2021.02.22 Meeting Notes

Soooooo, Scott Turow is viewed as the pioneer writer in the legal thriller genre, but our group wasn’t super “thrilled” (see what I did there?) with his latest book. Some people loved it, but we had quite a few who weren’t fans. We met this month to talk about The Last Trial.
The book received one 9, three 8s, three 7s, two 6s, four 5s, two 4s, two 3s, one 2, one 1, and one DNF. The average score was a 5.42. Interesting.
Some of the reasons for low scores were: not enough plot, didn’t care about the pharmaceutical angle, the doctor being tried for murder seemed farfetched, the strong women characters just weren’t enough to keep us awake, easy to put down, didn’t have a strong connection to the characters, not enough blood or murder, and there was just too much legal without a good Jack Nicholson scene to wow us.
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The high scores came from the fact that many people like Turow’s writing style, once you got into the flow of the story it was enjoyable, we liked the relationship between Sandy and Pinky, not a thriller but a page turner, liked the theme of powerful men falling for the wrong women. The characters are what saved the book for most people.
We did get a lot of things done while reading the book, so I think it was a multi-tasking win. In no particular order, while we read the book, we used an elliptical, rode a recumbent bike, slept, walked on the treadmill, walked through the neighborhood, lifted weights, watched the Australian Open, but did NOT watch people in Florida wrestle snakes.
It seems like Turow is set to write a novel that centers around Pinky. Since she can’t be a cop, we think she’s going to be a PI and I think it was Jose who suggested she go by Pinky (capital PI in there). As far as a title for the series, we thought of the Pinky Chronicles or Pinky Papers. Anyway, when Scott Turow contacts us, we’ll be ready with some suggestions for him.
For those who haven’t read Turow’s first major hit, Presumed Innocent, that is definitely worth a read.
P.S. We talked about books and TV series that everyone has been enjoying. There’s a new CB Strike movie, a Rebecca Netflix series, and The Haunting of Hill House & The Haunting of Bly Manor series – also on Netflix. After the meeting, I came across this new book that sounds good too: 
Nightmare House by Douglas Clegg. Returning to claim an inheritance, Ethan Gravesend inadvertently unlocks the long-buried secrets of a sinister mansion. And his dark discoveries are only the beginning…Perfect for fans of The Haunting of Hill House, Paul Tremblay, and Stephen King.
See everyone on March 22nd at 6:30 pm.
Kerry