Presumed Innocent

The legal thriller is a subgenre of the crime fiction genre, which is rooted in the mystery genre. Like police procedurals, legal thrillers focus on the investigative and legal processes surrounding a crime. However, legal thrillers take it one step further than the police procedural—the narrative continues into the trial and courtroom proceedings. Legal thrillers offer insight into the legal process and the mindsets of those who work within it. Many legal thriller authors have experience working in the legal system as lawyers or judges. Scott Turow was a lawyer when he published Presumed Innocent in 1987 and continued to practice law until 2020. Turow wrote and published several bestsellers alongside his legal career.

Technical detail is a key convention of the legal thriller genre. Presumed Innocent is filled with detailed descriptions of the legal process, such as describing an arraignment or the daily life of a prosecuting attorney, as well as insights into prosecution and defense strategy. His deep first-hand experience with the legal process and justice system in the US gives authenticity to his novels—he offers insider information and insight that enhance the genre.

Like the police procedural, in a legal thriller, the detective is usually a professional investigator, rather than the amateur detective that sometimes features in the mystery genre. In Presumed Innocent, the detective, or investigator, is prosecutor Rusty Sabich, who investigates crimes in conjunction with the police. However, in the mystery of Carolyn’s death, Turow offers a twist, putting Rusty in the defendant’s position, allowing him to use his professional knowledge to solve a personal crime. Though Rusty is the defendant, he can approach his trial with a professional understanding of the legal system and strategy.

In legal thrillers, the investigation of the crime often continues even as the trial is beginning, and new information is frequently revealed in the courtroom. These plot twists are another fundamental convention in the legal thriller genre. Turow reveals the crucial fact of Carolyn’s tubal ligation only during the cross-examination of the pathologist despite Rusty’s knowledge of it as Carolyn’s former lover. In another surprise twist, Judge Lyttle dismisses the charges against Rusty before the defense’s case even begins. These twists, along with the red herrings typical of the crime and mystery genres, create the tension and momentum of a successful legal thriller.

Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow’s first novel, is credited as one of the earliest examples of the contemporary legal thriller. It stands out for its enthusiastic reception, with reviews crediting it with having all the tension and suspense of a murder mystery and the deep character development of literary fiction (Bourne, Michael. “The Lasting Influence of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent.” Los Angeles Review of Books, 4 Dec. 2013). Presumed Innocent was a New York Times Best Seller for 44 weeks, and its novel approach to the crime genre became a literary phenomenon. With its publication, Turow paved the way for legal thrillers from other authors, like John Grisham (A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Client), Michael Connelly (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Fifth Witness), and Robert Dugoni (Her Deadly Game).