PRESUMED INNOCENT by Scott Turow ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was expecting a John Grisham copycat; a lawyer in the midst of some big mystery with time running out. Instead, the excitement is transferred to the court room with experiential detail and a surprising amount of fascination.

Of course, it starts with a murder. There’s still a mystery to be solved, as is tradition. But placing it within the prosecutors office turns each methodic move to discover the truth personal. There’s twists, turns, and graceful descriptions of cop talk and attorney speak. It’s The Firm meets 'The Wire' with a poetic prose, and it’s a highly recommended read for anyone into court room dramas and slow-burn sorta-thrillers. The clock wasn’t ticking, but the tension was there.

The biggest strength of the book is it felt complete. Not only in a beginning-middle-end type of way, or an answers-given-to-all-questions way, but that it isn’t just a quick page turner with heart-stopping thrills. It takes time to find the emotion, and delivers it lyrically unlike any other authors I’ve read in the genre. And that props up the rest of the story.

Beautiful work.