Turow presents his novel in a typical murder mystery format. Beginning slowly at Carolyn Polhemus's funeral, the story's pace quickens as it reveals the complicated relationships among its characters and then races to its surprising and disturbing conclusion.

Turow's choice to have Rusty narrate this story in the first person has a number of interesting results. First of all, Rusty brings a lawyer's knowledge of the case to his narration and he is able to provide an intriguing insight into the machinations of the legal process.

Further, Rusty's narration involves the readers in the mystery, leading them to share in his confusion as more and more aspects of his case are revealed.

However, Rusty also presents a disturbing challenge to the reader. Because of his emotionalism and extreme obsession with Carolyn, Rusty often makes the reader wonder if indeed he is a reliable narrator. Even at the end...