Pleading Guilty

Returning to the now-renowned locale of Kindle County, Scott Turow gives us Mack Malloy, ex-cop, not-quite-ex-drunk, and partner-on-the-wane in one of the country's most high-powered law firms. A longtime ally of the wayward, Mack is on the trail of a colleague, his firm's star litigator, who has vanished with more than five million dollars of a client's money. Mack will descend into the enthralling and ominous heart of a city...taking you with him on his final, desperate, and courageous crusade to reinvent himself from the depths of his own shattered soul.

The author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Presumed Innocent and The Burden of Proof delivers another stellar bestseller. An ex-cop partner at a high-powered law firm tracks the firm's star litigator, who has disappeared with $5 million of a client's money. Don't miss Turow's bestselling backlist titles listed below.

In Pleading Guilty, Scott Turow takes us back to Kindle County, the setting of his previous bestsellers and now one of the most renowned and fascinating locales in contemporary American fiction.

Publishers Weekly

Murder, embezzlement, bookmaking, offshore banking, and the politics of a high-powered law firm supply varying shades of corruption as Turow ( Presumed Innocent ; The Burden of Proof ) returns to Kindle County in this wise, surefooted legal thriller. World-weary attorney Mack Malloy, 50-ish ex-cop and recovering alcoholic, is the protagonist and narrator. Despite humiliating annual pay cuts, Mack plods on at Gage & Griswell, nearing the end of his usefulness. When another partner in the firm disappears, along with several million dollars, Mack is assigned the difficult and potentially dangerous job of discreetly discovering his whereabouts. During a one-month time span, Mack dictates his account onto six tapes corresponding to the book's chapters. It is an engaging, street-wise narrative full of plain talk and homespun philosophy, as well as a candid account of the behind-the-scenes workings of a powerful law firm. Though every element of the novel is polished and professional, the charisma of Mack's narration is its triumph. Add that to a taut, twist-filled plot, expert pacing, colorful and well-rendered supporting characters, and an appealing whiff of larceny, and Turow surpasses Grisham hands down. 875,000 first printing; Franklin Library First Edition; BOMC and QPB main selection; paperback to Warner; author tour. (June)

A lawyer-turned-writer acknowledged to be every bit as good as Grisham, if not better, Scott Turow is still working hard at turning out believable, complex legal thrillers -- and still working hard in the legal practice that fuels his writing.