Rusty Sabich is the chief criminal prosecutor in the District Attorney's office. When a rising star in the office, Carolyn Polhemus, is brutally murdered, Rusty has to supervise the investigation and prosecute whoever the perpetrator turns out to be. Unfortunately, the investigation goes absolutely nowhere, and that embarrassing failure is a major factor in the D.A., Raymond Horgan, being voted out of office. When the new D.A. takes office, Rusty finds himself: 1) out of a job, and 2) charged with murder, after the new D.A. discovers evidence indicating that Rusty may have been having a torrid love affair with Polhemus at the time of her murder. Yikes!
This is an outstanding story with numerous strands brilliantly interwoven to create a unified whole. The possible ramifications are breathtaking:
Was Rusty investigating a murder that he himself committed? Maybe.
After losing the election, will Horgan still support his one-time chief assistant, or will he turn on him like everyone else? Answer: yes.
Is the judge in the case crooked, and will that help or hurt Rusty? Answer: possibly.
Even after losing his job, Rusty still has friends in the Police Department. Will those friends help "manage" the evidence to produce the verdict they want? The answer is, yes, but that doesn't really answer anything, because nobody knows what verdict the police really want.
The new D.A. and his new chief assistant used to be colleagues with Rusty. Will they maintain professional decorum during the prosecution, or will the bitterness of the election campaign carry over into the courtroom? Answer: you betcha!
The story's basic premise is riveting, the development of the various plot strands is brilliant, all of the main characters are well developed and entirely believable, and the numerous courtroom clashes are classics. I've never read a better courtroom drama, and I'm a lawyer (retired) who reads a lot of them!
Interestingly, I thought Turow's writing seemed a little bit clunky sometimes. But like a hint of freckles on a pretty girl, the occasionally awkward phrase just seemed to be one more interesting aspect of a really, really enjoyable piece of work.Get more detail about Presumed Innocent.
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