Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Lawyer Sandy Stern is old now and beginning to fail both physically and mentally, but when Kiril Pafko finds himself in trouble, Sandy agrees to defend him. Sandy’s daughter and legal partner, Marta, has decided to retire and Sandy recognises that he won’t be able to continue without her, so this will be his last case. Marta agrees to stay on till the case is over, and Sandy’s granddaughter, Pinky, is also helping out, both with the casework and as a kind of personal assistant to her ageing grandfather. As the case slowly unfolds, Sandy finds himself reflecting on his long career in the law. Having been diagnosed with cancer, Sandy is also facing his own mortality and finds himself thinking back to the people who have been important in his life – his family and friends. Kiril is one of those friends, a brilliant Nobel prizewinner, who has developed a drug that combats cancer with spectacular results. Too spectacular – Kiril is on trial for suppressing negative studies into the side-effects of the drug, and for the murder of patients who, the prosecution claims, had their lives shortened by taking it. Kiril is also accused of having made a fortune by selling shares in the drug just before the negative studies became public. Although for Sandy the main aim is to have Kiril legally acquitted, Kiril is just as concerned about the damage to his reputation in the scientific community, and Sandy finds that their differing objectives mean that his client oftens impedes his attempts to argue the case on legal grounds.

Sandy Stern first appeared in Presumed Innocent in 1987 and I, along with millions of others, have followed his career ever since. Turow has used him over the series to present a thoughtful and realistic picture of how the law works in the US, slowly and not always achieving true justice, but an essential part of the democratic system of ensuring the rights of the individual. Stern’s cases are usually set among the rich and powerful, and Turow clearly shows that justice depends as much on the quality of lawyer a defendant can afford as on the rights and wrongs of the case. The books are always billed as legal thrillers which I think does them an injustice. To me, these long ago crossed the line into literary fiction – they are far more about the human condition in all its frailties and strengths than about exciting courtroom drama, and the writing is of the highest quality. Calling them thrillers I’m sure attracts readers who are disappointed by the slow pace while putting off readers who would appreciate the deep concentration on character, the mechanics of the law and the society that depends on its judgements.

Turow rarely shows the legal system operating corruptly. In most cases, the judges want to do justice fairly according to the law, and the lawyers want to do the best for their clients, whether prosecuting or defending. Stern is a moral man who cares deeply about acting with integrity, even when it would be easier professionally or personally to cut a corner or two. That doesn’t mean he won’t defend someone who he believes has indeed broken the law; like Atticus Finch, Stern believes that justice only works when every accused person has the right to a defence, guilty or innocent. He also knows that even good people occasionally do wrong, if the motivation is strong enough. Sandy doesn’t see himself as either a moral or legal judge – he is a cog in the legal system, his belief in which has perhaps been the greatest passion in his long life.

I read this one months ago, round about the time that the rich nations were deciding on the safety of the Covid vaccines, and the news was full of stories about our various regulatory bodies and when they would get their act together to approve these and other promised life-saving treatments. There were also stories about Big Pharma’s share prices rocketing up and down with every rumour as to the success or otherwise of their version of a vaccine. At the same time as the book was giving me a detailed picture of the stages any new drug has to go through before it can be approved, the real world was confirming an issue raised in the book – that when rumour gets out of a life-saving treatment for a deadly disease the pressure to approve it becomes immense, almost unstoppable. And Turow shows that when companies stand to make or lose billions depending on whether their drug is approved, the temptation to hide negative reports or manipulate the statistics can be overwhelming. He also raises the question of risk – if a thousand people have their lives extended and improved by a drug, how much weight should be given to the hundred who may be killed by it earlier than they would have died anyway? And if the disease in question is terminal, does that change the balance? If a lawsuit means that the drug is withdrawn and the thousand who would have lived die as a result, is that justice? Questions that all seemed very relevant as reports began to come in about Covid vaccines causing blood clots in a tiny number of people, and entire nations stopping their vaccination programmes as a result.

Although this could certainly be read as a stand-alone novel, it gains from the emotional attachment long-term readers will have developed for Sandy over the years. We are seeing him now in his old age and for those of us who have grown to know him over the years, it’s a nostalgic and occasionally moving experience. He is failing physically, taking the very drug that the case is about to treat his own cancer. Although his mind is still as brilliant as ever, he is slower now, not as able to handle sudden developments on the spur of the moment, and increasingly reliant on his daughter’s support in the courtroom. He too is in nostalgic mood as the end of his career approaches, thinking back and assessing how his devotion to the law may have led him sometimes to fall down on the job of being a husband and father.

A wonderful finale to what has been a superb series. This may be the last we see of Sandy Stern but I sincerely hope that Turow will continue to give us his thoughtful and beautifully written novels for many years yet.

An interesting read that I'm glad to have discovered. I'll definitely be seeking out more by this author.

I hadn’t read a Scott Turow book for years and this didn’t disappoint. I now remember why I love a legal thriller

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

The Last Trial, as the title indicates, is the end of the line for lawyer Alejandro (Sandy) Stern. This is the eleventh and final book in a long series, Kindle County books, featuring modern courtroom legal thrillers. Interesting to have the protagonist as an eighty-five year old in this instance, demonstrating the wisdom and frailties of an octogenarian for a change.

​Turow is a master of this genre. The details inside the courtroom, the protocol, language and legal aspects are fascinating insights. This story is about the aged lawyer who is persuaded to defend an old friend against accusations of fraud, racketeering and murder. He has to consider friendship as well as justice and truth in what is obviously a challenging situation, made even worse by the fact that his friend and his son have developed a new cancer treatment drug. They have allegedly covered up data and profited from the suffering of others.

The case and the relationships (some are family as well) are complex throughout. The themes cover identity and morality, and as the lawyer reflects on his life he also reflects on the process of justice. Clever, technical (a bit too much in places and a little too long), this is a fitting swansong to the series. If you enjoy courtroom drama, there is nothing better.​

This is a gripping and well written legal thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Ther storyline is great and kept me hooked, the characters are well rounded and I loved the style of writing.
Mr Turow is a talented storyteller and delivered an interesting and entertaining story.
I can't wait to read the next book by Mr Turow.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I have considered Scott Turow to be one of the finest legal thriller writers ever since reading his masterpiece “Presumed Innocent” which stared Sandy Stern for the first time and left me completely hooked. I feel the same way about his latest novel, “The Last Trial”, where Sandy Stern, now at age 85, argues his final case together with his daughter Marta, his partner now for many years in the legal firm Stern & Stern.

The defendant is his lifelong friend Dr. Kiril Pafko, a Nobel Prize winner of Medicine, researcher and inventor of a ground breaking cancer drug. He has been charged and accused of several crimes: altering medical data to get the FDA’s approval for the cancer medication, insider trading after selling stocks having received a warning of a negative Wall Street Journal investigation and murder as some patients who were part of his cancer drug study died suddenly of possible allergic reactions as a consequence of a cover up. Reluctantly and feeling in frail health himself after having survived several forms of cancer he agrees to defend his old friend promising Marta this will be his last case.
What follows is a tour de force in search of the truth through every step of the trial which is so brilliantly argued and composed you feel like you are a real life spectator in the court room unsure which trap door or argument will open next. It is not only one of the best legal thrillers I have ever read but the strength of this novel lies in its detailed portrayal of all the characters emotions and motives providing deep and philosophical insights into the dark and fragile side of human nature, the might friendships and family hold over all of our lives. I have no idea how brilliant Scott Turow's legal mind must be to arrive at such a complex storyline.
This masterful book held my absolute attention for all its 465 pages; and I do love the last sentence, 5 stars from me!

Brilliantly written, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to trying more or Turows work. I got swept along by the story, loved the slow pace, and the detail. Fantastic court room thriller.

Well, it is still Scott Turow... but I have a feeling he may have lost the connection to his readers somewhat. This book, although expertly written, was not the explosive legal thriller he is so known for. I found the characters not very interesting (anymore) and the story dragged on too long.
I hope his next book will be better, that is, for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.

A new novel by Scott Turow is something to be eagerly awaited and cherished when it finally arrives. Thanks to the generosity of Net Galley I was able to read this pre-pubication and I have read it slowly and savoured every page as it full deserves to be.

I will not provide spoilers or describe the plot in detail but t details in minuscule detail the inner workings of Sandy Stern's last trial and his efforts to defend a long standing friend from very serious charges of murder and fraud.

I loved the slow pace of the book as so many thrillers, legal or otherwise dash through the action at breakneck speed. This did not and was all the better for not doing so.

The writing was sublime and the plot beautifully detailed as were the descriptions of all the protagonists.

This is Turow restored to his A Game after a disappointing last book.

I cherished every page of the best legal thrill of the year to date.

Alejandro Stern is a recurring character in Scott Turow’s Kindle County thrillers. He was the defence lawyer in his most popular novel, Presumed Innocent. In The Last Trial, he is the protagonist.

Stern is in his eighties now, a successful and well-respected trial lawyer, and he is taking on one last case, representing his friend, doctor and Nobel laureate Kiril Pafko, in a complicated case involving charges of fraud, insider trading and murder.

Pafko and his son are in business together. They have invented and manufactured a cancer drug which has extended the lives of many. However, it is alleged he covered up data showing the drug led to death in a small number of patients, and profited by selling shares before a newspaper investigation of the cover-up was published.

The trial has a close-knit cast. Stern’s daughter Marta is his business partner and co-counsel. His granddaughter is their assistant. Pafko is an old friend of Stern’s, bound by their shared experience of being immigrants from Argentina. The judge is a longstanding colleague and friend of both the Sterns and the prosecuting attorney.

The drama of the trial is about not only the reversals of the case, and the confrontation between defence and prosecution, but the interplay of these complex relationships, and Stern’s own acknowledgement of his own declining strengths. He is both at the heart of the case and stepping outside himself, understanding how the courtroom has given him a charisma he couldn’t find in everyday life, how he rises to the performance, but also the increasing physical toll it takes on him.

Turow’s understated style, conversely make this story all the more dramatic. He doesn’t ham up the reversals, in the way that a less gifted thriller writer would. The case is satisfyingly complex, and he doesn’t condescend to the reader, while explaining, through the voice of Stern, the significance of each event.

At the heart of The Last Trial are reflections on the meaning of law and justice, and the role of the legal system, its strengths and failings, in all our lives. The verdict, when it comes, represents the jury’s view of the evidence. The last part of the book (which perhaps goes on longer than it needed to) shows the reader what actually happened, and in so doing, exposes the limits of the legal process in finding the truth.

This is a courtroom drama which also leaves you thinking about many of the most profound questions about law, morality and identity. It is permeated with a bittersweet sense of loss as Stern reflects on his life as a lawyer and the end of his professional life. It’s great to be back in Kindle County.

This is literally the last trial of Sandy Stern, who is already 85 years old and - maybe reluctantly -ready to retire. His old friend doctor Kiril Pafko is on trial for fraud, insider trading and murder. The story unfolds in a slow pace. This is indeed a courtroom drama and truly brilliantly told in precise details of how the legal system works. The writing style is elaborate as Sandy recalls old cases, family and friends while investigating and fighting the Pafko case.
The mystery unfolds in the end, but the route there is long and winding. The tension stays while the trial continues. But then the judgement comes quite abruptly and unexpectedly. And after that Sandy still wonders what really happened. He embarks on a journey to find out the truth.
I did not enjoy the ending though. It felt forced. But to end in a positive note: this book was absolutely beautifully written.
Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a copy of this book.

The Last Trial, as you may have surmised from the title is a legal thriller about a defense lawyer's final trial before retirement. However, that's not all it's about. Turow explores many themes in this eighty novel, but the essence of the case involves accusations of murder, insider dealing and faked cancer drug trial results.
I was initially drawn to this book because it's not often you get a main protagonist in his eighties. In fact it's not often you get a main protagonist older than their fifities. I'm always drawn to novels that represent wider society and I think this one did.
Sandy Stern is eighty-three years old, but whilst skillfully characterising the signs of the aging process on his charcater, Turow also skillfully manages to show us a man who is more than the some of his years. he is still mentally agile, still has sexual thoughts, still contemplates relationships - in short 'there's life in the old dog yet'.
Whilst in parts I skimmed over some of the technicalities of the courtroom scenes which were a little too detailed for me, I relished the interactions between Stern and the jury and the witnesses. Outside the courtroom, Stern's backstory as an Argentinian immagrant to the USA was nuanced. He may be living the American Dream, but at what cost?
The character I was most drawn to was the eccentric, slightly erratic , irresponsible Pinky, Stern's granddaughter. We see a delightful character arc in her and i hope to read more of huer in a future Turow novel. Dismissed and frowned upon by the extended family, Pinky is delightfully off centre, definately under estimated and provides light relief from the serious matters of a defense trial.
The accused and his family are slowly laid bare and I think this is very skillfully done in well placed revelatins throughout the novel.
Overall a well earned 4* from me.

As a huge fan of legal thrillers, I am always looking out for new authors to follow, so I was so excited for this one.
I felt it was too long, and should have been condensed more to make it more accessible. I think the case that was chosen was extremely scientific and could prove to be challenging for a lot of people.
The side stories of the lawyers was fairly boring to me, but I appreciate if this is part of a series then it is a necessary addition.

It has been many a year since I have read a book by Scott Turow and this was a nice homecoming for me, Turow knows well how to write a book about law and the legal procedure and his skill has not faded with time, I can foresee some readers feeling that their is too much pharmaceutical terminology but since I work in the medical field I did not find this troubling