Product Description
An ambitious personal injury lawyer, Robbie Feaver finds his less-than-ethical practices coming back to haunt him when, in exchange for leniency from prosecution, he is forced into an uneasy alliance with an enigmatic female FBI agent, in a story of greed, human weakness, love, and unexpected heroism. Simultaneous.Amazon.com Review
Veteran actor Ken Howard gives a solid performance narratingthis exceptional legal thriller by genre master Scott Turow. Howardhandles the complex plot deftly, easily relating the story of adefense attorney caught up in a sting operation targeting crookedjudges. "Rumors of funny business had lingered ... in my more innocentmoments I liked to discount them, believing that cronyism, not cash,explained the obvious favoritism." The story offers intriguing legaland moral ambiguities and surprising twists, but the strength of thecharacters is what sets this thriller apart. Howard underscores thesewell-evolved personalities without calling attention to himself. Turowhas taken his writing to a higher level, and the sturdy narrationsupports his efforts admirably. (Running time: 15 hours, 9 cassettes)--George Laney ... Read more

Customer Reviews (232)

Dull
Had high hopes for this one, but had to put down after about 50 pages. Just did not find the characters and storyline interesting enough. Also the dialogues seemed contrived and too "clever"...it was hard to follow along.

The Feds Will Get You Every Time
Ambulance chasing attorney Robbie Feaver wears Amrani suits and drives a new Mercedes. He acts like he's got the world by the shorts, but in reality it's U.S. Attorney Stan Sennett who has Robbie's undies in his fists. Sennett has caught him hiding income from the IRS and that undeclared income has been buying and corrupting County judges. Robbie's looking at a trip up the river for tax evasion unless he turns into a snitch, wires his office and helps the Fed catch the culprits who have been paying him.

Not only is Robbie dropping a dime on the very people who made it possible for him to drive that Mercedes, but he's also putting himself in the spotlight. The man behind the judicial corruption, Presiding Judge Brendan Tuohey, is a powerful man with all the right connections. Robbie could be in real trouble.

But Robbie does have help, undercover FBI agent Evon Miller (not her real name). She's working in his office to guarantee that he stays with the program, and neither of them are to discourage the rumors that they're sleeping together. That Evon is having problems struggling with her own bisexuality doesn't seem to make her job any easier.

The strain of what he's doing, being a federal snitch, gradually removes most of Robbie's masks, but only in front of Evon, who also is forced to confront her own true self, hidden under layers of deception.

This book has great twists, great drama and great writing with wonderful character development, however I found Evon's identity crisis just a little annoying. Still I stayed with the book well into the night, reading away to see what happens next.

An Oldie But Very Very Goodie
I have only recently discovered Scott Turow, so I'm in the process of reading all his past books.Personal Injuries was an amazing book.The story was complex and always interesting.The characters are fascinating and realistically complex.There are many twists that genuinely surprised me.As I am finding in reading Turow's books, he is a master at including wonderfully introspective views into the individual characters and human nature in general.This book made me laugh and cry and I can't recommend it highly enough.

I know Robbie Feaver. . . .

I know Robbie Feaver.

Maybe you do, too -- if you're lucky.

In my opinion, Robbie is among the most brilliantly -- and lovingly -- created characters in fiction.

Robbie is a lawyer, a nice Jewish boy, handsome, sexy, funny, and a complex human being.

"You could never count on him for honesty, assuming he even knew what it was. He was unruly and incorrigible. But if she stumbled, he'd come running. She couldn't even say for sure she'd be able to reach out when he extended a hand. But he'd be there. she wasn't going to forgive him, really. But she had to stop pretending with herself. Nine hundred people had just turned out, all there to buoy Robbie Feaver in his grief, nearly every one a friend who'd experienced his openness and the soothing warmth of his care. And she was one, too. You couldn't fight facts."

There have been at least two Robbie Feavers in my life, and as much as I love men, I loved these two most of all. It was an extraordinary delight to find such a beloved character in a novel.

Robbie shows us what love truly is -- unconditional love, the kind of love you would be both blessed and unlikely to find in your lifetime. The man is deeply flawed: dishonest, irresponsible, undependable. Unfaithful, yet faithful: he strays, but always comes back to you.

In PERSONAL INJURIES, Mr. Turow tests Robbie Feaver (pronounce it "favor") beyond all limits of physical and emotional endurance. Robbie's wife has a fatal illness. She is slowly dying throughout the novel. The course of her illness is graphic and heartbreaking. The strength and courage of this woman and her husband are beyond the meaning of courage and strength.

In PERSONAL INJURIES, Mr. Turow explores love in all its forms: Robbie and his wife, Robbie and a lesbian woman, Robbie and his law partner and lifelong friend, Mort Dinnerstein.

"There is deep feeling between these men," one of the lawyers says, though Robbie and Mort are not homosexual.

In PERSONAL INJURIES, love transcends sex.

Scott Turow is a brilliant writer. He unfailingly delivers a great story, a roller coaster ride, and a page-turning cliffhanger. Sometimes the writing bogs down just a little bit. Forget and forgive that. The book is superb.

And don't pigeonhole this author as a "genre writer" of law thrillers. He is far, far better than that and getting better all the time. PRESUMED INNOCENT is a great read, and in the opinion of many reviewers, his best book. But I think his skill with characterization -- making his characters real and complex and exciting for us -- is, in PERSONAL INJURIES, superior to his other works.


Arlene Sanders
Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia

These Injuries are very personal
Scott Turow has written one of the best in this genre, and I have read most of the Grisham stuff.Personal Injuries has two outstanding traits. First are the unforgettable characters, introduced in an off-hand way.The lawyers are neither good nor bad, just playing the hand they were dealt and trying to meet the expectations of their families.Second amazing thing here are the plot twists in the second half of the book. Feaver has a judge on the side who is not being bribed,Feaver's mother had a past with the chief judge, a friend was in on the whole thing from the beginning. Unlike Grisham this thing is not preachy, there are fun characters like the ancient judges who can barely find their way to the bench.

Ken Howard, a.k.a The White Shadow, does an excellent job with the narration for the audio book. He can handle the voices and knows how to deliver a story. ... Read more