In the novel Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow, the main character Rusty Sabich, chief prosecutor of Kindle County, is helping his friend Raymond Horgan, run for re-election. During this time, Carolyn Polhemus, a colleague of Rusty's is brutually raped and murdered. With the case becoming an important issue, Rusty, who had a short affair with Carolyn, was assigned to it. The case goes no where due to the lack of evidence and no clues.
After Raymond loses the election, Rusty is accused of killing and raping Carolyn. The newly elected Nico Della Guardia and his right hand man, quickly bring up evidence against Rusty as he has to battle to prove his innocence. Rusty can only rely on the team of layers he assembled and a mysterious B file. This novel provides deep insight into the day to day struggle between the defense and prosecution. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story: Misc. Murder Plotlets - character killed during/after sexing - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect - Big focus on forensic evidence - Killer purposely leaves clues What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Special suspect? - relative Murder of certain profession? Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? Legal Thriller Yes Legal Plotlets descript. of violence and chases - 20 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: The antagonists are: - government bureaucracy How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Midwest City? Yes City: - Dirty, dangerous (like New York) Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - licking - actual description of sex - descript. of breasts - descript. of other female areas - descript. of male nudity - rape (yeech!) Unusual forms of death - rough sex Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |