules of formulaic fiction, he cannot be the murderer because there must be a surprise ending (the reward) that the reader is working through the novel for.
“Faced with few choices and even fewer hopes, Bea begs Rusty to return to court one last time, to defend her son and to save their last best hope for happiness…” Why couldn’t these guys be even happier with their drug-addicted son in prison, and out of their hair… But maybe that’s just my perspective. Seriously though, this “happiness” is another reward or carrot the reader is expected to hope for as a motive to read into this book to figure out how Rusty will help miraculously set this kid free. In reality, the kid might need an immoral “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit” strategy to win. But in fiction, it must always be that Aaron is truly innocent and Rusty must always find the evidence to prove this. It would be “literary” fiction, and not “popular”, if anything outside this anticipated plot outcome happened. This preference seems to be to propagandize that America’s legal justice system always gets it right, or sets the innocent free, when in fact it often makes mistakes and convicts the innocent. In movies the reason for the propagandistic preference is because police and the military offer free cars, planes, weapons, and the like to filmmakers, but only if they get to edit the scripts to make themselves look perfectly moral, or to twist immoralities into good things. Since most novelists make a lot more money by selling their novels for adaptation as films; they are probably thinking of writing propaganda that would be stamped for approval by these agencies during their initial novel-writing stage.
“For Rusty, the question is not whether to defend Aaron, or whether the boy is in fact innocent—it’s whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.” This is a relatively unique perspective in pop, given my previous notes. When the innocent are convicted in the US it is frequently because cops can rely that a jury would easily be convinced in believing they are probably guilty because of biases, such as the bias against drug-users, or racial, ethnic or religious biases.
The first chapter opens by clarifying a point that I was confused about in the blurb: Rusty is both the new father-in-law of Aaron, and the guy who is asked to help defend his innocence. On a first read, I assumed they find some other guy outside this family. It is a common pop trick to have the private investigator be personally invested in the thing they are researching. This obviously presents a moral problem, in reality, as this lawyer is obviously biased, as he is desperate to save his own “happiness” with this big-baby’s mother.
Rusty tells this story from his first-person perspective. As I read the first few pages, I realized a common problem that usually steps me from reading bob fiction: there are so few personal details about these characters that the conversations and events can be about anybody. Readers are assumed to care about these characters based on the generalized heart-strings being pulled about a kid being missing, without the hard work being put in by the writer to explain just who (beyond his addiction) this kid is. Though I spoke a bit too soon. There is one identifying sentence: “He was working for Galore, a party planner in the swanky summer enclave of Como Stop nearby, doing all manner of commercial art, everything from banners to designing invitations. But with the annual retreat of the seasonal residents, he was unexpectedly laid off last week…” This gives a bit of essential context.
The next ebook page also clarifies just who Rusty is, “a mediator and arbitrator… privately paid judge”. Oh, no: this guy is writing a novel about how he served as a judge on his own son-in-law’s trial for murder, and he’s the hero in this story? That can’t be it… Then, this guy explains that he had been imprisoned for his previous wife’s murder before being set free as “innocent”, and he then hid-out without a “wish to explain myself to anyone…” I assume this guy is guilty of that murder, but he has talked his way out of it, and might be the guy responsible for this new murder, but he’s about to talk his son-in-law of being found guilty of this crime… But again, this is pop fiction. So that can’t be where this book is going.
Then, instead of going into these criminal matters, there are a couple of paragraphs of description of a wealthy place with its fancy shops. It seems the narrator has been happy with his wealth, and the luxury it provided in this place. Nothing is mentioned of any joy he derived from his wavered son-in-law. The story then diverges into a disagreement about the morning paper, which seems entirely unrelated to the main plot.
At this point, I decided to search for the terms in the title to figure out if there were some deep things said about them in this book. “My clients were all guilty, which I had expected, but their plights did nothing to lift my spirits…” Searching for later occurrences pointed to repetitive echoes like one a quarter into the book where there is a back-and-forth discussion about “rights” and understanding and a brief new piece of info about Bea’s “laptop or my desktop” being taken as evidence in the investigation. When investigators usually do a warrant search, they just toss the place and take whatever they want, but there are pages here of empty-content discussion about if they have a “right” to take this stuff. Some of it barely mentions legal ideas, but mostly it is hot air. I will stop reading this book here. It is not “readable”. I don’t recommend the purchase of this or other pop titles in this set of reviews, unless I specifically state within a review that it is an enjoyable or interesting read.
—Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Fall 2024: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-fall-2024

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC in exchange for an honest review. Having read Presumed Innocent when it was published and just recently reading Innocent - the follow up to Presumed Innocent, I was pleased to see there was another follow up about Rusty Sabich of Kindle County. In Presumed Guilty, Rusty has gotten older but has finally found a woman who he feels he can share the rest of his life wtih. She has an adopted, African American son, Aaron. While basically a good young man, Aaron has had his brush with drug addiction and prison in his past. He and his girlfriend, Mae, talk marriage in the future - until Mae is found dead and Aaron ends up as the accused. The story is set further north than Rusty's old town and the population of black citizens in the area is sparse. Presumed Guilty was a strong follow up to both Presumed Innocent and Innocent. I was afraid there would be nothing else to write about Rusty and his life journey and I was glad I was wrong. Scott Turow managed to make this a story that was compelling and difficult to put down.

I received an ARC through "NetGalley" and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The story begins with Rusty, a retired judge, and Bea, his girlfriend /school principal relaxing, but Bea is restless because Aaron, her adopted son, has not gotten home yet. The next morning Aaron is not back and Bea is concerned. Neither one has heard anything and they are worried. This goes on a few days and Rusty knows he needs to make Judge Sams aware that he is not around. This is an issue because Aaron is on probation and is supposed to be in contact. Aaron eventually calls Rusty and Bea and lets them know that he has been camping with Mae and will be home shortly.

When Aaron finally gets back he tells them what happened with Mae. Several days pass and Mae has not shown up. Later, Rusty and Bea discover that state police and Sheriff deputies had been searching their house why they were gone. They were looking for items belonging to Aaron. They were looking for items that might provide a clue regarding Mae's whereabouts

Shortly after, Mae's body is discovered and Aaron is arrested and charged for Mae's murder. Rusty learns that the lawyer that was dealing with Aaron's case advises that he can't defend him. Rusty now begins looking for a lawyer, but having no luck, he eventually agrees to defend Aaron

The time of the trial arrives and Rusty is out straight which eventually creates an issue between him and Bea. Shortly the trial is complete and the only thing that hasn't been decided is the verdict.

To learn why Aaron and Mae went camping, what events happened between those two, what evidence the prosecution had to charge Aaron, how the trial went and what the verdict was, then you must read this book.

The story does a great depiction of what happens at a murder trial., the steps the defending lawyer takes to protect his client and how one person's pushing brought this case in the 1st place.

This is definitely a story worth reading and it will keep you guessing right to the end.

.

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow is an exceptional, very highly recommended legal thriller. This is Turow's third legal thriller featuring former Kindle County prosecutor Rusty Sabich which can also be enjoyed as a standalone.

Rusty, 77, is a retired judge living with his younger, soon-to-be wife, Bea. Bea has a young adult son, Aaron, 22, living under their supervision while on probation for drug possession. When Aaron disappears for a couple days with out a word to anyone, he returns a few days later explaining that he was on a camping trip with his troubled girlfriend, Mae. He thought their relationship had a chance but circumstances during the trip made it clear that they were done. Aaron hitchhiked home and expected Mae to already be back.

When Mae doesn't return and days pass, Aaron is increasingly looked at with suspicion. Then Mae is discovered dead and Aaron is arrested and set for trial on charges of first degree murder. Rusty returns to court one last time to defend Aaron. After having been falsely convicted of murder himself years ago, Rusty understands how the justice system works.

This is a skillfully written, excellent legal thriller, especially for readers who appreciate all of the courtroom drama, suspense, and arguments laid out in detail as most of the massive novel is following the trial. The trial is followed in detail, so it reads like a movie. All the details, discoveries, and nuances of the arguments are clearly presented alongside evenhanded observations about the justice system. The twists and surprises are woven into the plot seamlessly.

The characters are all portrayed as fully realized, complicated individuals with both strengths and weaknesses. This includes the secondary characters too. Everyone in the novel comes to life, which makes the narrative richer and more impactful.

Presumed Guilty is an outstanding legal thriller that you will absolutely want to read. Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Top notch courtroom drama! Expertly woven tale. Starts as a slow burn but quickly snowballed to a great finish. When the main character is accused of murder, Rusty a semi retired judge takes on the case at the request of his fiancee who just happens to be the accused's mother. This courtroom drama takes no prisoners. The action is very quickly paced once the case moves to the courtroom. I didnt see the ending coming.

5 stars

Scott Turow grows his reputation with legal thrillers with Presumed Guilty. I loved this book even more than Presumed Innocent. He kept me reading to discover the truth of what actually happened as a young man of color is accused of murder in a racist community. Turow isn't afraid to feature older characters and show how experience counts in being successful. His characterizations were so well drawn that I felt true emotion for them and was sorry to have the novel end leaving me heartbroken for some and hopeful and happy for others. I have already recommended the title to others and am so sorry it is not available for purchase until after the holidays. I remain a great fan of Scott Turow and look forward to more legal thrillers from him!

Scott Turow is one of my go-to authors for a good legal thriller. In this third book featuring Rusty Sabich, Turow does an excellent job entertaining and educating about the legal system.

First introduced in "Presumed Innocent," Rusty is now 77, retired, and engaged to Bea, a white woman with an adopted Black son, Aaron. Aaron has had run-ins with the law and is now on probation under the supervision of Rusty and Bea. Aaron goes on a camping trip with his troubled girlfriend, Mae, to work on their relationship; Aaron returns without Mae. When Mae is later found dead, Aaron is charged with first-degree murder. and at Bea's request, Rusty agrees to represent him at trial. With the evidence stacked against Aaron, Rusty must use his legal experience to see that Aaron gets a fair trial.

Although it is a long book, more than 500 pages, it is a quick read. The story is compelling, fast-paced, and excellently written. The moral dilemmas facing Rusty and the legal minefield he had to negotiate make for an excellent legal thriller. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy courtroom drama with interesting characters. 4.5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is January 14, 2025.

I’ve been a big fan of Scott Turow since I read Presumed Innocent back in the 1980s when I was working in a public library. How much do I love him? I read tons of mysteries/thrillers, and am particularly fond of legal intrigue in that category. But I will drop EVERYTHING on my TBR list when a new book by Scott Turow is released! So when I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of Presumed Guilty (release date January 4, 2025) from Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley, I once again shut off the world for a few days! (Turow’s books are definitely not in my “one night stand” category!)

His first novel, Presumed Innocent, came out in 1986, and introduced characters in the fictional Kindle County (cough Chicago/Cook County cough) – several of whom reappear in later books in the Kindle County series. Presumed Innocent set the tone with prosecutor “Rusty” Sabich and defense attorney Alejandro “Sandy” Stern. In Presumed Guilty, Sabich is now retired after both spending time in prison, then serving as a judge. He has left Kindle County and is living on a lake in a quiet part of the rural midwest, planning a wedding with Bea. Rusty admits he didn’t exactly plan their situation: “I am not certain that we would have ended up under the same roof if Covid had not forced our hands.” They find their idyllic haven further disrupted by Bea’s adult son Aaron, adopted at birth. Bea is white, Aaron is black – not that it should matter, but it definitely does in this story. Rusty is generous, supportive, and loving to Bea as she struggles with Aaron’s issues, and he admits to being “impressed by the occasional cruelty of motherhood with its consuming anxieties that seem to have no expiration date.” 

Aaron disappears while staying with Rusty and Bea while on probation for drug possession. Worried about him being sent back to jail, Rusty and Bea begin a somewhat frantic search for Aaron, starting with his Grandfather (with whom he has a close relationship). Rusty hasn’t been overly involved in the somewhat touchy relationship between Bea and her father: “Bea’s grievance with her father is akin to a spring with an underground source: it will never run dry.” After Aaron returns, he is charged with murder, and needs an attorney. Bea suggests Rusty and, after he asserts he isn’t qualified, Bea points out “Do you know what qualification you do have? You understand what it's like to be charged with a murder you didn’t commit.” What could possibly go wrong? As the trial goes along, things get complicated and Rusty realizes “...she is putting saving Aaron ahead of her relationship with me.” 

As things go on, many of Rusty’s relationships and ideas are tested. His great friend Mansy tells Rusty that he is destroying the lives of several people: “There’s wreckage everywhere you’ve gone.” Rusty’s response is to tell Mansy that it’s “ …called the criminal justice system... It’s a slaughterhouse and just about everyone who gets close up ends up spattered with blood. People think it’s so great to punish bad guys until they get caught up in the grisly business of doing it.”  I loved it. Since I can’t give this SIX stars, I’ll go with five. Thank you, Scott Turow!

I absolutely loved this book. Great to have Turow back. Rusty Sabich has finally found a peaceful life , semi-retired, involved with a woman he loves until her son is accused of a horrible murder and Rusty must become his lawyer.

I was involved with the trial and so engaged by the wonderful writing and character development that I couldn't put the book down. Of course, Rusty is always a brilliant character, but is the accused, Aaron, that I found fascinating and extremely sympathetic.

This is a very timely novel, with much that harkens to the political climate today. I highly recommend this novel. I'm sure it will be on many BEST BOOKS lists. Don't miss it.

Thank you Netgalley for this enthralling novel and a chance to see Rusty again.

Rusty Sabich is back, defending the son of his girlfriend, Bea, against a murder charge. Aaron claims he is innocent, and there are several people who hated Mae. Did Aaron kill her?

That's pretty much the plot. This is an excellent courtroom drama or legal thriller, whichever name you prefer.

It's split into 3 parts. The setup, the offense, and the defense.

Honestly, the setup was a slog. It was the first 30%, and I found it quite boring. The writing itself is quality, and there were no holes or strange happenings. It was tight. It just didn't capture my interest. Part of that might be because it's coming from the first-person narrative who isn't directly involved in the murder, and part of it might be because there is so much backstory from the previous novels that is squeezed into the retelling.

I haven't read the previous books, but I do remember the shocking end of the original movie, Presumed Innocent, so I had a little bit of the story. That's why I was interested in this installment.

The second and third parts of the book make it a worthwhile read. The courtroom part is absolutely riveting. The legal aspects are top-notch, and throughout I wasn't sure if Aaron was the killer or not. There are so many possible suspects. Even in the second and third parts, whenever it veered out of the courtroom, I began to skim again.

The ending, like in the first one, was unexpected but made so much sense. It was fabulously done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Scott Turow, and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to review an advanced copy.

3.5 rounded up to 4. I've read all of Scott Turow's book and do not rate this among his very best. Still, Turow writes well and readers who have read the first two books in this series will find this a satisfying continuation. Former prosecutor and judge Rusty Sabich is now settled in an area outside of his previous life in Kindle County with Bea, his younger fiance and her son Aaron. When Aaron is charged with murdering his longtime girlfriend Mae, 77-year old Rusty reluctantly takes the case, despite his lack of experience as a defense attorney. The story contains few surprises but while the writing is good and the characters are well developed, I found it to be slow in parts and the resolution unbelievable, for reasons I'll withhold so as not to include any spoilers. There are parts of the book that could use some tightening. Nonetheless, fans of the series and of Turow's other works will be happy to get their hands on Presumed Guilty.

A captivating legal thriller with lots of court room drama. I liked the backstory being that it’s been quite some time since I read Presumed Innocent. An engaging read.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley #PresumedGuilty

This was my first Scott Turow novel, and even though I hadn't read the previous two following Rusty's story, I was able to hop right in and get invested in Presumed Guilty!

There is a LOT of back-story and detail here. This isn't a quick read in-terms of the pace. However, you will be so eagerly following along that you just may fly through it.

This was GREAT - even better than Presumed Innocent! Rusty is back, and will return to the courtroom one last time to defend his fiancee's adopted son in a murder trial - does he have a chance in the judicial system when he is already presumed guilty by all? Turow is a masterful teller of courtroom dramas, and this one is no exception.

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read and review this ARC.

4.5 stars rounded up
I can remember being several years younger and not as wise *wink* and picking up my very first Scott Turrow book Presumed Innocent. I'll never forget the impression it left me of an intriguing and riveting thriller. I became hooked from the start of that book until the spine tingling conclusion and feel like it's one of my first legal thrillers that had me guessing the whole time. Rusty Sabich is back in this book but many (many) years later after his wrongful conviction. This time the focus is on his fiancé's son and the legal troubles he finds himself in. This book is over 500 pages long and at time I really wanted the story to move faster. However, after finishing it, I can't think of a single thing that I would edit out or condense as it makes up the whole complete story necessary for the bigger picture. Rusty is engaged to Bea who has a 20 something son who is accused of murdering his girlfriend. Bea is pushing Rusty to represent him. Rusty has not been a defense attorney during his long career (he always was a prosecutor or a Judge) and fears that if he does this it could potentially lead to a conviction for Aaron. There is a lot of focus on the trial and the details of each supporting character. In usual Turrow style, we get some interesting character driven details and we get shades of grey in our main characters. The morally grey within each of us is what Turrow does best to highlight. None of us are completely free of fault or bad decisions and he highlights them well within this story to keep you guessing who may be the person that ultimately took the life of Mae, the girlfriend of Aaron.
I am going to run out and pick this up in print when it comes out and add it to my "favorites" pile of books. It's a book to read over and over to appreciate the truly brilliant writing of Mr. Turrow.

Thank you for the chance to read this. I am looking forward to publication date and will recommend to others.

Scott Turow has readers in the palm of his hand in Presumed Guilty. Now in his 70's, Rusty Sabitch is a semi-retired judge living in a small lake town in Wisconsin with his fiancée Bea and her adopted son Aaron. When Aaron is accused of killing his on-again off-again girlfriend Mae, Bea convinces Rusty to defend him. Arron and Mae share a volatile history that includes drug use for which Aaron in on probation when the two of them decide to go on a camping trip and she does not return.
The courtroom drama, which is makes up the majority of the book, is masterfully written. Turow has a keen way of taking the reader through the legal process.
Thank You, Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc in return for an honest review. I look forward to highly recommending this book when it is published in January and suggesting they clear out their weekend for it. If it had been published prior to Christmas, it would be my go-to gift to friends who love to read.