Innocent: Scott Turow's newest novel

I read this novel over a long weekend.It might be Turow's best since "Presumed Innocent" catapulted him to fame and fortune nearly three decades ago. Old acquaintances from that first novel --- Rusty Sabich, Tommy Molto, Sandy Stern --- are reprised, as is the plot: Rusty is once again accused by Tommy of murder, and Sandy is back defending Rusty.

I've always thought of Turow as a cerebral version of John Grisham. Also, I've enjoyed the continuity of his oeuvre: all Turow's yarns occur in and around Kindle County, a sort of faux Chicago.


Turow's earliest work wasn't a novel, however. It was a book about his first year at Harvard Law School,
which became the inspiration for a film called "The Paper Chase."
which became a two-season TV show of the same name.

For actor John Houseman, "The Paper Chase" was a career-capper... best supporting actor for his portrayal of Kingsfield, the diabolical contracts prof, in the film. Not only a reprise of the role in the TV series, but also numerous commercials followed for the aging thespian.

A few years ago, I heard Turow speak and do a reading at Princeton. Afterwards, he autographed books. He came across as a really nice guy. "Innocent" recaptures the qualities that made "Presumed Innocent" such a success. I don't know how well it sold, but I certainly enjoyed reading the closing chapters in the lives and relationships of Turow's first and best cast of characters, who definitely had a lot of unfinished business at the close of the first novel. No doubt Turow has other books in him. But for the Kindle County saga, this one seems like the closer, the appropriate swan song not only for Rusty and Tommy and Sandy, but for the whole Kindle County courthouse crowd.