Jul 31, 2001 11:27 AM
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I know I am going to wound a lot of Grisham fans when I say that this book is far ahead of any that Grisham has written , in fact ,it is, till date, the best legal thriller I have read ( Outrage by Denker would come a close second ) Rusty Sabich, chief assistant to the district attorney is assigned the task of investigating the murder of his colleague Carolyn Polhemus.
As the plot progresses, it is revealed that Rusty has been having a torrid affair with Carolyn. Meantime, local elections are around the corner and the district attorney cannot afford to have the impression that his star assistant who became famous in the Night Saints case is being shielded by him. So Rusty suddenly finds himself accused of murder and the prime suspect in the case. Now the only man who can save him is the defense attorney, Rusty's main opponent in many of his cases in the past. It is not just the plot that keeps you hooked - the idea of a public prosecutor accused of murdering his colleague is interesting in itself. But the treatment of the theme, the beauty of the prose - something you really don't generally find in this genre is what makes this such a satisfying read.
Whether it is Rusty's breathless description of his passion for Carolyn or his brooding, introspective musings on his failed marriage or towards the end - his bleak contemplation of a terrifying future; his career in ruins, having to spend the rest of his life behind bars, co-habiting with the very scum he has helped send to jail - Turow succeeds in breathing life into his main character and makes us empathise with his plight, all the while making us wonder if he is really the murderer. When you consider the fact that the story is narrated in the first person, you will realise it is not easy to keep the reader guessing whether the narrator is guilty or innocent. But Turow handles this difficult feat with aplomb and succeeds in producing a story that has both style and substance.
