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The Burden of Proof (Kindle County Legal Thriller #2)

3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 · rating details · 11,321 ratings · 98 reviews

Presumed Innocent was the fiction debut of the decade--a magnetic work of suspense that earned Turow acclaim for his unparalleled storytelling gifts. Now, in a brilliant follow-up, Scott Turow stakes his claim as an American master, in a mesmerizing novel of law, family and deceit.
Alejandro "Sandy" Stern--the brilliant defense lawyer from Presumed Innocent--comes home to...more

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Published by Twtp Assorted (first published November 30th 1989)

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Feb 14, 2012 Oklahomadave rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Following the simultaneous written and cinematic success of its predecessor, "Presumed Innocent," Scott Turow again returns to Kindle County for another dramatic exploration of the emotional vagaries of lives wrapped in the curious legal subculture of American society. In Turow's "Burden of Proof," we find ourselves three years following the events of "Presumed Innocent" as a spectator in the life of Sandy Stern, the attorney who famously defended Rusty Sabich in the murder trial from the prior...more Following the simultaneous written and cinematic success of its predecessor, "Presumed Innocent," Scott Turow again returns to Kindle County for another dramatic exploration of the emotional vagaries of lives wrapped in the curious legal subculture of American society. In Turow's "Burden of Proof," we find ourselves three years following the events of "Presumed Innocent" as a spectator in the life of Sandy Stern, the attorney who famously defended Rusty Sabich in the murder trial from the prior story.

This time, there is no murder, but there is a death; the suicide of Sandy's wife, Clara, mated to a seemingly inexplicable withdrawal from her personal trust fund just days before her death. Her death and the unexplained financial transaction leave Stern with more questions than answers, holding fast only to the too-vivid memory of his having discovered the deceased Clara in their garage.

Amid Stern's personal tragedy unfolds the increasing encroachment of the legal issues surrounding one of his more problematic clients, Dixon Hartnell, a man of decidely questionable ethics, owner of a large investment corporation, and married to Silvia, one of Stern's sisters. His employment of Stern's son-in-law John, married to daughter Kate, as a floor trader at the Kindle exchange doesn't make things any simpler.

Amid the ever tightening circle of influence that an unfolding scandal around Hartnell reveals is the introspection that Clara's death forces on Stern, one wherein he tries to assess his distance as a husband and father, and how his skill at matters of law institutionalized that distance to the point of distraction, creating flawed relationships, incomplete perspectives of his own family, and, ultimately, a troubling picture of himself. He sees himself idealized too much by his other sister, Marta, and fundamentally alienated from his son, Peter, a successful physician.

Turow orchestrates an articulately choreographed dance among Stern's family, his neighbors, and the professional peers into a narrative that deviates from its tightly defined story in only a few places. There is little wasted motion, and correspondingly few wasted characters. From the representatives of the US attorney's office that involve themselves in Hartnell's issues, to the office flunkies that manage his company's trading operations, to the neighbors more involved with Sandy following Clara's death, each is woven with a credible and important role in "Burden of Proof."

Turow draws his characters with sculptor-like precision and insight, with the cognitive depth of a high-resolution mental camera. As one might contrast his writing style with that of John Grisham's typically brisk pacing, Turow's is methodical, deliberate, and purposeful, articulating the finest detail from the subtlest nuance. If Grisham is the quick pacing of a staccato offering, Turow's is the legato counterpart. Even ancillary characters are richly conceived, even if they are nothing more than secondary to the plot, and the richness strengthens the novel's reality with each page.

For all of Turow's literary excellence, however, comes a distasteful tempering. Turow holds nothing back in the narrative in describing (among others) Stern's personal exploits as a newly single man among multiple female encounters. The description, in the abstract, is understandable as character exposition, but the lurid depths to which Turow sinks in his narrative grossly tarnishes the broader epic with details better left to magazines rightly delivered in plain brown wrappers. The vulgarity and crassness with which Turow communicates these wholly unnecessary details belies his obvious skill with and mastery of the written word. Where "Burden of Proof" was my first Turow novel, this issue alone serves as a primary reason it may well be my last.

While the narrative of "Burden of Proof" is efficient, it isn't without flaw. Midway through the text, Stern's younger-days courtship of Clara and his edgy relationship with her father are interwoven in flashback. As the latter third of the novel unfolds, these flashbacks become intrusive and needlessly break the narrative momentum as the story progresses to its conclusion. Moreover, Turow waits almost too long to move the story into a higher gear, as Stern's sexual escapades and neighborly intrusions push "Proof" perilously close to the border of soap opera, right down to the details of discussions had over privet-hedge trimming.

"Burden of Proof" is, at times, a masterfully woven story of personal insight, of a man arriving too late to his own midlife crisis, forced to construct for himself a new future and a new reality beset by unfathomable circumstances and a confluence of malevolence from his own family. Exceedingly raw sexual content, too much early lethargy, and a frustrating mixture of backstory told in retrospect amid the advancing narrative darkens and diminishes the mastery.

And that's nothing less than a shame.

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Jan 27, 2011 Dick Edwards rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For some reason, I found this book difficult to read. Mr. Turow has a peculiar way of wording sentences (some of them, not all of them), such that some sentences I find myself reading 2 or 3 times, and still not understanding what he is saying. As in PRESUMED INNOCENT, there is much insight into interpersonal relationships, and he will frequently (when introducing a new character) go back into a somewhat detailed description of past history with that character. His introspection into Sandy’s rel...more For some reason, I found this book difficult to read. Mr. Turow has a peculiar way of wording sentences (some of them, not all of them), such that some sentences I find myself reading 2 or 3 times, and still not understanding what he is saying. As in PRESUMED INNOCENT, there is much insight into interpersonal relationships, and he will frequently (when introducing a new character) go back into a somewhat detailed description of past history with that character. His introspection into Sandy’s relationship with his wife Clara (who commits suicide at the very beginning of the book) is deep and subtle, and full of those sentences that I have to re-read. I find particularly interesting, his interaction with his son Peter. It is strained, and the two obviously do not relate to each other that well. Yet, Sandy (partially) confides in Peter when he discovers a record of a lab test that Clara had done, that shows she had Herpes. I found jarring the incident between Sandy and Fiona Cawley, the wife of the philandering doctor who lived next door, and who was apparently the source of the late Clara’s herpes infection. Sandy made a clumsy pass at Fiona, and this IMHO is totally out of character for him. Sandy visits Sonia (Sonny) Klonsky at their (Sonia and her husband) cabin, on business. Sonia’s child persuades Sandy to get into the hot tub with him while Sonia is taking a nap (she is pregnant). Later, Sandy starts to have romantic feelings toward Sonia. Helen figures this out, and they break up. Sandy figures out that Dixon is guilty, and tells him he will most likely go to prison. Dixon as given Sandy his safe to keep for him. Sonia serves Sandy with a subpoena for the contents of the safe. When Sandy tells Dixon he must surrender the safe’s contents, Dixon refuses, and later (apparently) steals the safe back from Sandy. Sandy threatens to resign as Dixon’s attorney. Later, Sandy persuades one of his criminal clients to assist him in stealing back the safe from Dixon’s house. They break in and find the safe, which is open. Sandy’s sister (Silvia- Dixon’s wife) comes home and Sandy explains what is going on. In the safe is an account agreement for Wunderkind Associates, the dummy company, through which Dixon has been laundering his money. The signature on the bottom of the agreement is that of Stern’s daughter, Katherine Stern (whose husband John works for Dixon). Meanwhile, Silvia tells Sandy that Dixon had herpes a few years before, and now Sandy knows that Dixon had been Clara’s lover. Sandy goes to visit son Peter, and finds that a government agent is there. After the agent leaves, Peter confesses that he has been the informant all along. He was trying to save Kate’s husband John, who had been doing the “trading ahead” and had lost $250,000 doing it. The plan was to put the blame on Dixon. Sandy’s temporary infatuation with Sonia/Sonny ends, as she appears happy once again with her husband. Near book’s end, Sandy gets a call from Helen at 3 am to come immediately. She has been having sex with Dixon, who died in the act. Sandy arranges with a detective friend of his (who owes him a favor) to move the body to Sandy’s office. This not only protects the reputation of Helen, but also saves heartache for Sandy’s sister Silvia, who is Dixon’s wife. Sandy ends up marrying Helen.
This book did not have the interest for me that his first book (PRESUMED INNOCENT) did, perhaps because the crime was insider trading, rather than murder. The inter-family interactions were absorbing and well-done, but sometimes hard to follow. I give this book a 6, compared to the 8 I gave PRESUMED INNOCENT.
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May 14, 2013 Marilyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is really a very excellent book. The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because I found it a bit hard to follow at times. Turow has done an amazing job though of bringing us into the mind of a man who is a defense attorney. We often read books of courtroom scenes, and how a prosecutor thinks, but not very often of how a defense attorney thinks. Stern is from Argentina, so his patriotism to America is immense, he still has a bit of an accent (which he allows to intimidate him), his wife h...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Kim Tong Lim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Scott Turow had written an award-winning novel Presumed Innocent in 1987. In 1990, he released this second fiction The Burden of Proof that I picked up to read only recently. Scott Turow is a trained and practising lawyer. I was drawn to reading his other books because of Presumed Innocent where the plot, the twists and turns, and the cut and thrust in a court-room setting were so clearly written for a non-lawyer like me to follow the story-line.

The Burden of Proof revolves around the family of...more Scott Turow had written an award-winning novel Presumed Innocent in 1987. In 1990, he released this second fiction The Burden of Proof that I picked up to read only recently. Scott Turow is a trained and practising lawyer. I was drawn to reading his other books because of Presumed Innocent where the plot, the twists and turns, and the cut and thrust in a court-room setting were so clearly written for a non-lawyer like me to follow the story-line.

The Burden of Proof revolves around the family of Sandy Stern, the defence lawyer who appeared in the earlier book - Presumed Innocent. Sandy had to face two major seemingly unrelated events. One was what appeared to be a suicide of his wife, Clara, when he returned home one late afternoon from an overseas trip on an assignment. The other was a subpoena for his brother-in-law Dixon Hartnell to appear before a United States grand jury to answer to charges of some illegal trades on commodities and futures exchanges. The story was not as simple. Sandy’s family of three grown-up children and a son-in-law had roles to play in this story.

The writer, Scott Turow, had me believe the obvious as he wrote the pages. The guilty parties and motives of actions appeared clear as day. But the obvious is not what it is. The suspense as the plot thickened was kept throughout until Part Three of the book when Scott Turow slowly peeled off layer and layer of veil of obscuration. The guilty parties and real reasons for individual acts of deception and final actions were plainly revealed. There is no doubt in my mind as to why events happened the way they did. The twists were complete and I believe the readers were fooled as intended by the author.

There was a closure for Sandy Stern who was in the centre of his family problem. He maintained his reputation as a honourable defence lawyer who will not do anything to circumvent the codes of professional ethics of his legal profession.

It was a pleasure to read all 582 pages of this novel. I did not feel at all labored. One page leads to another and the story flow was easy to follow. There are not too many characters and Scott Turow wrote a tightly-knitted plot without superfluous passages.
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Jul 30, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Scott Turow is more than a writer of legal thrillers. He is a real novelist using the law to reflect on human ego and weakness. His Kindle County, where all of his novels actions take place, is not exactly a moral wasteland but a soiled and imperfect place where there are no easy solutions. His main character in this novel, Sandy Stern, a cosmopolitan defense attorney, lends this novel real gravity with his impressions and his understanding that the law is something of a slipshod negotiation bet...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Grant rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Grant by: Jane McNeil

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 14, 2011 John Hicks rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Brave writer, to begin with a suicide, a mother of four grown children found dead in her car in the garage. That sent fair-weather readers scurrying....

Turow sees us inside and out, by our own laws, more deadly than any laws courts can touch.

"Thirty-odd years ago, Clara Mittler had drafted a composition, called it Clara Stern, and remained intent on playing it to the end. It was a woodwind part of austere and unwavering beauty, and he [Alessandro Stern] was the uncritical audience, one set of ha...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Terry rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sandy Stern is a high powered defense attorney who is defending his brother-in-law from insider trading and racketeering charges while dealing with guilt over the suicide of his wife and his strained relationships with his children. He is a man who is possessed by the law and being a lawyer and who struggles to focus on the needs of those closest to him. I liked the book pretty well - Turow does a good job of character development and I like his dialog. I guessed fairly early in the novel the re...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Karen V. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well this certainly an involved story. There are close to fifteen major characters and about five or six minor characters. A lot of people to juggle and I did get them confused. The story unfolds with a suicide and I almost walked away from it but the secret surprise about the dead woman kept me going. I did not understand any of the legal issues regarding the actual crime. But in the end it was a pretty interesting book. The ending was a surprise but I should have expected it since everyone sl...more

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Dec 10, 2009 Erin added it · review of another edition

I had about 2 minutes at the library book sale after spending forever with the kids! So I grabbed 3 Scott Turow books. I used to enjoy courtroom dramas and hadn't read them in a very long time since I got involved in a book club that chose far more intelligent books! Every book seemed similar to me. In fact they were set in the same place and had some of the same characters. It's been a couple months since I read them all and I've already forgotten them. They are entertaining as you read them, b...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scott-turow, series

Sandy Stern, the lawyer for Rusty Sabich in the previous two Turrow books, tries to unravel the why's of his wifes suicide. His son-and seemingly well intentioned foe--or real foe, the neighbor the Dr., his daughterKates husband John, andhis lawyer daughter, all figure into the mystery. The plot is moved along by another plot, Sandy's sister Sylvia, whose husband is a huge trader of commodities, a gambler, and the suspect in many wall street insider trading violatio s. The twists put the enthusi...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Larry Bassett rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I thought I would try to read some quick mystery books to shorten my TBR pile. This book has 515 pages so it appears that winnowing effort will have to wait a while longer. This book could be 300 pages instead of 500. But it would be missing many of the human interactions that make this book so enjoyable and memorable.

The legal territory we enter by reading this book includes The Grand Jury. For me, that is an education. I have, of course, heard about Grand Juries many times but, with the help o...more I thought I would try to read some quick mystery books to shorten my TBR pile. This book has 515 pages so it appears that winnowing effort will have to wait a while longer. This book could be 300 pages instead of 500. But it would be missing many of the human interactions that make this book so enjoyable and memorable.

The legal territory we enter by reading this book includes The Grand Jury. For me, that is an education. I have, of course, heard about Grand Juries many times but, with the help of Scott Turow, I have painlessly expanded my knowledge of the process.

I like that this book is more in depth than some mystery/crime books that can at times be skimming the surface with most characters. You have an experience of terrific character development without a lot of extraneous information. Everything matters in this book. The words are well chosen and enjoyable to read.

I sometimes found it hard to follow the trail of the crime or the events as they zigged and zagged along. As I often say, too much detail and twisting and turning for my brain. But I can work up a good deal of acceptance of the proofs or assumed proofs even if I do not fully follow them. That means I can keep up with the story and enjoy it without burning out on details. There is plenty of material and missing a bit does no lasting damage to the reading.

Stern is not young. I am not young. I like that. Heroes do not always have to be young and handsome and trim. And people who are no longer young in years still have all the same feelings as those who are. It is interesting and encouraging to find Stern sexually attracted to a number of women after his wife dies. And to see that he can have a positive interaction with a five year old even as he has doubts about how well he did with his own children. In his own imperfections and doubts I find a likeable character.

As I experienced it, the age of this book (published 22 years ago) did not have a detrimental effect on the story. The absence of cell phones and computers did not distract with dust and cobwebs. I lived in a time without these technologies so it is not hard for me to adjust. I wonder if it is the same for readers who have never known life without electronics. Maybe those people do not read books that are 22 years old!

This is an easy four star book for me. I have other Turow books on my shelf to look forward to reading when he comes up again on my cycle of authors and series.
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Aug 08, 2011 Carin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: legal

I read Presumed Innocent more than 10 years ago and it saved my opinion of legal thrillers, which I thought had been irreparably damaged by John Grisham. Ever since then, if I hear of a Grisham fan, I always tell him/her, "well if you like Grisham, you really need to try Scott Turow, because he can actually write." While that does remain true with The Burden of Proof, I do understand why it isn't as popular as his other books.

Sandy Stern, the defense attorney in Presumed Innocent, arrives home...more I read Presumed Innocent more than 10 years ago and it saved my opinion of legal thrillers, which I thought had been irreparably damaged by John Grisham. Ever since then, if I hear of a Grisham fan, I always tell him/her, "well if you like Grisham, you really need to try Scott Turow, because he can actually write." While that does remain true with The Burden of Proof, I do understand why it isn't as popular as his other books.

Sandy Stern, the defense attorney in Presumed Innocent, arrives home from a business trip to find his wife dead in her car in the garage, a suicide. Meanwhile, his biggest client, Dixon, his sister's husband, is being investigated by a grand jury, and Sandy needs to figure out what he's hiding and how best to defend him, while dealing with the repercussions of his wife's death. There is missing money, fraud, cheating, a nasty STD, lying, FBI informants, and amidst all this Sandy is trying to figure out the world of dating after more than 30 years off the market.

Normally even in a thriller, I try not to guess what's going to happen. I know some mystery/thriller fans consider this the best part of the genres, however I find that keeps me distant from the action and reminds me that I'm reading a book, so I try to get lost in the story instead and let the revelations come to me as they do to the characters. But this book is written in a leisurely, languid pace that does suit Sandy to a T, but is not as suitable to the legal thriller genre. It did allow - if not encourage - me to ponder the various possibilities and clues, and while the ending was well satisfying but not too obvious (and kudos to Mr. Turow on his big red herring which did completely throw me, but not in a way where later I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me.)

Sandy is from Argentina, but of German descent, and he's at the upper end of middle age, living a comfortable, settled life, and he doesn't act impulsively or quickly. It is fascinating how Mr. Turow adjusted the pacing of his book to reflect his main character's personality, but in the end I think it wasn't as effective for the book overall. That said, I did still enjoy the book very much and found it very hard to put down towards the end. The 1989 setting didn't date it very much surprisingly (no email, and Sandy has a car phone, but that's it.) And I liked reading about a character who had been a minor character in another novel, now elevated to center stage. And I still think Mr. Turow can write circles around Mr. Grisham. (less)

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Oct 21, 2012 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, legal-thriller-courtroom-drama

This is another great and fantastic legal thriller. This one deals with Sandy Stern. This one deals with tons of surprises and some trips down to Memory Lane with flashback, right after his wife commits suicide. But from there, he deals with an emotional load of stuff with his children and his client/brother-in-law in an embittered battle. But with every twist and turns, he discovers some family secrets behind the scenes. We really see the emotions he goes through from grieving to outraged throu...more

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Sep 01, 2010 Rebecca Huston rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century, fiction

A very good novel, and probably my favourite of all of Scott Turow's books. A tale of marriage, family and suicide not to mention a fairly decent thriller. Sandy Stern (first seen in presumed innocent) comes home to find his wife has committed suicide -- and we follow his life in the months that follow as he tries to keep his life together and understand why his wife would do something like that.

For a longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_29816...

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Sep 20, 2011 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Diana by: Crystal

Within the opening pages, Turow presents you with a dead body. Intriguing interaction of characters and lots of family drama. I was not so big on the stock market/money grubbing details, so I skimmed through a lot of that--just enough to get "the just". Thought I had the guilty parties dead to right but was wrong. That's what makes this an engaging book, trying to second guess the outcome.

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Jun 24, 2011 Rose rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a good book - really got into the emotions and turmoil the main character, Sandy Stern, felt after his wife committed suicide. But these emotions were exposed slowly throughout the book, while he carried on his business life as a lawyer, attempted to mend his relationships with his grown children, and fumbled through his new personal life, trying to get a grip on being widowed at 56.

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Nov 16, 2011 Robert Grant rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This one was a struggle for me to get through. Just found it highly unbelievable and quite frankly-a big disappointment after Presumed Innocent. Sandy Stern was unforgettable in Presumed Innocent-in this one-he is just an old horn dog lusting after everything that moves. He doesn't seem to be the same character at all-ridiculous.

Hopefully the next book by this author will be better.

Originally read in 1991.

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Feb 09, 2011 Linda Munro rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When Alejandro Stern's wife of 30 years commits suicide leaving a single sentence in a note "can you forgive me?" Stern finds his life in disarray. At the same time Stern is confronted with defending his beligerent brother-in-law from possibly Ricco charges. The amazing twists and turns throughout this book leads Stern to the truth behind his wife's suicide, the part he inadvertently played in it, and how twisted one's life can become without even trying. Each of Stern's awakenings lead to anoth...more

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Mar 21, 2010 Jeff Brateman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bam, the book starts off with the discovery of the suicide of the main character's wife. Ha, no spoilers because it was so early on. There are many betrayals, and that adds to the dark nature of the book. The book starts off bad, and proceeds to get worse (in tone, not quality). I remember this book mainly for its characters who were supposedly friends with the greatest trust.

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Feb 23, 2011 David rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, Turow's courtroom drama is as good as ever. On the other hand, there was surprisingly little of it in evidence. Most of the book tracked the dysfunctional family interactions of the protagonist, a fussy, officious lawyer who is at times casually immoral, and at other times, so devoted to his principles that he's willing to go to jail rather than violate them. Like all Turow novels, it's full of unexpected surprises that force you to reinterpret...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Turow is an even better writer here than his previous books. His main character is dignified, reserved, intelligent. Something shocking happens that compels him to understand his world perhaps better than he wanted to. He is endlessly disoriented. He finds he didn't really know anyone around him. Lots of twists.

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Mar 17, 2013 Momina Masood rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: legal-thrillers

A widower struggling with his libido shouldn't turn you off here, because it's so much more than that! The protagonist's utter humanness and weakness makes one go on and finish it. This one will make you see each house with a sad suspicion the next time you walk through your neighborhood. Go try it!

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Aug 26, 2011 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Started with "Presumed Innocent" and then this one to prepare for his new book, "Innocent". Although the storyline is totally different,I like how characters from the first book make minor appearances that let you see what happened to them after the book ended. An enjoyable, engaging story.

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Jan 29, 2010 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a compelling page turner mystery with the protagonist an interesting lawyer type of a tolerant, nonjudgmental pursuasion. I found his underlying philosophy of life intriguing, apart from the drama of the story. I could hardly put it down and plan to read more of his books.

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Jul 20, 2009 Susan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Burden of Proof was a big disappointment after Presumed Innocent. What might have been a great second story with Sandy Stern, another interesting lawyer character, turned into a long-winded not very interesting book. Not really enough in this to make up a novel, in my opinion.

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Jun 10, 2011 Jesse rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The mystery was fine, but it's constantly interrupted by the rambling thoughts of the protagonist, a recently widowed middle age man. Really slowed the book down, and I really didn't get anything out of them. I'm not looking to find my purpose in life from a mystery.

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Nov 07, 2010 Richard rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mostly a long slow slog with much soap opera drama and very few courtroom theatrics or thrills. Turow is a gifted writer and Sandy Stern is a great three dimensional character but there's really not anything of interest going on here; Presumed Innocent this ain't.

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Nov 06, 2012 Kellie Murphy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a good and entertaining novel, with characters that I already knew from Presumed Innocent. I liked the set-up and staging years after the original novel but found this one just slightly less suspenseful. Still, a good book on it's own.

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Apr 27, 2011 Sylvia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Burden Of Proof was my first Turow book to read. It was not the typical legal thriller and not a page-turner for me. There were no cold-blooded murderers to defend, but a lot of attorneys talk analyzing the law. It is also full of the mechanism of financial markets and the concept of future trading. Too much boring parts than good parts.

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About Scott Turow

Scott F. Turow is an American author and a practicing lawyer. Turow has written eight fiction and two nonfiction books, which have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 25 million copies. Movies have been based on several of his books.

Series:
* Kindle County Legal Thriller

http://us.macmillan.com/author/scottt...

More about Scott Turow...

Books by Scott Turow

Presumed Innocent (Kindle County Legal Thriller, #1)

Innocent (Kindle County Legal Thriller, #8)

One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School

Pleading Guilty (Kindle County Legal Thriller, #3)

Reversible Errors (Kindle County Legal Thriller, #6)

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