Rating: 8/10
- Plot: A senior prosecutor is assigned to investigate the murder of a colleague who was his former lover, and is then charged with the crime.
- Clues: Forensic and legal, including fingerprints, blood type and phone records.
- Reveal: One of the most surprising endings of the decade.
- Science bonus: The trial hinges on forensic serology, blood typing and fingerprint evidence, and on how lab results are handled, challenged and misread in court.
Rusty Sabich is chief deputy prosecutor in a Midwestern county. When his colleague Carolyn Polhemus is found murdered, he is assigned to the case. He does not reveal that he had an affair with her. Then evidence begins to point to him, and he is charged with murder.
Scott Turow was a federal prosecutor, and his novel launched the modern legal thriller. The courtroom scenes are authentic, and the portrait of the legal system, with its politics, deals and personal rivalries, is detailed.
Rusty’s narration is introspective and anxious. He is a flawed hero, and the reader’s uncertainty about his innocence adds tension. His marriage to Barbara is a crucial element.
The trial is superbly written, especially the performance of defence attorney Sandy Stern. The final revelation is shocking, and it forces a rethinking of the entire story.
The weaknesses are a slow start and some long passages about Rusty’s feelings. Some readers find the depiction of Carolyn one-dimensional.
The 8 reflects a gripping and intelligent novel that changed the crime genre. The 1990 film with Harrison Ford was a hit.
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