There are some authors who consistently produce good books that are interesting, surprising and well written. Turow is one of those authors. I have never read a book of his that was disappointing. He is able to constantly reinvent himself by creating new and unique characters or telling the story from a new perspective despite the fact that he writes legal procedurals set in the same fictitious world of Kindle County which he created many years ago. Suspect is another wonderful novel, with a surprisingly twisty plot, with characters that are quite interesting and engaging and it kept me guessing until the very last page!

Clarice “Pinky’ Granum is a PI working for an attorney named Rik Dudek. Dudek’s practice is pretty shabby compared to the high profile cases she used to work on for her grandfather, Sandy Stern and his firm, but Pinky likes the slow pace of working the DUI’s and workmen’s comp cases that are the bread and butter of Dudek’s practice. But when Dudek agrees to represent the Chief of Police of Highland Isle, Lucia Gomez, in a lawsuit filed by three male police officers who accuse her of soliciting sex in exchange for promotions, suddenly Dudek and the firm are in the national spotlight and Pinky’s investigative skills are put to the test.

Chief Gomez knew that women in higher office within the police force face many challenges, but these accusations are about to destroy her spotless reputation. Insisting to Dudek and Pinky that she is being framed and that this is part of an ugly smear campaign to destroy her career as well as empower her enemies for nefarious reasons, Gomez maintains her innocence. As Pinky investigates, she begins to uncover strange links between the men who are accusing Chief Gomez and a former police officer who runs a questionable business empire. But things are never as clear as they seem and as Pinky finds out, everyone has something to hide. Only when the full truth is revealed can Dudek and Pinky find a way to defend Chief Gomez and expose the motives of those who seek to destroy her.

Turow knows how to pace his novels and the plot in this one had so many interesting turns it kept you on the edge of your seat. Since it is written from Pinky’s perspective, this is less about legal procedure and more about investigating and finding the truth, which may make it much more engaging who may have found Turow’s previous books a bit more “lawyerly” than they liked. Pinky and Dudek are both great characters and I hope that Turow comes back to revisit them at some other time. Gomez was a fierce yet vulnerable character and Turow does a great job in describing the toll these kinds of accusations and subsequent investigations can have on an individual and on their career. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Keith, Sharon, Marian and Ken

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.