Jerry responded to Carrie's query about courtroom
novels:
"Carrie asked about good courtroom novels. I think Scott
Turow's PRESUMED INNOCENT was remarkable."
I can't comment on the other authors he mentioned, but I
HATED Presumed Innocent. I found the dialog stilted and the
plot transparent. I'm usually not at all concerned with
figuring out "who done it," but when,
*SPOILER ALERT* during a search, the main character stated,
Well, my wife keeps her diaphragm right out on the dresser, I
knew it had to be a clue. No man would have said that in that
way, especially while in the apartment of his mistress. So I
immediately knew who had done it.
*SPOILER OVER* So that left me with character and I thought
they were all just stock cutouts.
And I must admit that this has, probably unfairly, kept me
away from most legal thrillers (I've never read Grisham, for
instance), many of which had some variation on the blurb "As
good as Presumed Innocent," before being replaced by "In the
tradition of John Grisham." (I know, I shouldn't put that
much credence in publishers' blurbs; after all, how many
times have I been disappointed by "in the tradition of
Hammett and Chandler"?)
Anyway, there is one legal thriller writer I do highly
recommend, Walter Walker. His books can be quite hardboiled
and many are even set in the vicinity of this month's city,
Boston.
Mark
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