Pleading Guilty

I read and enjoyed the first two Turow novels (let's ignore 1L or whatever that law school book he wrote is called), but they are normal legal thrillers, although much more substantial than anything by Grisham (whom I also enjoy). But this book was a surprise and a delight to me. It's an hilarious dark comedy that has a nifty little whodunnit as a spine. If you are looking for a normal "hero comes through" book, this isn't it. But it is an acutely observed, bleak comedy of manners with what I found to be a very logical, but satisfactory, ending.

An extremely well crafted legal drama/mystery. Turow has always developed his characters superbly, and his study of narrator Mack Malloy is masterful. Malloy is a deep and believable character, and his personality gives Turow even better opportunities than usual to exercise his wit--how often does a page turner legal thriller also have you rolling with laughter on several occasions? I highly recommend this book, and I second the notion that this is the perfect place to start if you're wondering if Scott Turow is for you.

I enjoyed this book precisely because the main character is such a loser. The poor guy can barely walk across the street without some miserable life experience happening to him. Quite a welcome relief from the endless parade of "smarter than Einstein" narrators which populate popular literature. The plot's a kick and it's not meant to taken as religious dogma--it's a roller coaster ride, so strap in and enjoy the wind in your face.

It's been several years since I've read this book, but I highly recommnend it. After reading a couple of the poor reviews (from the looks of the reviews, you either love it or hate it), I felt I had to throw in my two cents. This book is different than Turow's other loosely-connected trilogy and certainly one of the best. It's written in that first person, detective-type cadence that keeps the pages turning fast. If you're new to Turow, read Presumed Innocent and this one, the others are a notch below.

I wasn't prepared for how funny this book would turn out to be. The plot isn't as memorable as Presumed Innocent, but the main character is much more likable. I'm always looking for a suspenseful book that is intelligently written and this one has great humor besides.