1001 Books for Every Mood - Readers Guide

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

Kindle County prosecutor Rusty Sabich is assigned to investigate the rape and murder of a woman colleague. He fails to disclose that he and the victim had had an affair. Compelling physical evidence makes Sabich the prime suspect. This novel defined the legal thriller genre. But it has the kind of characters you expect from a literary novel and an infamous surprise ending that most of us don't see com

-- 1001 Books for Every Mood

Readers Guide by Jan Brogan

Overview

Rusty Sabich, the troubled narrator of Presumed Innocent, is both a prosecutor and the accused in this complex thriller that puts the reader in the jury seat.

The reader is never quite sure what to believe as Rusty reveals his all-consuming obsession with the murder victim, his former lover, Carolyn Polhemus. Revealed in flashback, Carolyn is a fellow prosecutor in the Office of the Kindle County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, sexy, dedicated, and ruthless in her ambitions.

Clearly Rusty has motive and opportunity, but he makes himself an underdog as he takes us through the politics and inner workings of a prosecuting attorney’s office in desperate need of a conviction. We root for him as he attempts to clear himself, even when evidence disappears, and when we aren’t quite sure whether he is guilty or innocent.

Even the minor characters in this book are deeply drawn, but the major players are so compelling and true to life, that they are both familiar and surprising – from the past-prime prosecuting attorney, to the streetwise judge, to the homicide detective who plays by his own rules. More importantly, the competing agendas that drive this suspenseful and unpredictable story reveal a criminal justice system that has little to do with getting at the truth.

Discussion Questions

1. How does the Opening Statement set up the central question of this book?

2. The story is narrated mostly in the present tense. How does this affect the delivery of the main story and set up the flashbacks?

3. The story begins with Carolyn Polhemus’s funeral. How does Turow use this scene to set up the competing agendas of the book?

4. When Rusty first introduces homicide detective Lipranzer, whom he describes as his best friend, the cop is waiting for him, “hidden” sitting behind Rusty’s office door. How is that relevant to Lipranzer’s role in this story.

5. Why does Turow use a therapist scene to get at Rusty’s obsession with Carolyn Polhemus? Does this technique make the reader more sympathetic to Rusty? Less sympathetic?

6. Carolyn Polhemus is described as shrewd, exciting and sexy.” Too much of everything….You know. Too bold, too self-impressed. Always running one gear too high. She didn’t have the right sense of proportion.” (p. 30.) How does this make you feel about her as a murder victim? How does Rusty’s obsession with Carolyn affect the way you feel about him, first as the investigator, then the prime suspect? What dual role does this obsession play?

7. How would you describe Rusty’s relationship with his wife Barbara and his son Nat? How does the opening scene with Barbara make you feel about Rusty’s illicit affair with Carolyn Polhemus?

8. Judge Larren Lyttle has a long history with the Raymond Horgan, the chief prosecutor who needs a conviction to help get re-elected. How does this up the stakes in the criminal trial?

9. What role does Carolyn’s son, Martin, play in the story? What does it say about Carolyn that no one in the office knew she had a son? How does this contrast with Rusty’s relationship with Nat?

10. Police pathologist Painless Kumagai’s office is described this way: “the desk is a mess, papers and journals in ramparts, overflowing wooden trays. Set in one corner, a small TV is one, the volume low, with an afternoon baseball game.” (p. 89.) What does this tell you about him and how does this become relevant later? What do we learn about his relationship with Della Guardia? How might this affect Rusty after he becomes the prime suspect?

11. What is the role of the Night Saints case? Is it ultimately important to the story?

12. The story interweaves flashback of Rusty’s affair with Carolyn, the present tense investigation of her murder investigation and trial, and intimate family scenes with Rusty, his wife, Barbara and his son Nat. Why are these family scenes so important? Do you view them differently as you are reading them, and after the conclusion?

13. Rusty Sabich does not get indicted or charged with a crime until p. 141, about a third into the story. Why does Scott Turow wait so long? Why is it important that Sabich is not a suspect in the first third of the story?

14. Rusty reveals a difficult relationship with his own father, and that he comes from a dysfunctional family. What does that background make you think about Rusty? And why does the author introduce that background at that moment in the story?

15. The defense attorney Sandy Stern is described as dignified, courtly gentleman as well as the consummate professional. On p. 156, Sabich reveals, “Sandy Stern has never asked me if I did it…. in that he is like everyone else. Even Barbara, who evinces by various proclamations a belief in my innocence, has never asked me directly.” Why does Turow tell us that about Sandy? How does this echo what Sabich is or isn’t telling the reader? How do you view this passage while reading the book and again after the conclusion?

16. What do you first think with the glass disappears? How does Sandy Stern exploit this and what does it say about his skills?

17. When Raymond Horgan testifies against Rusty Sabich, what does it tell you about their relationship? About Rusty’s involvement in the case as an investigator before he was charged with murder? Does it affect the way you view Rusty’s guilt or innocence?

18. Stern suggests that the case against Rusty Sabich has been manufactured by the prosecutor’s office because of personal grudges. How does this turn out to be a kind of clue? How does Stern pursue this line of questioning later with the police pathologist? How is it pivotal both in the trial and in the ultimate conclusion?

19. When the judge dismisses the case against Rusty, do you believe he is innocent or that he has just not been proven guilty? Although Rusty gets his freedom, does he get off scot-free from the whole affair? Or does he pay a steep or meager price?

20. How does the conclusion of this book make you feel about the criminal justice system? What does it ultimately tell you about the quest to determine guilt and innocence?

About the Author

Scott Turow is the author of seven best-selling novels, as well as works of non-fiction that include (1977) about his experience as a law student, and Ultimate Punishment (2003), a reflection on the death penalty. He is a contributor of essays and op-ed pieces to publications such as The New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Playboy and The Atlantic.

Presumed Innocents was his first published novel. In 1986, publishers Farrar, Straus & Geroux paid a $200,000 advance for the book--at that time, it wasthe most money ever paid for a first novel. Soon after, a bidding war broke out over film rights.

He also continues to work as an attorney. He has been a partner in the Chicago office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, a national law firm, since 1986, concentrating on white collar criminal defense. For more info his website is www.scottturow.com.

If You Liked This...

Here are some books to try next.

Other novels by Scott Turow that reveal the competing agendas and egos that drive the legal system.

Other novels with well developed characters who explore similar legal themes:

Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Travers
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
The Rainmaker by John Grisham
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connolly

Two non-fiction books that explore behind-the-scenes conflicts in the justice system with a suspenseful narrative.

A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger
A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr

About Jan Brogan

Jan Brogan has been a journalist for thirty years. Her first novel, Final Copy, which won the Drood Review of Mystery Editor’s Choice award, was inspired by Presumed Innocent. Her other novels, A Confidential Source, Yesterday’s Fatal, and the upcoming Teaser, all feature journalist Hallie Ahern. She is currently at work on a screenplay and non-fiction book involving a 1977 Boston murder trial.