Ten years ago, Rommy "Squirrel" Gan­dolph—­gen­er­al­ly regarded as a harmless thief not playing with a full deck­—­con­fessed to three murders. Now he’s about to be executed and Arthur Raven, his court-appointed attorney, believes his protes­ta­tions of innocence. The book follows Arthur, who finds an ally in Gillian Sullivan, the disgraced ex-judge who presided over Gandolph’s trial, and the prosecutor, Muriel Wynn, and the detective, Larry Starczek.

Turow digs deep into the characters of his four pro­tag­o­nists, as they struggle with each other and with the rev­e­la­tions of the case. They are all flawed, scarred in­di­vid­u­als, most notably Gillian who still conceals that she had been a heroin addict. While Arthur and Gillian have come to believe that Gandolph is innocent, Larry and Muriel still believe in his guilt, even when a dying convict claims to have framed him. Not only are the characters in­ter­est­ing but the plot draws you in too.

Rec­om­mend­ed.