Innocent by Scott Turow (Audio book: Unabridged. Hachette> ISBN 978-1-60024-921-1)
I use the movie version of Presumed Innocent, the predecessor to Turow’s latest legal tome, as a prompt in my criminal law class at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. I love Harrison Ford’s characterization of Rusty Sabich in that movie. I love the late Raul Julia’s performance as Sandy Stern, the eloquent but pragmatic attorney called upon to defend prosecutor Sabich who’s accused of murdering a female prosecutor he once had a torrid affair with. I read Presumed Innocent prior to seeing the movie and recognized in Turow’s prose a depth of character and psychology that the other master of legal fiction (John Grisham) doesn’t infuse in his writing (with the possible exception of A Painted House). It was with much anticipation that, on a recent ski trip from Minnesota to Montana, my wife and I listened to Innocent.
Right from the start, there’s a plot implausibility that bugged me. I’m a judge. I know how the real world works in terms of becoming a trial court judge and then advancing on to the appellate courts. As the story unfolds, Rusty Sabich’s wife Barbara is dead and Rusty, now a court of appeals judge in the midst of a campaign for the state supreme court, is the prime suspect. For reasons set forth in the plot, Sabich prevails in his election but, due to the small matter of being indicted for his wife’s murder, he is not sworn into the high court. He is on paid leave pending the outcome of the case against him. It’s this implausible plot line that troubled me throughout a very well written, character driven bit of fiction. Here’s my problem with the storyline: Though Sabich skated on the charges against him (the case being dismissed by the judge) in his first murder trial, it was clear that he was unfaithful to Barbara from the details introduced as evidence in that trial. Torrid details of his affair with his colleague were made public. Sabich was, after all, a prosecutor accused of murdering his paramour who escaped conviction either because A. He wasn’t guilty; or B. The prosecutor hid evidence resulting in the dismissal; or C. Sabich was one lucky son-of-a-bitch who had the best lawyer in town. At any rate, it’s unlikely that a prosecutor (let alone a private attorney) who went through such a high profile attack on his personal and professional integrity could ever stand for judicial election, not once, but twice, to the highest courts in the state.I know, I know. Turow hales from Chicago and they do things a bit different there. Still, there’s a smell of implausibility to the tale even if it’s set in the Windy City.
Having poked holes in the plot, I must admit that Turow is a great writer. His narrative, his dialogue, and his descriptions of place and character are spot on. Despite the implausibility of the scenario setting up Sabich’s fall from grace (because he’d already fallen too far) Innocent made the ride from Duluth to White Sulphur Springs, Montana enjoyable. The narrators, both male and female, were excellent. The mixture of first person and third person narratives was also well done and added complexity and veracity to the tale. The plot issue isn’t as major as it sounds and overall, Scott Turow’s talent as a writer of legal fiction made the miles fly by. 4 stars out of 5.
