It´s really good, but it takes its time to get to the point. Turow loves digressions about the past of almost every character that appears in the book, sometimes in the middle of something that you wanna know how it´s going to end, and he is talking about some small character´s past. But it´s really well written and the novel gets better and better. The ending is really good.

I only just finished this so my opinion may change with reflection, but I liked it. I should also mention I’ve never read any of this series before and didn’t realize it was a 5th installment till I jumped on here to post my review.

It is definitely a slow read, but honestly that’s how these things really are, so I could deal with that. But the characters were well developed, the legal parts very true to life, and the moral grey areas that often come up when dealing with life (esp legality vs morality) were well represented. I could say it was a little predictable as far as how it would end, but despite that the reader couldn’t predict exactly how it would get there so it was still interesting.

I actually liked all the accurate early 90’s background too, especially the social commentary. Yes, sometimes it was racist, homophobic, misogynistic, but honestly that’s how the 90’s were. I’ve personally always felt you can’t divorce a time period from its prejudices simply to appease current feelings. For me, it added to the realism of the story even if personally distasteful at times.

One of the few irritations I had with this story though was just with its large cast of characters (from the individuals involved plus their lawyers) that sometimes it did get confusing who was who when individuals were referred to randomly by first or last name. Jim and Joe especially kept getting muddled for me with their similar names. I just remember one spot in particular at the end when two ADA’s were spoken of by first and last name in one paragraph, and the next paragraph the same two were mentioned again, but one was last name only and the other was first name only and it threw me off. Not a big deal in and of itself, but just an example of how it was sometimes difficult for a reader who is not great with names. Like how the narrator was referred to so infrequently by name that when a character later in the book said something about Mason I couldn’t remember who Mason even was lol.

If you have the patience for a drawn out legal investigation/sting operation story that is depicted almost as non-fiction as far as realism to detail goes (as in, slow and tedious at times), but with a focus on characters and motivations, then you should read this.

I liked this book. As hard as it was to get into at first with all the legal jargon and long paragraphs, this book really is a story about a confused, lost, idealist human being. While Robbie made mistakes and lied constantly, he was a deep character that Turow wrote incredibly well. The plot wasn't the most exciting, but I think the story was more about building the characters. (It was strange that we knew less about the narrator than any of the other people.) The depiction of Rainey and ALS was depressing though, but the way Robbie treated her and his mom showed another side of his personality that made you realize while he was a huge liar, he also deeply cared about the people around him.

This was the hardest to finish book I’ve read in a long time. Biggest annoyance was the author’s use of different names for each character- sometimes within the same sentence. Not only nicknames, but how others pronounced names. I like to read for pleasure not to solve puzzles. Then in the last chapter the evil twist is revealed. But it’s a marshmallow evil. So what?!?

Turrow is a fantastic writer. His similes have similes and every one is spot-on. He loves characters; 80 percent of his books are characters. Reading Turrow, I am immersed in the world of Kindle County courts with its judges, lawyers, defendants, and minor players. It could not be more real if it was real.
And that is Turrow's one weak spot: when you read Grisham or some other thriller writer, you can suspend your disbelief and enjoy a fantastic story with a huge payoff. When you read Turrow, it's a pretty good story with amazing characters, but you never, never have to suspend disbelief. Turrow never made up a story that couldn't have happened and no aspect of the story is impossible. The reader comes away with a warm feeling that these things really happened while the reader was there, but the payoff is somewhat smaller since the events are real and thus more ordinary than most fiction.

I had a hard time finishing this book, the content didn't match the title of the book. Reading this book was like attending a lecture where the lecturer lacked energy and his delivery was slow and monotonous.

I had this book with me for almost two years before i finally picked it :)!

It is wonderfully set legal thriller with all the elements of USA Government wings in action against judicial fixing just like any match fixing!

This is the story of a very flashy and successful personal injury lawyer who is caught up in an FBI investigation of corruption in the courts. The protagonist, Robbie, is impossible to dislike even by the FBI agents who “handle” him!!

I was surprised to find the extent of corruption that can be found between lawyers, judges, clerks, etc so do check it out if you want to have a reality check!

A bit of a mixed bag this one. Parts of it were engaging and interesting and then there was the rest. The only characters I felt like I learnt anything about were Feaver, his wife and Sennett unfortunately then there were the others that felt like cyphers. The narrator was kind of pointless. Evon the FBI agent was there but felt like a group of cliches and worse was kind of boring.
The plot was ok and if there had been more focus on it rather than some character work it would have been a much stronger book. Or conversely cut at least a hundred pages.

With a review of a 1999 copyrighted book I've obviously come across it in a second-hand shop. As a writer, I know this does the author out of a royalty (and regret that) but it's the best I can afford. And second-hand sales at least get an author additional readers. It's also a fact that I find myself more comfortable with traditional fiction writing from last century than some of its more modern forms.

One way to judge a book is by how well it measures up to its cover blurbs.

I agree with the "Guardian" reviewer that "Turow succeeds in bringing his characters to life and in exquisite and moving detail". They are a colourful lot, though I found the narrator, who appears occasionally in the first person, rather unnecessary to the story.

However, I would not have used the superlatives of other reviewers quoted on the back cover. I did not find it "spectacular" (though I appreciate the amount of effort the author put into research), nor all that much of "a humdinger of a plot", nor particularly "gripping".

For me, judged against other thrillers I've read, it was not a page-turner, so I read it doggedly in small doses. The very small font size of this edition also made it more difficult to read easily.

After trying Turow, I still prefer Grisham.

This was a good way to entertain myself on a car trip. Read by Joe Montagna, that made it a bit more fun with him doing some of the accents required by the characters.

You gotta love the characters! Each with their uniquely good and bad faults, each uniquely human! The main plot too is captivating, it just draws you in and captivates you! You don't want to put the book down. Including references to Grisham and Stern was titillating's.

Having said that, it grew tedious listening to the reader's voice. Soo tedious, I removed the earbuds and simply read it myself. Scott should have eliminated some of the subplots as it got to be somewhat confusing at times. More is not better.

P.S. Scott, we know you have a tight grip on the English language, but consider your reader's starts and stops given the constant use of the online dictionary.

What a difference in my opinions. I previously read five (5) novels by Scott Turow. I included the statement in a review of "Innocent" that "Legal thriller" seems too trite as a descriptive tag as Scott Turow's writing is in a class by itself. The two (2) novels I particularly enjoyed were "Presumed Innocent" (Kindle County #1) and "Innocent" (Kindle County #8).

I was looking forward to being engrossed in "Personal Injuries" but after reading for several evenings there seems no point to continue as I take one look at the novel and already dread opening the book. Had I not read previous novels by Scott Turow, I would never try another after the experience with this novel. I may try another at some point in time but I suspect it may be a while until that urge surfaces again or occurs.