Three male police officers have accused Lucia Gomez of soliciting sex in exchange for promotions to higher ranks. With few people left who she can trust, Chief Gomez turns to an old friend, Rik Dudek, to act as her attorney in the federal grand jury investigation, insisting to Rik that the accusations against her are part of an ugly smear campaign designed to destroy her career and empower her enemies--both outside the police force and within.
The courtroom scenes in Suspect are rich with the character sketches and surprise revelations we’ve come to expect from a Scott Turow novel. Pinky’s own narrative presents a vivid portrait of an offbeat character ... The suspense and intrigue build as the chapters progress, culminating in a breathtaking finale.
Fans of crime fiction will appreciate Turow’s eye for detail ... Turow has long been among the finest writers of legal and crime thrillers, with creative plotting, colorful characters, and exceptional writing ... Very few writers could create an administrative hearing of a local Police and Fire Commission that is as captivating as any murder trial, with shocking testimony, surprise evidence, and huge emotional swings ... It would seem a stretch for Turow to channel Pinky, but he pulls it off.
[Turow] has created a body of work that is unparalleled in the breadth of its examination of the law and human relationships. In crafting the case at the center of Suspect...and in making spiky, bisexual Pinky the narrator, he has brought his characters and settings into the era of #MeToo and DEI initiatives; he’s also set himself a particularly steep challenge ... While Turow’s new protagonist is a breath of fresh air, there are some implausible twists...plot-dragging doldrums filled with TMI about Pinky’s romantic entanglements, clunky investigative exposition and minor gaffes around a central Black character. What’s truly suspect, though, is the question of why Turow wasn’t more thoughtful in shaping important plot points, characters and motivations.
