Reversible Errors

A super-charged, exquisitely suspenseful novel about a vicious triple murder and the man condemned to die for it

Rommy "Squirrel" Gandolph is a Yellow Man, an inmate on death row for a 1991 triple murder in Kindle County. His slow progress toward certain execution is nearing completion when Arthur Raven, a corporate lawyer who is Rommy's reluctant court-appointed representative, receives word that another inmate may have new evidence that will exonerate Gandolph.

Arthur's opponent in the case is Muriel Wynn, Kindle County's formidable chief deputy prosecuting attorney, who is considering a run for her boss's job. Muriel and Larry Starczek, the original detective on the case, don't want to see Rommy escape a fate they long ago determined he deserved, for a host of reasons. Further complicating the situation is the fact that Gillian Sullivan, the judge who originally found Rommy guilty, is only recently out of prison herself, having served time for taking bribes.

Scott Turow's compelling, multi-dimensional characters take the reader into Kindle County's parallel yet intersecting worlds of police and small-time crooks, airline executives and sophisticated scammers--and lawyers of all stripes. No other writer offers such a convincing true-to-life picture of how the law and life interact, or such a profound understanding of what is at stake--personally, professionally, and morally--when the state holds the power to end a man's life.

The life expectancy of New York's drug lords has been unexpectedly shortened in the past few months. Five kingpins have been murdered. At one level, this is not a cause for consternation; after all these creeps are not pillars of the community, right? What is disturbing is the slickness of the crimes, and there is a suspicion that a rogue cop might be at work cleaning up the city on his own time and in his own way. As the highly secret investigation proceeds, corruption is uncovered at higher and higher levels. But where to go with the information?

Butch Karp, Assistant DA Bureau Chief and Marlene Ciampi, a lawyer on his staff and his fiancée are a marvelously realized pair. He is moody, filled with angst, cynical but still loaded with integrity. She is a firecracker, witty, fast tempered with an off-the-wall sense of humor. Some of their exchanges are priceless. Marlene (rightly) regularly gets fed up with the Great Man's moody silences and frequently galvanizes him with explosions of mirth, temperament, fury---whatever it takes. This is one of the most strongly written duos of the mystery genre.

While the situations ring true, the action is somewhat predictable. You know who will still be standing at the end, unlike Jeffery Deavers who does away with your favorite character when you least expect it. "Reversible Error" (somewhat oddly titled in honor of a subplot) always keeps your interest but doesn't give you that irresistible urge to peek at the last page.

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