This book took me a couple trys but after having done so, I have to say it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think that readers should be warned that it starts out slow. But once you get past the first few chapters it slow picks up.

I liked his indecision over the rape case and how it related to his college days. It made him see the boys convicted in a light that most of us would never entertain and I thought that was the most compelling part of the story. But ultimately the story hinges on the death threats and who wants the judge dead and I found the culprit to be a satisfying one. I mean, I didn’t really suspect him or her but it made some sense at the end.

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“Kisah Pengacara dalam Labirin Hukum"

I’m ambivalent about this book, and about my reaction to it.

Scott Turow does his usual excellent work in crafting a thorny and totally believable premise, and challenges his protagonist to make his way through thickets of the law’s requirements, society’s expectations, and the personal and moral limitations of all the parties involved in the story.

Unfortunately, plotting, pacing and character development — all of which Turow usually hits out of the park — plodded this time around. Characters were disappointingly flat, even Rusty Sabich (one of my favorite Turow characters) was little more than cardboard cutout in his cameo appearance.

Turow gives protagonist George Mason a chewy and thorny dilemma, but renders him flat, rather than of a deep, textured personality as he has done for Sandy Stern, Rusty Sabich and Sonia Klonsky in turn. I entertained thoughts that Turow made George Mason the way he did as a background comment on his rather white-bread background and life experiences, but if that was the case, his crafting was too subtle.

I semi-patiently waited on my public library to acquire this ebook — shout out #hspls — and perhaps, just perhaps, the anticipation has made me more critical than I would have been otherwise. But then I think again of the overall dullness and distance of this cast of characters and am left puzzling over why they are so flat and listless.

So: great plot. Great legal tension (this is the best part of the book). Lackluster character development and story arc. If you’re a completist, or a Turow fan, you should still read this, but calibrate your expectations.