Personal Injuries is another look at the legal system written by Scott Turow. After reading Personal Injuries, I discovered it was Time Magazine’s fiction book for the year of 1999. While I liked Personal Injuries, I can’t imagine thinking it was the best fiction book of an entire year.
Robbie Feaver is a corrupt practicing attorney. Specifically, he participates in a scheme where judges are bribed. When the IRS notices some tax fraud, US Attorney Stan Sennett offers Feaver a deal. He can cooperate in the government’s efforts to bust the bribery ring, or be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. With his wife dying of ALS, Feaver, who hasn’t been a good husband, decides to play ball.
Working with FBI agents pretending to be legal professionals, Feaver wears wires and hidden cameras hoping to catch his former friends in the act of accepting bribes.
As Personal Injuries unfolds, Turow does a good job creating complex, interesting characters. Even people, like Feaver, have some redeeming qualities that make them hard to totally dislike.
One of the best things about Personal Injuries is that none of the main characters escapes the story without suffering at least a little tarnishing. Even George Mason, Feaver’s attorney, finds himself in a couple of difficult positions where he is forced to choose between the lesser of two ethically challenging decisions.
Personal Injuries wasn’t as popular with me as it was many. I liked other Turow works better. But Personal Injuries was a good book. If you like legal fiction, you will enjoy Personal Injuries.