PLEADING GUILTY

Rating:
Summary: Ethics, ethics
Review: I confess, I heard the audio book version. It was pretty interesting, and well read by Stacey Keach. But I think Mack should have given the money back, in the end. He said he'd be drinking heavily again, even with his millions of dollars. I can see why: his conscience would never be clean. Well, it's only fiction, right? Diximus.

Rating:
Summary: Oozing atmosphere
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Turow is talented, but boring.
Review: I have read two Turow books, this one and Burden of Proof. Burden of Proof was a challenge to read because Turow made it that way. All of the characters were intriguing and the intricate plot was very interesting. This book is the opposite. It takes talent to swich to a completely different writing style. Unfortunately, this new writing style of the first person lawyer/detective did not tell a good story. I was bored by all of the characters and often couldn't tell one lawyer from another. This is not a good book.

Rating:
Summary: Borrow, don't buy. . .
Review: I have to disagree with the reader who thought the hero here was more likeable. I didn't like this guy at all. Scott Turow did a great job with "Presumed Innocent" and there was enough material in "Burden Of Proof" to froth up into a mini-series for TV. This one's not worth the time to even do a "treatment" as the Hollywood crowd calls it

Rating:
Summary: A Fine Mess
Review: I must preface this review with the fact that, while I found Presumed Innocent to be a good legal mystery, I did not feel that it was particularly well-written.

That said, let me give you an example for why I feel that Pleading Guilty is a giant step backwards from whatever literary merit Turow may have held:

The text of the book is a transcrpit of a recording made by one man. This tape had been made with the intention that it would then be listened to by other men. During the course of the book, he gives a physical description of the men who are meant to listen to the tape at a later date. The intent is to inform the reader on their appearance. The result is that it removes the reader entirely from the story. Why would he give a description of the people whom are meant to be listening? Do you call a friend and then give a description of them while you're talking to them? No. It's ridiculous, and any thinking individual will recognize that immediately.

This is not so much Turow's fault as it is the fault of his editors, but in the end it makes little difference. Don't buy Pleading Guilty.

Rating:
Summary: bitter, funny "legal mystery"
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Needed A Stronger Editor
Review: I thought his first book was just great so I had high hopes for this one. I would say that it is a bit of a let down, not much more then an average work. The pace is great but I think the author needs some help in the overall construction of the story. There is a lot going on, many sub plots - normally that makes for a much more engrossing book, but here it did not work as well. It seemed to me that he had so many plots he could not devote enough time to each one thus detracting from the overall effect of the book. I also thought, although he devoted a good amount of time to them, the characters were not as engrossing as some of his others. Overall the book was ok in the genre, but it seemed like he rushed this one out the door without some much needed detailing.

Rating:
Summary: Needed A Stronger Editor
Review: I thought his first book was just great so I had high hopes for this one. I would say that it is a bit of a let down, not much more then an average work. The pace is great but I think the author needs some help in the overall construction of the story. There is a lot going on, many sub plots - normally that makes for a much more engrossing book, but here it did not work as well. It seemed to me that he had so many plots he could not devote enough time to each one thus detracting from the overall effect of the book. I also thought, although he devoted a good amount of time to them, the characters were not as engrossing as some of his others. Overall the book was ok in the genre, but it seemed like he rushed this one out the door without some much needed detailing.

Rating:
Summary: A let-down
Review: I thought _Presumed Innocent_ was wonderful -- it was a very fast read and really thrlling. So I had high hopes for _Pleading Guilty_... alas, the book was not so great.

_Presumed Innocent_ was certainly Scott Turow's best book, and if you only know the movie, go read the book.

Rating:
Summary: Hmmmm...
Review: I was in the used bookstore when I found Pleading Guilty. Being a Grisham fan and needing a new source of legal reading I thought I'd give Scott Turow a try after having heard so many good things. After reading this book I'm not sure what all the praise is for.

I thought the story began slow, but it picked up speed to the point where I didn't want to put it down. Unfortunately the main plot gets so confused with a plethora of subplots that the story becomes quite muddled. What appears to be a tale about embezzlement turns into a story about homosexuality, organized crime, police corruption, dirty politics, alcoholism...There are too many twists in the road. The conclusion was a total letdown. I can't imagine anyone being satisfied when they finish the book. I guess I'll give Turow another try since I keep hearing how he is all the rage. The next book better be a big improvement over Pleading Guilty. This wasn't particulary bad, it just wasn't particularly good. The only moral to the story seems to be that people can be a great disappointment. Who doesn't already know that?