Scan barcode
A review by mc007
Innocent by Scott Turow
3.0
I read [b:Presumed Innocent|425029|Presumed Innocent (Kindle County Legal Thriller, #1)|Scott Turow|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404412704s/425029.jpg|7732] a few weeks back and casually stumbled upon this sequel while perusing the clearance stacks at a local Barnes & Noble. I ended following the same reading routine as I did with the first: a few days reading the pre-trial portion of the book and then a couple of late nights burning through the fast-paced trial sequence.
Caution to those who haven't read [b:Presumed Innocent|425029|Presumed Innocent (Kindle County Legal Thriller, #1)|Scott Turow|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404412704s/425029.jpg|7732] (and I truly hope you have since this is a direct sequel to that book and you are doing yourself a disservice by not reading it first!) -- there are spoilers below.
Innocent feels more polished and overall better written than its predecessor. The change between narrators in each chapter is a nifty way of telling the story, especially from prosecuting attorney Tommy Molto's view (he's not a bad guy). But this mechanic also makes this an inferior book compared to Presumed Innocent. That book is told entirely from the perspective of Rusty, with the reader becoming quite intimate with his thoughts and inner psyche. But even then the reader doesn't know if he committed the murder or not. The reader goes "all-in" with the character and knows that they may get burned by the novel's end. This takes the novel's riveting intensity to the highest levels. Innocent offers some page-turning excitement, but not nearly as much as Presumed Innocent.
"But wait -- isn't this a review for Innocent?" Yes, but if you read Presumed Innocent beforehand, you'll still have a good time and enjoy catching up with characters years after the first novel, but the ride won't be nearly as fun.
Caution to those who haven't read [b:Presumed Innocent|425029|Presumed Innocent (Kindle County Legal Thriller, #1)|Scott Turow|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404412704s/425029.jpg|7732] (and I truly hope you have since this is a direct sequel to that book and you are doing yourself a disservice by not reading it first!) -- there are spoilers below.
Innocent feels more polished and overall better written than its predecessor. The change between narrators in each chapter is a nifty way of telling the story, especially from prosecuting attorney Tommy Molto's view (he's not a bad guy). But this mechanic also makes this an inferior book compared to Presumed Innocent. That book is told entirely from the perspective of Rusty, with the reader becoming quite intimate with his thoughts and inner psyche. But even then the reader doesn't know if he committed the murder or not. The reader goes "all-in" with the character and knows that they may get burned by the novel's end. This takes the novel's riveting intensity to the highest levels. Innocent offers some page-turning excitement, but not nearly as much as Presumed Innocent.
"But wait -- isn't this a review for Innocent?" Yes, but if you read Presumed Innocent beforehand, you'll still have a good time and enjoy catching up with characters years after the first novel, but the ride won't be nearly as fun.