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Kindle County Legal Thriller #3
Pleading Guilty
Returning to the now-renowned locale of Kindle County, Scott Turow gives us Mack Malloy, ex-cop, not-quite-ex-drunk, and partner-on-the-wane in one of the country's most high-powered law firms. A longtime ally of the wayward, Mack is on the trail of a colleague, his firm's star litigator, who has vanished with more than five million dollars of a client's money. Mack will descend into the enthralling and ominous heart of a city...taking you with him on his final, desperate, and courageous crusade to reinvent himself from the depths of his own shattered soul.
496 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 7, 1993
993 people are currently reading
3951 people want to read
About the author
Scott Turow
113 books2,596 followersScott Turow is the author of ten bestselling works of fiction, including IDENTICAL, INNOCENT, PRESUMED INNOCENT, and THE BURDEN OF PROOF, and two nonfiction books, including ONE L, about his experience as a law student. His books have been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, and have been adapted into movies and television projects. He has frequently contributed essays and op-ed pieces to publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 418 reviews
December 16, 2009
I really did try to read this terrible book. I have a rule, I can't remember whether it's the 50-page rule or the 100-page rule, but the point is, it's a rule, and I live by it: reach that page and you are committed, like the Clintons' marriage. You do not abandon ship! So for me to drop this book at p. 154 should tell you something. What it should tell you is that I had reached the point in the book where the potbellied, 50-something blue-collar lawyer Mack has gone to the apartment of his hostile black law firm colleague Glyndora, who has very reluctantly let him in, after a few minutes he has placed his hands on her nipples, felt an enormous sexual charge, he runs out to buy Seagram's and condoms, and when he gets back to her apartment she won't let him in. Which I was elated about, as I could not have endured a sex scene between them at that or any other point.
I dearly love a good police procedural, so clearly I have nothing against the police, or their procedures. But it's impossible to overstate how much I hate writing like this. I'm not a fan of the hardboiled or noir, and this is just ridiculous:
"She was pointing out the features of her inner sanctum and I, the former sot who'd done more wandering than a minstrel, was at home conducting a perverse and private romance with Mary Fivefingers."
"Glyndora is past forty and showing little wear. This is one good-looking woman and she knows it - built like the brick shithouse you've always heard about, five foot ten in her stocking feet and female every inch of it, a phenomenal set of headlights, a big black fanny, and a proud imperial face, with a majestic look and an aquiline schnozzola that reports on Semitic adventures in West Africa centuries ago."
For every sentence like this Turow should be sentenced to 20 hours of community service, perhaps scrubbing the shit out of brick shithouses, or representing me pro bono when I punch him in the face.
I dearly love a good police procedural, so clearly I have nothing against the police, or their procedures. But it's impossible to overstate how much I hate writing like this. I'm not a fan of the hardboiled or noir, and this is just ridiculous:
"She was pointing out the features of her inner sanctum and I, the former sot who'd done more wandering than a minstrel, was at home conducting a perverse and private romance with Mary Fivefingers."
"Glyndora is past forty and showing little wear. This is one good-looking woman and she knows it - built like the brick shithouse you've always heard about, five foot ten in her stocking feet and female every inch of it, a phenomenal set of headlights, a big black fanny, and a proud imperial face, with a majestic look and an aquiline schnozzola that reports on Semitic adventures in West Africa centuries ago."
For every sentence like this Turow should be sentenced to 20 hours of community service, perhaps scrubbing the shit out of brick shithouses, or representing me pro bono when I punch him in the face.
August 4, 2025
Много ми хареса!
Чудесен и жив авторов език, интересна история и плътно изградени герои.
Очаквах поредният добър съдебен трилър от Търоу, а получих детективска история, която ме забавлява през цялото време, докато двамата с Мак Малой се чудехме, кой аджеба е откраднал над пет милиона долара от адвокатската фирма, в която той вегетира от години.
Да си ирландец, католик и бивш пияница никак не е лесно!
Цитати:
"Мъртвите, както и богатите, са по-различни от вас и мен."
"По-добре да имам правото на избор, отколкото да нахлузя веригите на причина и следствие."
"Виждаме човек, чуваме глас, привличат ни по най-интимен начин и въпреки това толкова много остана неизвестно. Няма никакво значение колко упорито търсим, тайните остават."
"Всеки е крадец малко или повече, Мак. Всеки си има нещо, което иска да открадне. От нас, останалите, се иска да си отваряме очите и да не им позволяваме да крадат."
"Но животът е дълъг, а аз обичах баща си, тъжните му ирландски песни и несподелената му привързаност към мен. Той никога не поиска да стана по-добър човек от него. Знаеше какво нещо е животът."
Чудесен и жив авторов език, интересна история и плътно изградени герои.
Очаквах поредният добър съдебен трилър от Търоу, а получих детективска история, която ме забавлява през цялото време, докато двамата с Мак Малой се чудехме, кой аджеба е откраднал над пет милиона долара от адвокатската фирма, в която той вегетира от години.
Да си ирландец, католик и бивш пияница никак не е лесно!
Цитати:
"Мъртвите, както и богатите, са по-различни от вас и мен."
"По-добре да имам правото на избор, отколкото да нахлузя веригите на причина и следствие."
"Виждаме човек, чуваме глас, привличат ни по най-интимен начин и въпреки това толкова много остана неизвестно. Няма никакво значение колко упорито търсим, тайните остават."
"Всеки е крадец малко или повече, Мак. Всеки си има нещо, което иска да открадне. От нас, останалите, се иска да си отваряме очите и да не им позволяваме да крадат."
"Но животът е дълъг, а аз обичах баща си, тъжните му ирландски песни и несподелената му привързаност към мен. Той никога не поиска да стана по-добър човек от него. Знаеше какво нещо е животът."
June 1, 2013
I am SHOCKED that this book has a rating of 3.71. It is one of the worst books I've ever read. The only thing that keeps it from being the absolute worst is that the premise of the book was interesting (before it was ruined with stilted writing and an all-too-obvious attempt to use as many big words as possible in a failed effort to make the author seem smarter than he is) and I am personally obsessed with trying to see if I can figure out who actually "did it." It's also the first time I have ever wished I bought the abridged version of an audio book. To top it off, I'll never buy another audio book read by this guy. He makes me want to rip the CD player out of my car.
January 28, 2019
Really rich, really deep. This is what a character driven mystery should be. Turow brings them to life, throws in a credible, twisty plot and a satisfying ending, and does it all with some of the most evocative prose I have ever read. Copyright 1993, I gave up on Turow after 'The Burden of Proof' which I found way too slow. Perhaps I changed, perhaps Turow's second novel was a self-indulgent work or rushed, as second novels often are. My bad.
April 23, 2021
I enjoyed the first 2 in this series as legal thrillers, some of the best i'd ever read.. But this 1 took a turn- we weren't in the courtroom (or courtroom prep,) it was more behind the scenes of a law firm. There were some personal & some business antics that the narrator had to figure out. As a character driven "mystery" it was well written- the narrator was morally questionable & certainly interesting, but there were a lot of financial angles & it didn't hook me like the courtrooms had.
June 24, 2012
I just read this book for the second time. I was always remembered the narrator with questionable morals, and wanted a refresher on how this feat is achieved. Upon the reread, however, I noticed a lot that I didn't remember from the nineties, such as the foretelling of corporate omnipotence, and the completely inaccurate conclusions Mack comes to during his investigation. Wonderful book.
October 10, 2013
The story of a law firm struggling with a case corporate embezzlement and a missing lawyer.
The interesting sounding scenario of the blurb quickly devolves into a plodding, slow and methodical story line written in the form of dictated notes by the protagonist.
Whilst being duller than a room with no lights on it does manage to at least achieve a willingness for the reader to see how the story ends, but provides very little else.
It's not 1 star crap, but 2 stars is rather optimistic.
The interesting sounding scenario of the blurb quickly devolves into a plodding, slow and methodical story line written in the form of dictated notes by the protagonist.
Whilst being duller than a room with no lights on it does manage to at least achieve a willingness for the reader to see how the story ends, but provides very little else.
It's not 1 star crap, but 2 stars is rather optimistic.
February 20, 2021
I could not develop an interest in the story nor any of the cliché type characters. I gave it a diligent effort. But with books laying around begging to. E read and enjoyed ... I threw in the towel.
December 26, 2025
This purports to be a journal created by dictaphone. OK, yes, the technology is old as this was originally published in 1993. If the lack of current technology bothers you, then you should be only reading things in the 21st Century. You can simply forget everything else that was published before you were born - before your grandparents were born even. I'll just volunteer if that is your choice, I believe you'll be missing out on many good reads.
Back to the dictaphone. Mack Malloy tells the story in first person and so we only know what he knows - and a lot of what he surmises. Malloy is a minor partner in a large Kindle County law firm whose biggest client is the world's biggest airline: Trans-National Air, or TN. Prior to the book opening there was a crash killing 247 people. The law firm has handled the litigation and there is an escrow account set up for settlements. As the book opens, we learn some checks have been written against this settlement account, money that appears not to have been authorized, money that seems to have been deposited in an offshore account. Also, one of the partners of G&G (the law firm) is among the missing. Mack Malloy has been charged to find him. Before long, the several million in missing funds is the least of it.
This was more thrillerish than I remember other installments of the Kindle Count series as being. It is definitely heavy on plot. I find the writing better than others of the genre generally, though I admit to not being familiar with other legal thrillers. Characterization is not necessarily the point and these are not characters who are fully fleshed. The characters we encounter are what one might expect. I liked the plot and the way it flowed.
I fully expect to continue this series. I might add, that because of this series, I'm likely to find myself in front of other legal thrillers. I liked it more than 3-stars but these are not something over which I'm going to say Wow! This doesn't purport to be anything more than it is, a read where you don't have to think, that won't make you cry (or laugh, probably), but fits that niche where you just want a book for company. If that's not your idea of 4-stars, I'm sorry.
Back to the dictaphone. Mack Malloy tells the story in first person and so we only know what he knows - and a lot of what he surmises. Malloy is a minor partner in a large Kindle County law firm whose biggest client is the world's biggest airline: Trans-National Air, or TN. Prior to the book opening there was a crash killing 247 people. The law firm has handled the litigation and there is an escrow account set up for settlements. As the book opens, we learn some checks have been written against this settlement account, money that appears not to have been authorized, money that seems to have been deposited in an offshore account. Also, one of the partners of G&G (the law firm) is among the missing. Mack Malloy has been charged to find him. Before long, the several million in missing funds is the least of it.
This was more thrillerish than I remember other installments of the Kindle Count series as being. It is definitely heavy on plot. I find the writing better than others of the genre generally, though I admit to not being familiar with other legal thrillers. Characterization is not necessarily the point and these are not characters who are fully fleshed. The characters we encounter are what one might expect. I liked the plot and the way it flowed.
I fully expect to continue this series. I might add, that because of this series, I'm likely to find myself in front of other legal thrillers. I liked it more than 3-stars but these are not something over which I'm going to say Wow! This doesn't purport to be anything more than it is, a read where you don't have to think, that won't make you cry (or laugh, probably), but fits that niche where you just want a book for company. If that's not your idea of 4-stars, I'm sorry.
July 7, 2015
I am dumbfounded as to why some readers call this book "terrible." My educated guess is that they're used to Harlequin Romances, or pulp fiction written by 3rd-string comic book authors. This is the 3rd of the author's Kindle County crime mystery novels. The protagonist is a corporate lawyer who's pushing his 50th birthday, and asking himself the big existential questions about his meaningless existence. Then money and a partner turn up missing at his firm, and he's sent on a mission to close, metaphorically speaking, the watertight doors. Lots of surprises, twists & turns in a cake marbled with angst. If you're accepting of the fact that in real life there aren't any storybook endings, snuggle up with a brandy and a shaggy dog, and let the games begin. My rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
October 25, 2015
There's no denying that Turow is a tremendous rhetorician. And I usually enjoy reading the words of a tremendous rhetorician...As long as they don't get in the way of getting to what HAPPENS.
This one could slice 30-40% of the words, and I'd at least consider it decent. But it's telling when the only thing you like about a story is the very thing that kept you from really enjoying it. I read somewhere where Turow was referred to as a "bard," and that alone is worth a star or two. His words really do sing. But only certain foods taste good when you drench them in honey.
Whatever he drowned in this honey, I could barely taste.
This one could slice 30-40% of the words, and I'd at least consider it decent. But it's telling when the only thing you like about a story is the very thing that kept you from really enjoying it. I read somewhere where Turow was referred to as a "bard," and that alone is worth a star or two. His words really do sing. But only certain foods taste good when you drench them in honey.
Whatever he drowned in this honey, I could barely taste.
September 11, 2012
Oh my gosh! My first Scott Turow novel and WOW. Awesome book! His incredible metaphors [the absolute BEST part] make you hoot out loud with laughter or nod your head in total agreement with the philosophical bent few have the guts to express aloud. He takes a down-on-his-luck and almost at times pitiable hero and still makes you want to root for him...makes you want to know him. Mr. Turow has the acerbic wit of Nelson DeMille's John Corey novels, and I will for sure be reading his other novels. Mr. Turow's, not Mr. DeMille's.
February 23, 2013
This book gave me the slightly unclean feeling I used to get whenever as a kid I hung out with the bad kids my mom told me to stay away from. I kept trying to give the narrator a chance despite, or initially because of, his sad backstory and lack of ambition or self-esteem. But when you throw in that the narrator is also really dumb, I'm out, 100 pages or so in. Best of luck, Mack, and for God's sake, brush your teeth or shave or something.
May 31, 2013
I have loved all of Scott Turow's books, particularly Presumed Innocent. This one was so out of character. Not a thriller. I kept thinking something intriguing would happen but not. The main character was rather interesting but I ultimately got tired of his shallowness. Great writing but that was the only thing that got me to the end of the book.
June 25, 2013
COMPLEX CHARACTERS AND NON-FORMULAIC PLOT
Darkly intriguing plot which breaks from the traditional thriller formula. Populated with interesting, colorful characters who are neither good nor evil, but human - with real human flaws. Great use of language more than makes up for the frequent backstory dumps. A bold and highly satisfying ending. Great read!
Darkly intriguing plot which breaks from the traditional thriller formula. Populated with interesting, colorful characters who are neither good nor evil, but human - with real human flaws. Great use of language more than makes up for the frequent backstory dumps. A bold and highly satisfying ending. Great read!
July 26, 2020
This book was far from being a “thriller”. I could not wait to get to the end and almost gave up. The story line was confusing and disjointed and consisted mostly of notes that the main character was writing as he searched for a missing lawyer who had allegedly stolen 5 million dollars.
August 6, 2010
About the book:
Mack Malloy is a partner in one of Kindle County's top law firms. An ex-cop who joined the firm on a wave of enthusiasm and optimism, he now feels himself to be on the way down, and possibly out. Bert Kamin, gifted, erratic and combative, is one of the firm's star litigators and he has disappeared.
My Review
I love legal thrillers as a rule. I just find it all very interesting to follow a case through to the end. However, in this case, I didn't enjoy it all that much. The story starts by giving some background on Mack, who is a mixed up guy and kind of bumbles his way through this case. In other words, he's not really supposed to solve it, but he does. I was a little disappointed in some of his actions along the way, but I guess that was supposed to make the storyline exciting. Even so, there are a few surprises but not that "I can't believe that just happened" kind of surprises. I would have loved to see more twists and more exciting sub-plots.
While the characters were pretty well-developed, the storyline was all over the place. The writer made the characters believable, and they really fit my impressions of big corporate law firms (haha!). The storylines however, did not seem cohesive. There was way too much going on! It was really very annoying.
The ending was a little unexpected (I really thought Mack would respond differently) but I guess that's where it was heading anyway. It took me a LONG time to read this book and that also frustrated me! LOL!
Overall, I just wasn't impressed. Would I read another book by this author... maybe, but it won't be a priority.
Mack Malloy is a partner in one of Kindle County's top law firms. An ex-cop who joined the firm on a wave of enthusiasm and optimism, he now feels himself to be on the way down, and possibly out. Bert Kamin, gifted, erratic and combative, is one of the firm's star litigators and he has disappeared.
My Review
I love legal thrillers as a rule. I just find it all very interesting to follow a case through to the end. However, in this case, I didn't enjoy it all that much. The story starts by giving some background on Mack, who is a mixed up guy and kind of bumbles his way through this case. In other words, he's not really supposed to solve it, but he does. I was a little disappointed in some of his actions along the way, but I guess that was supposed to make the storyline exciting. Even so, there are a few surprises but not that "I can't believe that just happened" kind of surprises. I would have loved to see more twists and more exciting sub-plots.
While the characters were pretty well-developed, the storyline was all over the place. The writer made the characters believable, and they really fit my impressions of big corporate law firms (haha!). The storylines however, did not seem cohesive. There was way too much going on! It was really very annoying.
The ending was a little unexpected (I really thought Mack would respond differently) but I guess that's where it was heading anyway. It took me a LONG time to read this book and that also frustrated me! LOL!
Overall, I just wasn't impressed. Would I read another book by this author... maybe, but it won't be a priority.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2015
Yeah. This book did not thrill me. I liked the cover art. I generally like Scott Turow. I hated--let me be clear--hated the narrative voice. It seemed sloppy, tired, drafty (as in 2nd draft). While I know that this was intended to be an epistolary letters-to-no-one narration, it still didn't work for me. I have read many, many books with this premise, and, in general, I like the style. While I can't quite put my finger on exactly why it didn't work here, there is no question in my mind that it didn't work here. At least not for me, and as this is my review, that's what counts.
The plot line was OK. I suppose the biggest actual surprise was the sideline romantic interest of Bert, but I really couldn't have cared less. Waaaay too big a deal was made of his sexuality. Do intelligent, urban lawyers actually still give even half a damn about it? I have a hard time believing that they do.
I'll still read more Turow, but give this one a miss.
The plot line was OK. I suppose the biggest actual surprise was the sideline romantic interest of Bert, but I really couldn't have cared less. Waaaay too big a deal was made of his sexuality. Do intelligent, urban lawyers actually still give even half a damn about it? I have a hard time believing that they do.
I'll still read more Turow, but give this one a miss.
May 13, 2020
The story does take place within a law firm, although it is not particularly focused on legal principles. Calling it a thriller is definitely a misnomer, as there is precious little action. What it does have is a lot of internal reflection about how unfair life is and how morality can be defined or immorality excused, along with a fair amount of raunchiness. All the financial complexities took some inventiveness, but overall I was not impressed.
April 24, 2018
Depressed law firm partner searches for another missing partner who is mixed up with fixing basketball games, homosexuality and a $6 million fake payment.
Complicated. Just OK.
Complicated. Just OK.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2017
was a tough read. a couple of times I thought of ending my pain but was able to finish it.
May 23, 2021
This is the third book in the Kindle County Legal Thrillers by author Scott Turow. This series started with a bang for me when I read the first book ‘Presumed Innocent’ but the next two books have been a bit of a let down. This one was the worst yet in my opinion and although I enjoy the writing I just couldn’t get excited by this one and was a close call whether to finish it or not. For me I prefer the authors novels that are based around the court room.
The novel is narrated by attorney Mack Malloy who is ex police, in his fifties and a recovering alcoholic. Mack works as an attorney at Gage & Griswell and is trying to locate another partner in the firm who has disappeared along with several million dollars. Trying to find his colleague is not a straight forward task and Mack’s life could be potentially put in danger.
I already have the rest of the books in this series so don’t intend to give up just yet, Scott Turow is a top author on his day.
The novel is narrated by attorney Mack Malloy who is ex police, in his fifties and a recovering alcoholic. Mack works as an attorney at Gage & Griswell and is trying to locate another partner in the firm who has disappeared along with several million dollars. Trying to find his colleague is not a straight forward task and Mack’s life could be potentially put in danger.
I already have the rest of the books in this series so don’t intend to give up just yet, Scott Turow is a top author on his day.
August 15, 2009
I'm not sure how much this had to do with law, but I thought it had a lot to do with human nature. The style of writing was a bit different and might be a turn off for some people because it is not the norm. For me, that made it a bit more interesting. Things kept changing as you went along in the book. The who and why was a constant mystery. Not really a constant mystery in that you thought you knew, but you didn't.
March 9, 2019
Not a page turner
This was not a page turner. It was cerebral. I had to force myself to complete it, and gratefully reached the end.
This was not a page turner. It was cerebral. I had to force myself to complete it, and gratefully reached the end.
May 22, 2020
I read 100 pages and then just gave up. It is painfully boring.
October 8, 2020
I hated this drivel. It was so long and uninteresting. With an absolute dud of an ending.
March 29, 2023
Ugh!!! I wrote a decent review, and goodreads glitched and ate it.
Warning for spoilers and series spoilers.
This book is probably an acquired taste. The narrator, Mack, is unlikable. He's a former cop, divorced, middle-aged, and currently makes a living as a mediocre attorney at a large firm. He's been sober a few years and has a teenage son he refers to as "the loathsome child." All of his relationships, professional and personal, are dysfunctional. A cop he worked with back in the day hates him for lying. The cop is crooked.
Mack's views on a particular female coworker are repulsive. He refers to her as "having a case of hotpants" and then details her sexual exploits.... which, of course, reflects on her, not the men she's with (also coworkers). She has feelings for Mack, but he doesn't reciprocate. Mack's ex-wife came out as a lesbian to him after she was out with a female coworker.... Mack admits that he can't count the nights he didn't come home, but she dared to be gone one night, and he's bitter and petty.
Then there's Jake. Mack got his first job as a cop because of help from Jake's dad. Later, Jake turned to Mack when he needed help cheating on the bar exam. Jake is currently the in-house counsel for the firm's largest client.... Mack is one round of layoffs from the end of his underwhelming career. Mack is jealous.
Over all of it, there's a senior partner who champions the outcasts and has variously prevented people from getting sacked.
The book opens with the senior partners asking Mack to track down Bert. Bert is an unreliable asshole attorney who goes missing from time to time.... but this time, he took 5 million in client funds. The bosses want him to come back and give the money up, and they won't report it. They don't want the irs or the client looking too hard, and they want to protect their reputation.
I thought maybe they were going to use Mack to find Bert and have Bert killed.... but no. Mack finds Bert's house, and there's a dead guy in the fridge. Bert is running.
It turns out Bert is gay and has a thing with the son of a Black female coworker... who has a romantic history with the senior partner who is protecting all the misfits. Bert and his friend were involved with fixing basketball games. Bert is running, but he's alive.
At one point, it looks like Mack might become a convenient suspect for the murder because of how much the cop hates him.
Then it looks like Mack will be justified.... maybe he is just a guy trying hard but getting screwed over by ungrateful people. It seems Jake stole the money and framed Bert.
Then, in the last few pages, we learn that Mack is the thief. He plans to abandon the son he hates and spend the rest of his life drunk. He was trying to destroy the people he thought had wronged him.
Personally, I love the unreliable narrator. It's not as good as the first book in the series (Presumed Innocent....a DA stands trial for the murder of his gf who was actually killed by his wife), but it was entertaining. I will keep reading the series.
Warning for spoilers and series spoilers.
This book is probably an acquired taste. The narrator, Mack, is unlikable. He's a former cop, divorced, middle-aged, and currently makes a living as a mediocre attorney at a large firm. He's been sober a few years and has a teenage son he refers to as "the loathsome child." All of his relationships, professional and personal, are dysfunctional. A cop he worked with back in the day hates him for lying. The cop is crooked.
Mack's views on a particular female coworker are repulsive. He refers to her as "having a case of hotpants" and then details her sexual exploits.... which, of course, reflects on her, not the men she's with (also coworkers). She has feelings for Mack, but he doesn't reciprocate. Mack's ex-wife came out as a lesbian to him after she was out with a female coworker.... Mack admits that he can't count the nights he didn't come home, but she dared to be gone one night, and he's bitter and petty.
Then there's Jake. Mack got his first job as a cop because of help from Jake's dad. Later, Jake turned to Mack when he needed help cheating on the bar exam. Jake is currently the in-house counsel for the firm's largest client.... Mack is one round of layoffs from the end of his underwhelming career. Mack is jealous.
Over all of it, there's a senior partner who champions the outcasts and has variously prevented people from getting sacked.
The book opens with the senior partners asking Mack to track down Bert. Bert is an unreliable asshole attorney who goes missing from time to time.... but this time, he took 5 million in client funds. The bosses want him to come back and give the money up, and they won't report it. They don't want the irs or the client looking too hard, and they want to protect their reputation.
I thought maybe they were going to use Mack to find Bert and have Bert killed.... but no. Mack finds Bert's house, and there's a dead guy in the fridge. Bert is running.
It turns out Bert is gay and has a thing with the son of a Black female coworker... who has a romantic history with the senior partner who is protecting all the misfits. Bert and his friend were involved with fixing basketball games. Bert is running, but he's alive.
At one point, it looks like Mack might become a convenient suspect for the murder because of how much the cop hates him.
Then it looks like Mack will be justified.... maybe he is just a guy trying hard but getting screwed over by ungrateful people. It seems Jake stole the money and framed Bert.
Then, in the last few pages, we learn that Mack is the thief. He plans to abandon the son he hates and spend the rest of his life drunk. He was trying to destroy the people he thought had wronged him.
Personally, I love the unreliable narrator. It's not as good as the first book in the series (Presumed Innocent....a DA stands trial for the murder of his gf who was actually killed by his wife), but it was entertaining. I will keep reading the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2025
“Life has these two poles, it seems. You go one way or the other. We’re always choosing: passion or despair.”
Ok here’s the truth I am being way too generous with the rating only because I have really liked some of Turrow’s work in the past. This is my least favorite Kindle County book so far, it is dull, dull,dull, I really disliked Mack Malloy and the whole embezzlement thing did not work, the story just dragged with nowhere to go. To make it more irritating there were too many misogynistic statements that added nothing to the story indicating to me that the author could benefit from some sensitivity training.
Ok here’s the truth I am being way too generous with the rating only because I have really liked some of Turrow’s work in the past. This is my least favorite Kindle County book so far, it is dull, dull,dull, I really disliked Mack Malloy and the whole embezzlement thing did not work, the story just dragged with nowhere to go. To make it more irritating there were too many misogynistic statements that added nothing to the story indicating to me that the author could benefit from some sensitivity training.
October 11, 2018
A prominent law partner has disappeared (again) from the firm. This time it's different. There is $5.6 million also missing through a mysterious transfer of funds to an off-shore bank. His friend Mack is tasked to find him and get back the money. Right...
A story is well told but... if it was a film, it would probably be rated GP-13 for language and sexual situations.
A story is well told but... if it was a film, it would probably be rated GP-13 for language and sexual situations.
July 20, 2013
I’m not exactly racing through this Kindle County series. This is the third in the series. I read number two seven months ago! Pleading Guilty was published twenty years ago. So you can see that it took me a while to get to it.
Mack Malloy is a lawyer at the Gage & Griswell law office. Maybe low man on the totem pole even though he has been there twenty years. The daytime life of the firm “is devoted to making the world safe for airlines, banks and insurance companies.” Mack will tell you: “We all know my story. I’m too old to learn to do something else, too greedy to give up the money I make, and too burnt out to deserve it.”
I wasn’t prepared properly for the first surprise as Mack prowled in someone else’s apartment:
That is quite some way to end a chapter. Turow likes to end each chapter with a significant final sentence or paragraph. I guess that is not too unusual for a mystery writer now that I think about it. Later there is a good follow up about the refrigerator man.
In this book there is a page about Mack falling off the wagon. Here is one paragraph of that fall:
For some reason I thought this was beautiful and read it several times as I thought about an alcoholic I had known. One day she decided to go to AA and stop drinking. She tells me her life has gotten gradually better since that moment. This book took me back to that moment, a beautiful moment of hope for the future.
This is a story about a search for a missing man – who happens to be a big shot lawyer in a big firm – who has evidently absconded with $5.6 million. The money is from the escrow account for the settlement of lawsuits against the world’s biggest airline for a crash that killed 247 people. This money has been hanging around for a while and when it is all sorted out it looks like the airline is going to make money because they were sued. This is not news they want to share so the bosses suggest that if they don’t find the missing lawyer they just cover it up. This is not a missing person story with a lot of action. It is big action when the drunk Mack Malloy throws up on a kid stealing the radio out of his car. Or when he plays racket ball or gets thrown out of someone’s apartment. Big time action? No.
If thinking is an action, then there is plenty of action. Thoughts everywhere including volumes from Mack.
Not necessarily deep but maybe foreshadowing thoughts.
I gave the first two books in the series four stars and expected to do the same for this one. It was billed as a thriller but I found very little that got my adrenalin going. White collar crime is not thrilling by its very nature. It tries to remain hidden. There was some intrigue here and the outcome was not clear to me until the final pages.
On the basis of the two previous four star books, I am giving Turow the benefit of the doubt and three stars. The quality of the next book in the series will determine whether I place any priority on moving on to other Turow books.
Mack Malloy is a lawyer at the Gage & Griswell law office. Maybe low man on the totem pole even though he has been there twenty years. The daytime life of the firm “is devoted to making the world safe for airlines, banks and insurance companies.” Mack will tell you: “We all know my story. I’m too old to learn to do something else, too greedy to give up the money I make, and too burnt out to deserve it.”
I wasn’t prepared properly for the first surprise as Mack prowled in someone else’s apartment:
I went to the kitchen to check out the fridge, still trying to see how long our hero had been gone, another old cop move, smell the milk, check the pull date. When I opened the fridge, there was a dead guy staring back.
That is quite some way to end a chapter. Turow likes to end each chapter with a significant final sentence or paragraph. I guess that is not too unusual for a mystery writer now that I think about it. Later there is a good follow up about the refrigerator man.
In this book there is a page about Mack falling off the wagon. Here is one paragraph of that fall:
So much of life is will. I had spun the golden cap off the pint before I knew what I’d done, and repeated that old phrase to myself. I had heard it from Leotis Griswell, not long before he died. I looked into the open bottle as if it were a blind eye, and was reminded for whatever reason of looking down on something else, another seat of pleasure. The sharp perfume of the alcohol filled me with a pang, as acute and painful as a distant sighting of a lovely woman whose name I’ll never know.
For some reason I thought this was beautiful and read it several times as I thought about an alcoholic I had known. One day she decided to go to AA and stop drinking. She tells me her life has gotten gradually better since that moment. This book took me back to that moment, a beautiful moment of hope for the future.
This is a story about a search for a missing man – who happens to be a big shot lawyer in a big firm – who has evidently absconded with $5.6 million. The money is from the escrow account for the settlement of lawsuits against the world’s biggest airline for a crash that killed 247 people. This money has been hanging around for a while and when it is all sorted out it looks like the airline is going to make money because they were sued. This is not news they want to share so the bosses suggest that if they don’t find the missing lawyer they just cover it up. This is not a missing person story with a lot of action. It is big action when the drunk Mack Malloy throws up on a kid stealing the radio out of his car. Or when he plays racket ball or gets thrown out of someone’s apartment. Big time action? No.
If thinking is an action, then there is plenty of action. Thoughts everywhere including volumes from Mack.
I’d rather believe in will than fate. I drink or don’t drink. I’ll try to find Bert or I won’t. I’ll take the money and run or else return it. Better to find options than that bondage of cause and effect. It all goes back to Augustine. We choose the Good. Or the Evil. And pay the price.
Not necessarily deep but maybe foreshadowing thoughts.
I gave the first two books in the series four stars and expected to do the same for this one. It was billed as a thriller but I found very little that got my adrenalin going. White collar crime is not thrilling by its very nature. It tries to remain hidden. There was some intrigue here and the outcome was not clear to me until the final pages.
On the basis of the two previous four star books, I am giving Turow the benefit of the doubt and three stars. The quality of the next book in the series will determine whether I place any priority on moving on to other Turow books.
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