Well written, tedious story of a PI attorney who flips for the FBI,
after having been exposed himself by the IRS, to gather evidence
on judges guilty of taking bribes.

This book does not hold up well. The womanizing main character, the way homosexuality is approached, and pretty much all mentions of race in this book made me cringe. It felt like it was written much longer than 20 years ago. Or maybe our culture has just shifted that much in the past 20 years (which is a good thing).

The book is also just not that interesting a read. The story dragged, the characters didn't feel real, and it stretched credibility.

For Lawyers Only

Turow was serious when he said that this story is for lawyers. So much of it is about legal maneuvering. For me it was tedious. Then there is the issue of POV. Turow made telling the story easier on himself by switching from first person to third repeatedly whenever he needed to convey information. I read to the end but I was tempted to stop several times.

Wow! What a great read. Scott Turow's writing is ourstanding: storyline, dialogue and character development are all first-rate. I didn't see the ending coming the way it came. Made perfect sense but still a real suprise. This story also resonated with me on a personal level. The description of one of the character's struggle with ALS, with it's slow and hideous progression, was painfully accurate. Having watched ALS slowly take my father's life in 1999 (but not his dignity) I can attest to both the accuracy of Turow's description of this progressive disease and the abject fear it produces for the alert mind of an ALS patient trapped inside their own body.

The events in this novel are narrated by Defense Attorney George Mason who tells us from the start that this is a "lawyer's story, the kind attorneys like to hear and tell. About a case. About a client." So we should already know that this isn't going to be the run-of-the-mill courtroom drama.

The case at first appears to be about tax evasion. The IRS Criminal Intelligence unit has found a non-interest bearing checking account that has millions in it and large sums of money withdrawn from it. No taxes have been paid on any of this money. The real case, though, is about where this money is going; US Attorney Stan Sennett wants to use this fraud to get at the whole corrupt judicial system existing within Kindle County since the days of Mayor Bolcarro.

The client is Robbie Feaver. Feaver & Dinnerstein are personal injury lawyers and have been best friends since childhood. Dinnnerstein's uncle happens to be Brendan Tuohey, Chief of the entire Kindle County Superior Court. It's suspected that they use this account to pay off judges to sway decisions in their favor. US Attorney Sennett has made it quite clear that it's jail or cooperation. Cooperation always means ratting out; either choice is tough on Robby. Jail means that he won't be able to be with his wife during her final year - she has A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig's disease). Ratting out, well, he's not a rat. Yet, he can't go to jail, he must take care of Lorraine. So he agrees to help with the sting as long as his partner, Dinnerstein, is protected. He claims that Dinnerstein knows nothing about what the money is really used for. Thus George Mason helps Robbie Feaver go undercover with the FBI.

Turow's strength is that he always tells a good lawyer story. The whole FBI undercover sting is incredible from a technical as well as a personal perspective. However, it his character handling that is the most impressive. Robby Feaver is one of those people that most would find offensive. Too good looking and knows it, wears tailored Italian suits with lots of gold jewelry and too much cologne. He speaks too loudly and talks too much. Everything is a play. Look at his profession, he's an ambulance chaser! His one redeeming virtue is that he knows this about himself. Turow manages to keep Robbie true right up through the end, without him feeling like a stereotype. We learn most about Feaver through his interactions with undercover FBI agent Evon. She is acting as a paralegal clerk to keep an eye on Robbie. Our empathy for Robbie is absolutely necessary to the story line. A lesser writer would not be able to pull off the extra meaning behind the title. Turow's skill can be compared to that of a method actor. Not once does the reader have to worry about motivation - we are with these people. And the book certainly has it share of suspense and twists.

To Turow's credit he also handles Robbie's wife's A.L.S. well, bringing to light the "Cruelest Disease," but not by making the book read like a tear jerk. By the way, this is the same disease that Stephen Hawking has been miraculously surviving for so long.

Personal Injuries takes readers once again to Kindle County, USA (somewhere in flyover country) and, in my view, back to the standard of Presumed Innocent. Within the first 1,000 words the Feds + IRS have turned a rich, successful, charming, womanizing personal injury lawyer, whom they wire up and employ to entrap a cohort of judges and various minions of the court, all similarly on the take. As the investigation lumbers forward over six months, through a thicket of legal, logistical, and electronic challenges, the G-men’s best laid plans seem often to go awry and by the end some readers may be left dissatisfied by who does or does not get nabbed by the long arm of justice. Given Turow’s interest in lingering over his characters, the plot does not rattle along at the pace of the latest TV or silver screen shoot-em-up sequel. Here, increases in tension often seem to result from governmental screw-ups or bad guys' craftiness, which leave our anti-hero to improvise as best he can. Characters’ personal dramas often eclipse the slow progress of The Sting, which may appeal to readers interested as much in whozzit about as whatzit about. Turow once again introduces a fair share of Others (the African-American, the lesbian, the Jew, the Mormon) without lapsing deeply into stereotype and allows them equal opportunity to behave nobly, ignobly, or both. Character flaws give Turow lots to talk about and by the end good guys can offer less to admire than some bad guys. As one might expect, there are also inconvenient and unattractive truths of life, death, and society for readers to confront, shrug off, or simply not like.

I loved this book. I loved the exploration of human frailties very American Very human.

I have to say – the final chapter reduced me to tears. Probably the most satisfying, well written endings of any book I’ve ever read. Literally sat in my bed crying. Good thing I was alone. Not going to give any spoilers even though this book is not exactly new but the book, and in particular the last chapter, was just so well done. Thank you, Mr. Turow, for the perfect ending. Can’t imagine that it could’ve ended any other way.

This is a well-written book, with well-developed characters, surprisingly well-written women and an intricate plot. I just didn’t like it. It took forever for me to read, I didn’t look forward to picking it up, I hated the ending. I think it was a good book...for someone else.

There are some well written plot points, but several themes that have not aged well. The male perspective of a lesbian from a time it was seen as a fantasy is pretty played out, as has the womanizing, big player lawyer out looking for meaning. It was a hard slog through the first half of the book

Interesting look at the experience of a lawyer "forced" into being a confidential informant and the effect on the other people-colleagues and law enforcement-surrounding him. Written in a procedural not unemotional style.

Robbie is an attorney who's about to get caught in an IRS/FBI sting. The prevalent malfeasance in the good-ol-boy network of local judges and attorneys has drawn the full attention of a U S Attorney General. Throw in an undercover investigation of 6 months to 2 years, along with great character development, and it's a fun ride.