Reversible Errors

By: Scott Turow

Narrated by: J. R. Horne

Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

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' 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. 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, multidimensional characters take the listener 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 profound understanding of what is at stake when the state holds the power to end a man's life.

Listen to a conversation with Scott Turow.

©2002 Scott Turow (P)2002 Random House Inc., Random House Audio, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is a tour de force for a novelist writing at the top of his game." (Amazon.com)
"No one on the contemporary scene writes better mystery-suspense novels than Scott Turow." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

Great story by a human writer.

I was going to say “flawed” writer, but we all are flawed and that’s one of the themes he explores brilliantly in this book. It’s just such a disappointment to pick up on some of his tendency towards racism and other biases that I thought I’d bring it up. It won’t bother everyone and the book is worth it. Excellent character development, intriguing plot, great unraveling of mystery, very entertaining. Also thought provoking about deep human issues. Almost a five - I’m curious now to listen to something he’s written in more recent years.

Reversible Errors

This book offers a very different perspective on our legal system. It is much more about the system than about the man who is rightly/wrongly sentenced to death row. It was captivating and I recommend it highly.

Brilliant

I can't decide who is better; the author or the narrator

Lawyerly and Literate

Nothing against Grisham, but this is the way to write a book about lawyers. Not only an engrossing plot, but real, thinking characters. The book also is read well. As good as Presumed Innocent--and that was a classic of this genre.

A good ordinary thriller

Communicating to other readers that a book is ordinary but that does not mean you should not listen to it is tough. Reversible error falls in this category. While listening to this book, you will not fall asleep while driving but nor will you look forward to long drives and thick traffic jams to reach the climax. The characters are reasonably interesting. The plot is intriguing at times with some twist and turns that you may not predict. Do not worry too much if you are not a choosy listener?enjoy.

Really liked this one

I've been a fan of Tros Kendall County books for more than 25 years, appreciating the power of good novelistic storytelling combined with correct legal procedure, often essential to the story. As here. This is one that I had not read before, but after recently hearing a number of others, good as they are, I think it may be the best that I've read of his. Turow is a master of intricate plotting and surprises that actually surprise, as well as leaving you in suspense about whether the gun on stage in the first act, gun or not, it's going to go off, you know it is, but when and how, that's something else.

He's also superb with multiple perspectives, although I wonder what women think of his female perspectives, particularly around the sex scenes. A major reservation, and this book is less problematic than some of his, is some unacceptable portrayal of Black people, not intended to be racist, but from the perspective of 2022, none the less actually racist, and it's quite disturbing. This is much less intrusive in reversible areas that in some books, such as Laws of our Fathers, Which manages to bollocks up sixties radicalism in a major way. As a Chicago lawyer, it's fun to see his Roman a clef versions of things I know, such as the Lincoln judge, but that's just an additional benefit.

The performance is good, although the transitions from one scene to another or sometimes a little bit peculiar in the sound quality, as if it pasted recordings together without concerning themselves about whether they really fit. Nonetheless, it's a good story, well narrated, worth listening to or reading.

Loved it!

Loved the book. In many books, I often wish there was less of the characters' personal lives but not this time. I was interested in every bit. And I figure a narrator is very good when I don't hear him but hear the characters and they come to life. Well done!

Stay With It, the Story is Worth Your Time

This Turow novel is different from his others. . . and at one point, I considered giving up on it. Am glad I didn't, because in this one, Turow reveals how police, investigators, lab techs, prosecutors, defenders, judges, press and public can get at cross purposes with each, creating tangles within the legal system that can hold men accountable for acts they didn't commit.

Turow wrote this in such a way that the "back story" on the individual characters is intermittently revealed, making the book anything but chronological. If you miss hearing a date or dateline, you will be a bit confused at times, more than likely.

The narration is superb and I ultimately enjoyed the way that this story untangled the horrific web that had developed around one unfortunate man. Good did prevail, but it came after years and much expense of others.

best narrator I have ever heard

listening to this was like being at the theater. I wish they hadn't had the graphic sex scenes however

Worth reading

The author, Scott Turow, put together a book that was more than just a "Who done it". He exposed the conflicts in the legal system by allowing us to view the personalities of the players in the system as real people. The unraveling of the hidden truths throughout the book kept me looking forward to the next chapter.
The beginning of the book was difficult to follow because the story jumped from the present to the past. Perhaps it was the reader, but in the beginning it was difficult to tell what time frame the story was in. As the story progressed however the problem of time was resolved.
I thouroughly enjoyed the reading but felt a little let down with the ending.
The process of getting to the end of the book made the reading worthwile. The personalitites of the players were very well developed in the book.
I rate this 4 stars and would recommend this audio as an enjoyable listening experience.