Tag / Scott Turow

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Prolific Authors – Nine Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 114 books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We continue today with the four authors I’ve read nine times, three more than two years ago.

Michael Jan Friedman

Known primarily for licensed works, Friedman first entered my world in 1990, thanks to a trio of Star Trek: The Next Generation novels.  There were another two in 1992 and then he reappeared in 1996 with another trio of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman tie-ins.  That was it until he reappeared on my radar in 2021, with yet another Next Gen entry.

The Judge’s List – John Grisham

John Grisham

The former attorney, who I first read in 1993 with his smash hit The Firm, returned to my attention with The Exchange, a sequel 31-years in the making.

Mary Kubica

The local author, who is a New York Times best seller, moves up two slots and has placed nine entries on my bookshelf over the past ten years, starting with The Good Girl, which I read in 2015.

Scott Turow

The Chicago-based lawyer, who I first read in 1992 with Presumed Innocent and Burden of Proof, returned to my attention in 2021 after an eleven-year absence and has added three books in these past two years.

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Book 29 (of 52) – Presumed Guilty

Presumed Guilty – Scott Turow

When his fiancé’s son is charged with murdering his girlfriend, Rusty Sabich once again finds himself at the defense table, hoping to save his stepson (to be) without destroying his relationship with his mother.  As the trial goes on, the evidence seems to support acquittal, but does it also point to a killer even closer to home?

In Presumed Guilty, Scott Turow returns once again to the character of Rusty Sabich, star of 1997’s Presumed Innocent and 2010’s Innocent.  With less of a focus on the cases Sabich faced in the past, I had a better reaction to this entry.  I have a feeling this is the end of the road for these characters, and this was a satisfying sendoff.

 

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Book 44 (of 52) – Suspect

Suspect – Scott Turow

A private investigator, working for a lawyer defending the local police chief in a sexual harassment case, uses her contacts within the local police department to help blow up the accusers’ accounts of their so-called harassment.  When one of them turns up dead at the same time her mysterious new neighbor disappears, she goes on the offensive, looking to find out why the cop was killed and why the chief was targeted.

Scott Turow introduced the character of Pinky Granum in his 2020 novel The Last Trial.  She returns here as the main character in his latest effort, Suspect, which was released in 2022.  As usual, I enjoyed this trip to Turow’s Kindle County (or Kindle County adjacent).  He has five additional novels that I haven’t gotten to yet, which I’m sure is just a matter of time.

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Book 50 (of 52) – Innocent

Innocent – Scott Turow

Twenty years ago, Rusty Sabich was acquitted of murdering a woman with which he was having an affair.  Now, when his wife dies under somewhat mysterious circumstances, Sabich, who has become the chief appellate judge and is running for the state Supreme Court, again faces trial, facing the same PA who went after him all those years before.  Can he beat a second murder rap?

Scott Turow introduced the characters of Rusty Sabich, Sandy Stern, and company back in 1987, when his first novel, Presumed Innocent, was published.  In Innocent, the sequel, Turow revisits the same characters in his eighth novel, released in 2010.  While it has been quite a while since I read the first one, this still felt like a retread.  Even if I didn’t recall the events of the first case, the characters did, which made the journey not as satisfying.  I’m sure the next one will pick back up again.

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Prolific Authors – 6 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three years, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the two authors I’ve read six times, down two since 2021.

Silent Weapons – David Mack

David Mack

All six of his entries come from Star Trek: The Next Generation works I’ve read on my Kindle.

Scott Turow

The Chicago-based lawyer, who I first read in 1992 with Presumed Innocent and Burden of Proof, returned to my attention in 2021 after an eleven-year absence.

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Prolific Authors – 5 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we continue with the 8 authors I’ve read 5 times.

Death’s Daughter – Amber Benson

Amber Benson

The actress checks in with the five entries in her Calliope Reaper-Jones series.

Diane Carey

A stalwart of the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel line, she added a new one, Red Sector, last year after a 23 year absence.

Jeff Mariotte

His two most recent entries come from the long-ignored (by me) Angel series of novels.

Promise Not To Tell – Jennifer McMahon

Jennifer McMahon

After feeling unimpressed after finishing my first of her works, Dismantled, in 2010, I eventually gave her another try and have found them much more engaging.

Yvonne Navarro

All five of her works that I’ve read revisit the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe.

Final Girls – Riley Sager

Riley Sager

One of my new favorites, I’ve read all of his novels, including the recently released Survive The Night.

William Shatner

The actor best known for his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek checks in with his efforts, whatever they may have been, both with his TekWar series and on two Star Trek novels.

Scott Turow

The Chicago-based lawyer should be moving up shortly, as his latest is sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.

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Book 40 (of 52) – The Last Trial

The Last Trial – Scott Turow

Attorney Alejandro “Sandy” Stern agrees to argue one last case before closing the practice he shares with his daughter and retiring when his friend, accused of falsifying the test results of the revolutionary drug that saved Sandy’s life, is accused of fraud, insider trading, and murder.  While Stern tries the case, and tries to get his client to tell him some truths, he also tries to find out the truth on his own, both about the case and about a car accident that nearly took his life during pre-trial interviews.  When he collapses following his final closing argument, he is forced to take stock of his life, especially in comparison to his friend.

Scott Turow first introduced Sandy Stern in his debut novel, Presumed Innocent, in 1987.  He then took center stage in his second novel, The Burden of Proof, which was published in 1990.  I read both of them in 1992 and, frankly, have little memory of their specifics but do recall enjoying them both.  He then moved into the background of Turow’s work, but returns to the forefront in The Last Trial.  As usual, I enjoyed this trip to Turow’s Kindle County.  He has 5 additional novels that I haven’t gotten to yet, but just may now that I have this library card burning a hole in my pocket.

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Prolific Authors 2019

Way back in December of 2011 (and again in the Decembers of 2013, 2015, and 2017), we took a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 48 books from 50 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span. Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 70 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

 

Author Name Current Total 2017 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 16 15 1

Nancy Holder adds 1 new book over the past 2 years to maintain her lead.

Richard Castle 15 14 1

The writer (or writers) using the nom de plume of the main character from the television show Castle sees a slight increase, despite the show being off the air for well over 3 years now.

Stephen King 13 12 1
Greg Rucka 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Brad Meltzer 12 11 1

Very little movement in the next tier the past 2 years.

Jeffery Deaver 11 8 3

We round out the double digits with Deaver, who will be going up again soon, as I’m currently reading one of his books. Continue reading →

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Prolific Authors 2017

Way back in December of 2011 (and again in the Decembers of 2013 and 2015), we took a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 47 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span. Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 54 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

Author Name Current Total 2015 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 15 13 2

A new leader in the clubhouse, as Nancy Holder adds 2 new additions over the past 2 years to put her out front.

Richard Castle 14 9 5

The second largest increase (or largest for someone I had read before) goes to the writer (or writers) using the nom de plume of the main character from the television show Castle.  I’m guessing this total will stay pretty static, with the show off the air for over a year now.

Greg Rucka 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Stephen King 12 12 0

These three round out the top 5 with absolutely no movement over the past 2 years.

Brad Meltzer 11 9 2
Jeffery Deaver 8 5 3

Slight increases for both of these authors, with more to come.  Meltzer’s next book is already pre-ordered, while there are a few unread Deaver works on my Kindle. Continue reading →

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Prolific Authors 2015

bookshelfWay back in December of 2011 and again in December of 2013, we took a look back at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 51 books from 42 different authors.  There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 54 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

Author Name Current Total 2013 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 13 13 0
Greg Rucka 13 12 1

Greg Rucka moves into a tie for my most-prolific author, thanks to his latest which I read last year.  Assuming he stays on the same schedule, he should take the lead by himself sometime next year.

Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Stephen King 12 10 2

After years of being ignored, Stephen King adds 2 new titles to his total over the past 2 years.

Richard Castle 9 5 4
Brad Meltzer 9 8 1

The top 5 rounds out with Brad Meltzer and Richard Castle, who put up the largest increase in the last 2 years. Continue reading →