The Burden Of Proof

Rating:
Summary: The Burden Of Proof
Review: A few of you thought there was not enough legal aspects to the story line, and too much of the personal relationships. I found the mix to be a good balance. Getting to know the characters' struggles and joys throughout this novel was one reason I found it to be a good read. There was enough legal talk intertwined in my opinion, and the balance kept me up reading late into the night! If you liked Presummed Innocent, you will love The Burden Of Proof.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad.
Review: Although the book wasn't as enjoyable as some, it wasn't bad. The main character, Sandy Stern, is likable enough and still naive in many ways of the world. While trying to hunt down the reason behinds his wife's suicide, his brother-in-law comes to him for help in straightening out some financial trouble that he has gotten himself into. However, unless you are into finance, the market, and other areas such as these, most of the book will be dry and hard to get through. It was for me. The thing that kept me going was Sandy's continuing search to find out what was going on with his wife. As I said, the book didn't exactly have me glued to it, but it wasn't bad, either.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad.
Review: Although the book wasn't as enjoyable as some, it wasn't bad. The main character, Sandy Stern, is likable enough and still naive in many ways of the world. While trying to hunt down the reason behinds his wife's suicide, his brother-in-law comes to him for help in straightening out some financial trouble that he has gotten himself into. However, unless you are into finance, the market, and other areas such as these, most of the book will be dry and hard to get through. It was for me. The thing that kept me going was Sandy's continuing search to find out what was going on with his wife. As I said, the book didn't exactly have me glued to it, but it wasn't bad, either.

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Summary: Characters are carefully developed, story builds gradually
Review: Clearly, Turow is a skilled writer, no question. But I would submit this bit of unsolicited commentary: Sometimes wanting is that elusive quality which rivets the reader's eyes to the book, well past The Late Show : Burden of Proof is a sort of plodding read, page by page (though it does - ever so gradually - gain momentum).

One wonders how a young author can seemingly incorporate the perception of age, wisdom and experience in his characters to the degree that Turow has. As brilliant as his multi-tiered allegories are, I miss the slight but frequent spreckles of humor that I've seen in some other good novels. This, by no means the principal requisite to greatness, is nonetheless a trait I've really come to admire in some of the other authors. Burden pays off at the end, and rewards the reader with increasing tension along the way.

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Summary: Probably the best legal thriller writer
Review: He is probably the best, not for writing a suspenseful book, but because he has an amazing gift for words and it is very difficult to predict in which way his books will go. Grisham may provide a faster read, but you do not get as much out of it. However, Burden of Proof is not as good as Presumed Innocent because it takes a while to build momentum and the details of Dixon's business become a little stifling.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not a fast paced thriller
Review: I put off reading this book for some time because it looked like too much work. I've enjoyed many Grisham novels and wanted to try out some other legal thrillers and see what they were like. Turow is a good writer, without question, but he lacks, at least in this book, some of the flash or pizzaz I was hoping for after reading others. This novel is definitely not a page turning thriller, but it is a solid story.

Some of the legal complications get hard to follow unless you have at least a minimal grasp of how financial markets work, but basic evil is usually pretty easy to spot so don't let the setting throw you off. Turow obviously works at his craft with some measure of pride, so I don't count the few words and/or concepts that are over my head get the better of me, the context makes the actions plain enough.

So the real question is do I give this book a recommendation? Well, yes. It's an entertaining mystery/legal setting type book and while it doesn't read with the same speed and ease of some others, it's still worth checking out.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not a fast paced thriller
Review: I put off reading this book for some time because it looked like too much work. I've enjoyed many Grisham novels and wanted to try out some other legal thrillers and see what they were like. Turow is a good writer, without question, but he lacks, at least in this book, some of the flash or pizzaz I was hoping for after reading others. This novel is definitely not a page turning thriller, but it is a solid story.

Some of the legal complications get hard to follow unless you have at least a minimal grasp of how financial markets work, but basic evil is usually pretty easy to spot so don't let the setting throw you off. Turow obviously works at his craft with some measure of pride, so I don't count the few words and/or concepts that are over my head get the better of me, the context makes the actions plain enough.

So the real question is do I give this book a recommendation? Well, yes. It's an entertaining mystery/legal setting type book and while it doesn't read with the same speed and ease of some others, it's still worth checking out.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent choice for fans of legal drama
Review: I quite enjoyed this book, and having finished it went and immediately purchased another Scott Turow book.

It's a pretty intricately woven legal drama, so it requires some up front investment from the reader in terms of getting oneself sufficiently submerged in the characters & events to figure out everything that's going on, but the investment pays off handsomely as the characters are very three dimensional and the puzzle very interesting.

Rating:
Summary: It's more like a novel than a typical mystery.
Review: I really enjoyed this book, but people looking for a typical terse, thrilling courtroom or legal thriller may find that this one is deeper than what is typical for this genre.

This book is more like a novel with very developed, deep characters, who have very complicated issues, all of which are essential to the story. It's a novel about the lead character, Sandy Stern, who happens to be a lawyer, and who does get entangled in a legal mess as the result of his wife's suicide, but the legal tangle and it's solution is not really the point. The major theme of the novel seems to be that appearances are deceiving, that people within the same family often work at cross purposes, and that even what seems to be direct communication can be totally misinterpreted. Sandy Stern is deceptive and deceiving, and so are all his family, friends and aquaintances. As he uncovers secret after secret he realizes how his life and everyone in it is largely a reflection of his own behavior.

Turow is a much better and deeper writer than others in the "legal thriller" genre he's lumped in with.

Rating:
Summary: Average Follow Up
Review: I thought the author slipped a bit with this book, not as good as some of his others. He constructed a good book with a step-by-step progress to the end and he can weave in a sub plot of two. I just did not like some of the writing; I found it a bit forced or dry. Overall he always delivers a good story, I would read his work over many others. You do need to pay attention with his books, they are an easy ride - he wants to keep you involved to then need. He is good at this form of book and if you like him you will like this one.