Scott Turow

I read a lot of books, and Scott Turow has written a lot of books, and I enjoy legal dramas, but for whatever reason, I don't think I've ever read a Scott Turow book. I think I picked this up from a book exchange shelf in a staff lunchroom (remember those?) and it sat for a while before I started it. Turow is a good writer. I think he is a lawyer or has some legal training, because his descriptions of the legal process are clear, without being filled with too much jargon. The thing that stuck out for me, reading this novel, is the dialogue. You can really picture his characters talking to each other and saying the things they say. The characters are well developed and believable. There are lots of little subplots going on, some of which fill out the story, the characters' motivations, etc., some of which just seem to be there to fill space and divert the attention. This is billed as a "legal thriller," but I would just call it legal fiction (in catalog-ese). I didn't find it especially thrilling, but it is definitely twisty, with all kinds of intrigue around identity, deception, and the self- versions of those as well. We all want to be self-aware, but these characters, well-intentioned as they probably are most of the time, clearly have blind spots, about their own natures and those of the people they are investigating (or being investigated by). On reflection, the main characters (the titular identical twins/defendants/protagonists) are probably less fleshed out than some of the others, including the investigators, which is an interesting choice. We sort of get to know the twins through other people's eyes. I think I saw where the story was going somewhat before the solution was revealed, but there were enough red herrings sprinkled in to keep me interested and reading. It is nicely paced, with no real malice or nastiness, just a bunch of people in a mess, trying to find their way out of it. I'll return to Turow, for sure.… (mere)