(WPF) Limitations by Scott Turow - 4 stars

[Charlie]

A follow-up, more in depth character study of the narrator of Turow’s previous book, Personal Injuries. George Mason has graduated from defense attorney to appellate court judge and is further down the road in life looking in his rear view mirror while trying to sort out a very challenging case that hits a little too close to home. The book title (like many of Turow’s) is two dimensional as the legal principle of statute of limitations is a key argument in the case before him and personally as a conclusion of himself (as a man and a person) as he takes stock and grapples with his own life assessment. I liked his other books better, but that’s not to say this one isn’t good. It’s definitely shorter and more one-dimensional in terms of its focus being primarily limited to George although other characters come within his orbit and although the law is present it’s more in the background while George is in the forefront (which is a switch from his other books). There is a great line about how he is “keeping score” as of late from a personal perspective and at the doorstep of 60 and being a judge (let alone an appeals judge) how ominous of a reckoning that can be when your ultimate verdict is that as a human you are flawed and limited. I turn 50 this year and just the thought of it after being in George’s head for close to 200 pages makes me think maybe this book is better tagged as Horror than Legal Thriller.