Both Aaron and Mae had long histories of drug abuse, and when arrested, Aaron was on probation. Aaron claims he’s turned his life around, but the facts against him are strong. The couple went camping to work out their difficulties, and Aaron returned alone a couple of days later with Mae’s phone. He claimed to have taken it following an argument. However, when her body was found two weeks later in her car in a remote area, Aaron was arrested. To make matters worse, Mae was the daughter of the local prosecuting attorney who wanted to make sure Aaron paid for the crime, even though it was being tried in another county. Although Rusty is somewhat rusty as a trial attorney (he’s only had one jury trial as a defense attorney), he realizes no other local defense attorneys will be able to adequately defend Aaron.

The story’s setup I just described comprises the first quarter of Presumed Guilty. The author has to cram considerable backstory about Rusty, Bea, Aaron, Mae, and others into a relatively few pages. Instead of a barebones recitation of facts, Rusty philosophizes at length, and the result is a sometimes dull and disjointed narrative. However, once Rusty represents Aaron, the narrative jumps ahead several months until the start of the trial. Turow’s description of the trial occupies almost the entire rest of the book.

In the movies or on television, criminal trials take only a few minutes of on-camera time. As anyone who watched the O.J. Simpson trial remembers, the actual courtroom proceedings take days or weeks, much of it occupied by tedious preliminary questioning of witnesses. Turow recounts almost the entire trial in Presumed Guilty from opening statements until the conclusion of testimony. (He omits the closing statements.) The editing and condensation of testimony are seamless. Readers feel they are experiencing each witness’s testimony in its entirety. Further, Turow doesn’t just recreate the trial transcript. Instead, Rusty serves as an expert commentator as well as a participant. He describes why he and the prosecuting attorney called specific witnesses and asked specific questions. The opening statements, in particular, occupy a lengthy chapter apiece. Rusty’s (and the author’s) ruminations aren’t limited to the time that court is in session. Recesses and daily adjournments give Rusty and his investigator an opportunity to do research, investigate new leads, and debate upcoming strategies. Even before Rusty took the case, his lawyerly mind was at work when he gave his thoughts on the ramifications of the police’s search of his property for evidence against Aaron.  

The result of the author’s detailed analysis is the most fascinating literary depiction of a criminal trial I’ve ever read. The narrative never gets bogged down in legal obscurities or trivialities, even when Turow recounts the testimony of minor witnesses. Instead, he shows how an experienced litigator uses all types of testimony (and in what order he introduces the testimony) to advance his case. The author also shows how and when Rusty cross-examines witnesses for maximum effect. Turow also introduces some terminology with which many lay readers may be unfamiliar, like a Brady hearing (referring to the Supreme Court case requiring the prosecution to turn over all evidence in its possession favorable to the defense).

The author also uses Rusty as a sounding board for some discussions removed from the facts of this case. Aaron is a young black defendant with a criminal record accused of the brutal murder of a white woman. The case is being tried in a rural county with few black residents, and Rusty has to consider any inherent biases the jury may have and how to counter them. The author also brings up the notion of confirmation bias regarding an eyewitness who saw Aaron’s last argument with Mae.

Those who have read Scott Turow’s earlier books may suspect that Presumed Guilty will contain some surprises, and it does. Previously hidden information that helps explain some of the earlier events comes out during the trial. Also, readers who enjoy traditional whodunits will be pleased to know that the author explains how the girlfriend’s death actually occurred.

Presumed Guilty is a long book, but readers will not want to put it down once the trial starts. I’ve read many legal thrillers, but this novel is the best at describing a fictional trial, with its mix of plausible testimony and incisive analysis. Readers will feel they are in the courtroom with Rusty and Aaron, experiencing the trial’s ups and downs from day to day. This book would have been better if the author had spent more time establishing the main characters in the beginning, but that’s a mere quibble. Scott Turow has taken his time providing readers with the legal encounters of Rusty Sabich, but the delay has been worth it. Presumed Guilty is as finely crafted and fascinating a legal thriller as readers are going to find.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.