Author and lawyer Scott Turow made generational leap for new legal thriller
Author and lawyer Scott Turow’s latest legal thriller Suspect reintroduces readers to Clarice “Pinky” Granum, the granddaughter of attorney Sandy Stern—a character from the author's novels The Last Trial and his blockbuster debut Presumed Innocent.
In this episode of the Modern Law Library podcast, Turow says stepping into Pinky’s shoes was one of the biggest challenges that he faced when writing the first-person page-turner.
“Each generation comes with its own purchase on the world, and to flip myself into Pinky’s mindset was, from the beginning, the most difficult task I had set myself,” Turow tells the ABA Journal’s Matt Reynolds.
His new book centers on Pinky, who is now a 30-something private investigator. She finds herself knee deep in a #MeToo era scandal with a twist when a female police chief must defend against allegations of sexual misconduct.
Turow also discusses the process from novel to Hollywood blockbuster and talks about other upcoming film and television projects, including a Presumed Innocent limited series produced by industry titans David E. Kelley and J.J. Abrams. Presumed Innocent centered on prosecutor Rusty Sabich.
Turow also reveals how he plans to revisit the character in his next book and how his long career as a novelist informs his legal writing.
In This Podcast:
Scott Turow. Photo by Kuba Luczkiewicz.
Scott Turow is the author of many bestselling works of fiction, including The Last Trial, Testimony, 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 40 languages, sold more than 30 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, the Washington Post, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker and the Atlantic.
