Presumed Innocent
Scott Turow Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)

Books

Movies

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Mystery/Thriller

Literature

Romance

Biography

History

Scott Turow Books	New book search	Scott Turow Message Board
Get more information about this book

Plot Summary of Presumed Innocent
"Rozat “Rusty” Sabich is chief deputy prosecutor for Kindle County, his boss Raymond Horgan is up for re-election, and his associate beautiful Carolyn Polhemus has been brutally raped and murdered in her apartment. Life for Rusty gets very complicated. Carolyn was a divorced, absentee mother with a very promiscuous lifestyle. The upcoming election will determine if Rusty will have a job; if Horgan wins he stays, if he loses he's done. Rusty's affair with Carolyn ended several months earlier when she dumped him. Rusty is handling the investigation of the murder despite the conflict of interest no one else knows. Dan “Lip” Lipramzer is investigating the details and evidence for Rusty. Convicted sex offenders, those Carolyn helped to prosecute, are initially suspect. Rusty learns Horgan had a brief relationship with Carolyn. Meanwhile Rusty's marriage is in a shambles as his wife Barbara knows about the affair. As evidence surfaces that implicates Rusty he is indicted for the killing. For his defense, he hires lawyer Alejandro “Sandy” Stern an Argentinean who has been a frequent opponent over the years. The prosecution is led by Nico Della “Delay” Guardia, who has now defeated Horgan for the position of Prosecuting Attorney (PA), and Tommy Molto. The evidence against Rusty is serious; calls made from his home to hers on the night of the murder, a bar glass with his fingerprints on it, carpet fibers found at her home, etc. The courtroom drama that ensues takes many turns for and against him. Expert forensic testimony is proven unreliable. Rusty learns the judge had a relationship with the deceased and that the judge, Carolyn, and Horgan all took bribes from suspects. A crucial piece of evidence for the prosecution goes missing. The judge dismisses the case on lack of evidence before it goes to the jury for deliberation. Rusty is able to piece together the facts and events after the trial and discovers the killer is someone very close to him. Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. " David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
" In the novel Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow, the main character Rusty Sabich, chief prosecutor of Kindle County, is helping his friend Raymond Horgan, run for re-election. During this time, Carolyn Polhemus, a colleague of Rusty's is brutually raped and murdered. With the case becoming an important issue, Rusty, who had a short affair with Carolyn, was assigned to it. The case goes no where due to the lack of evidence and no clues. After Raymond loses the election, Rusty is accused of killing and raping Carolyn. The newly elected Nico Della Guardia and his right hand man, quickly bring up evidence against Rusty as he has to battle to prove his innocence. Rusty can only rely on the team of layers he assembled and a mysterious B file. This novel provides deep insight into the day to day struggle between the defense and prosecution." Bo Morris, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Presumed Innocent

Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%

Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Special suspect? - relative
Murder of certain profession? - lawyer creatures
Misc. Murder Plotlets - character killed during/after sexing - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect - Big focus on forensic evidence - Killer purposely leaves clues
Kind of investigator - hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - politics
Legal Thriller Yes
Legal Plotlets - finding out whether someone is really guilty
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman - a lawyer creature
Age: - 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental: Yes
Eccentric: - obsessed
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - politician/elected ruler - a lawyer creature
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount - a substantial amount
The antagonists are: - government bureaucracy - lawyer creatures
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest
City? Yes
City: - Dirty, dangerous (like New York) - dangerous

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths - very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture
How many deaths? - 1 - 2
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - licking - actual description of sex - descript. of breasts - descript. of other female areas - descript. of male nudity - rape (yeech!)
A lot of techno jargon? Yes
Unusual forms of death - rough sex - drowned - blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

Most similar books to Presumed Innocent
Dark Ambition by Allan Topol
Shadow of Death by William G. Tapply
Juror Number Eleven by Terry Devane
The Simple Truth by David Baldacci
Special Circumstances by Sheldon Siegel

Click here for more information about this book

Scott Turow Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:

David Fletcher

SCHOLARS: Bo Morris Wendy

Search for another book

Scott Turow

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

Use our site!
Feedback
About us
Bribe your congressman!
Rudy Giuliani

Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
Online Dating Advice
Robert Stanek 9:44:39 PM
George W. Bush 9:07:32 PM
Lauren Brooke 7:19:04 PM
David Pelzer 6:28:00 PM
David Pelzer 6:27:03 PM
Suzanne Collins 1:37:25 PM
Terry Brooks 12:10:52 PM
Teri Woods 11:52:14 AM
Trudi Chase 11:10:30 AM
Robb White 9:38:26 AM
Janet Evanovich 4:05:18 AM
Mitzi Loftus 3:43:19 AM
Southampton Row 12:11:22 AM
Mary Downing Hahn 9:39:18 PM
Clive Cussler 6:42:43 PM
Suzanne Weyn 12:43:26 PM
Ray Bradbury 10:32:15 AM
Ann Patchett 2:29:34 AM
Barack Obama 11:49:29 PM
Christopher Paolini 5:59:07 PM

More message boards

Presumed Innocent Scott Turow Book Review

Presumed Innocent
Scott Turow Book Review