Scott Turow fans, legal thriller enthusiasts and anyone who enjoys hearing authors talk about their work won’t want to miss this summer’s RoundTable Reads event, featuring the bestselling novelist in conversation with fellow author Alex Kotlowitz. The two award-winning writers will discuss Turow’s most recent book, Presumed Guilty, a courtroom drama garnering enthusiastic reviews and deemed “unputdownable” by critics.
The program, the second in the RoundTable’s “RoundTable Reads” series, will take place at 7 p.m, Tuesday, June 24, at the Nichols Concert Hall at The Music Institute of Chicago, 1490 Chicago Avenue. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required, and seating is limited. Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are available at TurowInEvanston.eventbrite.com.
Presumed Guilty is Turow’s third and final book in a trilogy that also includes the novels Presumed Innocent and Innocent, which feature judge and prosecutor Rusty Sabich. In Presumed Guilty, Rusty is a retired judge attempting a third act in life with his fiancée, Bea. When Bea’s young adult son is arrested and charged with first-degree murder, she begs Rusty to return to court one last time to defend her son.
According to The New York Times, the case results in “a twisty murder trial” and “in classic Turow fashion, the truth of the case is withheld until the very end. The emotional complications of this scenario notwithstanding, the book gives Rusty, 77, a poignant shot at the domestic happiness that has always eluded him.”
The Wall Street Journal noted that “this sequel, set in the present day, is propelled by the same sort of investigative surprises, courtroom maneuvers and emotional shocks that marked its classic predecessor.”
A former practicing lawyer and author of 13 bestselling works of fiction, Turow is internationally renowned. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages, sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, and have been adapted into movies and television projects. His first novel, Presumed Innocent, is said to have redefined the legal thriller and served as the basis for the hit series by the same name on Apple TV+.
Turow also has published two nonfiction books, including One L, which recounts his experience as a law student. In addition, he has been a contributor to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The Atlantic.
Alex Kotlowitz is the author of four books, including the national bestseller, There Are No Children Here, which the New York Public Library named one of the 150 most important books of the twentieth century. His book, The Other Side of the River, received The Chicago Tribune’s Heartland Book Award. His most recent work, An American Summer, received the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize. A former staff writer at The Wall Street Journal, Kotlowitz’s work has appeared regularly in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine and on This American Life. He is a professor at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
The evening will include a discussion between Turow and Kotlowitz followed by a question-and-answer period with the audience. A book signing will conclude the event, with copies of Presumed Guilty available onsite for purchase before and after the program, courtesy of Booked, an independent bookstore in Evanston.
Those who wish to read Presumed Guilty in advance of the program have multiple ways of doing so. Copies of the book may be purchased at local bookstores, including Booked or Bookends & Beginnings in Evanston. In addition, the Evanston Public Library has copies available.
