Turow has written a superb novel about the complicated process of defending someone accused of murder. How much do we really know about another person? How much do our past experiences of betrayal, or misjudgments about someone color the way we look at people right now? How does that impact our ability to defend someone we are close to?

Rusty Sabitch has moved out of Kindle County and has begun a new life in the country. Now in his 70’s, he has a small mediation practice after retiring from being a judge. He is dating and plans to marry, Bea, an educator in the local school system. Bea’s adopted Black son, Aaron, that she co-parents with her ex-husband Aaron, is currently living with Rusty and Bea after getting paroled for a drug related conviction. Rusty’s life, although full is much more quiet and calm than when he was a prosecutor in Kindle County, and he is grateful for that. But that all changes when Mae, local girl, last seen with Aaron, is found dead in her car at a campsite in the next county

Aaron swears he is innocent, but Mae’s parents who never liked Aaron, are convinced that Aaron killed her and since Mae’s father is the local prosecutor he can exert the right kind of pressure to make sure that Aaron is convicted of the crime. Since the body was found in an adjoining more rural and conservative county, the trial will be held there, and because of Bea’s insistence Rusty decides to come out of semi-retirement and defend Aaron.

But as Rusty knows all too well, a murder case has many twists and turns and his own experiences in being tried and framed for murder come back to haunt him. Is Aaron truly innocent? Is Bea being truthful or just trying to protect her son? Does Rusty, at his age, still have the stamina and knowledge to defend Aaron in a place where a black teenager with priors is presumed guilty?

As always, Turow, does an excellent job in explaining all the minutia that goes into a trial. There is no one that does that better than he does! But in this novel, he also addresses the deep under currents of emotion, bias, and doubts that surround the person who is on trial. In other books, Rusty was the one on trial and he may not have understood the full extent of the doubts that existed about his innocence and impacted those around him, but now he is the one defending his soon to be step son and he has to contend with his own doubts about Aaron’s innocence even as he defends him.

This was a pleasure to read! It had many twisty plot lines that all converged in a single satisfying ending.  I also noticed that Turow as he ages and Rusty, his character ages that they both have become more reflective, with a more gentle and nuanced understanding of humanity.

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

Recommend this Book to: Keith, Sharon and Marain

Book Study Worthy? YES

Read in ebook format.