'Identical' Stumbles Outside The Courtroom

Scott Turow practiced law before turning his attention to fiction writing. His legal thrillers include Personal Injuries and The Burden of Proof.

Jeremy Lawson/Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing

Scott Turow practiced law before turning his attention to fiction writing. His legal thrillers include Personal Injuries and The Burden of Proof.

Jeremy Lawson/Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing

The best way I can fairly review this book is to tell you seven things that it is not.

It is not a legal thriller. That would require the novel to be thrilling, at the very least, to compel you to turn the page. In my case, I read the book on a Kindle, and it often compelled me to turn my e-reader off.

It is also not a farce of a legal thriller. That was my initial guess. Think Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors: Improbable coincidences, characters misidentifying one another. Identical is not short on any of those. Then again, a farce by nature is required to be humorous.

Identical is not humorous.

Identical is also not a primer on DNA analysis or Greek mythology, however much it may read like one at times. As Turow explains in his author's note, he had the pleasure of consulting several experts for this book. Unfortunately, portions simply read like a transcription of their chats.

Identical is actually a pretty good courtroom drama, when it's in the courtroom. The novel tells the story of two identical twin brothers, Paul and Cass Gianis. Paul is a state senator running for mayor. Cass has just gotten out of prison after serving 25 years for killing his girlfriend. But now the murder is being re-investigated, and when all the detectives and lawyers are standing before a judge, the scenes are, generally, excellent. Turow is sharp as ever with dialogue, clever with legal arguments and positioning. But too often, outside the courthouse, the writing is explanatory and flat.

If I haven't made myself clear, this book is not Turow's best. Maybe my disappointment comes from being an admirer. Turow's first work of fiction, Presumed Innocent, practically established the modern legal novel — expert about the lawyering, subtle about the storytelling. The same way John le Carré, book after book, has made the spy novel into a literary medium, with the word "novel" required for its description. But where le Carré found a second (or third, or fourth) wind when anti-terrorism replaced the Cold War, Turow appears to be coasting.

Finally, Identical is not terrible. Plenty of readers will enjoy it, especially the ending, which is hard to see coming — in part because the author manages expectations well, in part because it's so implausible. But in my case, the book simply didn't meet a standard that Turow had established in my mind. I don't know if that's unfair, but it is true.

Rosecrans Baldwin's latest book is Paris, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/12/225461960/identical-stumbles-outside-the-courtroom?ft=1&f=1008
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