Presumed Guilty

Presumed Guilty by New York Times best-selling author Scott Turow is the third installment in his popular Kindle County legal thriller series. Published in 2025, Presumed Guilty follows Rozat “Rusty” Sabich 17 years after his release from prison. Rusty is happily engaged to Bea in rural Skageon County, but their life rapidly changes when Bea’s son, Aaron, gets arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Mae. The narrative follows Rusty as he attempts to prove Aaron’s innocence as his defense lawyer. It explores themes of The Impacts of Crime on Personal Relationships, The Influence of Personal Biases on Legal Justice, and Belief in the Potential for Personal Transformation. 

This guide follows Grand Central Publishing’s 2025 hardback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of racism, mental illness, physical abuse, suicidal ideation, self-harm, substance use, illness, addiction, sexual content, graphic violence, illness, and death.

Plot Summary

Rusty Sabich and his fiancée, Bea Housley, discover that Aaron, Bea’s adopted son, has disappeared without a word. Rusty now lives in Skageon County, where he moved to escape the limelight of his wrongful conviction for murder. Rusty didn’t pursue Bea right away, but when their paths continued to cross, he couldn’t avoid his attraction. Aaron lives with Bea and Rusty as a condition of his parole for a felony drug conviction.

Rusty learns from his friend Mansy Potter that Mansy’s granddaughter, Mae, is also missing. Aaron and Mae have a troubled romantic past, and Rusty suspects the couple is back together. Aaron finally sends a short message, but he doesn’t appear for another day. When he arrives home late, Aaron explains he argued with Mae, took her phone, and hitchhiked home. Aaron wanted to get away with Mae to discuss their future, but Mae was more interested in taking selfies. Aaron later burns his camping gear, and when Rusty catches him, Aaron claims Mae peed on it.

When Mae doesn’t return after weeks, the Potter family—including Hardy, the Skageon County Prosecuting Attorney—puts pressure on Aaron to speak with the police. Aaron’s lawyer, Cap Sabonjian, wants a non-use letter before Aaron’s talks, which the Potters take as a sign of guilt. Police find Mae’s remains in her crashed Subaru in Ginawaban, where she’s been decomposing for two weeks. After learning this news, Aaron disappears again, borrowing his grandfather Joe’s truck. Rusty and Bea unsuccessfully search for Aaron. Lieutenant Vanda Glowoski’s team executes a search warrant at Rusty’s house. Police return the next day to arrest Aaron for first-degree murder, but he still isn’t home. Police arrest Aaron at Ginawaban, where he was sleeping in Joe’s truck near the crime scene.

Cap helps Aaron through his initial appearance in Marenago County, but he isn’t confident he can defend a murder case. Bea asks Rusty to be Aaron’s lawyer. Rusty initially dismisses the idea, but when his search for a replacement fails, he seriously considers the job. Rusty runs the arrangement by Judge Wendy Carrington and prosecutor Hiram Jackdorp, who both have no issues. Mansy, however, threatens to end his friendship with Rusty. Rusty knows Aaron deserves competent representation, so he accepts the position.

After jury selection, Aaron’s trial begins months later. Jackdorp presents the State’s theory that Aaron strangled Mae after a fight and hid her body at Ginawaban, where he returned later to hide evidence. Rusty explains how circumstantial the State’s case is, and he points out several key pieces of evidence that Jackdorp misrepresented. Bea wanted to include her remembrance about putting a rope in the garage herself, but Rusty thought it was a lie to cover for Aaron.

Jackdorp calls a string of witnesses to testify about Mae, Aaron, and their relationship. Mae’s mother, Charmaine, describes Mae’s mental illness and lying. Aaron’s friend, Cassity, testifies to Aaron’s difficulties hitchhiking home, and she recalls Mae blackmailing her father with his scandalous text messages. Joe, Aaron’s gruff grandfather, is an unexpected hit with the jury. In private, Bea confesses to Rusty that Hardy’s messages will show she and Hardy had a decades-long sexual affair, which overlapped with Bea and Rusty’s relationship. Rusty kicks Bea out and grows suspicious of her involvement in Mae’s murder.

Rusty catches the prosecution in a Brady violation, since they didn’t hand over all their investigation’s notes before the trial. A hiker positively identified Aaron and Mae fighting and Aaron speeding out of Harold’s Woods, but the notes show the hiker’s wife disagreed with this account. Rusty interrogates Lieutenant Glowoski on the stand about her deceit. Deputy Holloway testifies to finding Mae’s body and later arresting Aaron at the crime scene. The prosecution calls expert witnesses to explain pieces of evidence, and Rusty successfully discredits the certainty of their conclusions. To Rusty, the evidence points to Aaron’s story about hitchhiking home after a fight, and he theorizes that Mae died by suicide and someone changed the scene to appear as an accident.

The prosecution rests, and Rusty prepares the defense case. He tries to dissuade Aaron from testifying, but Aaron knows the only way to show the jury who he is—beyond their assumptions about him for being Black—is by talking. Rusty calls witnesses to speak against the prosecution’s case, like the truck driver who picked Aaron up and the woman, Lainie, who lent Mae her phone to call Aaron. Aaron tells his whole story on the stand, and despite a tough cross-examination, his honesty makes a good impression.

The jury returns with a not-guilty verdict. Aaron’s supporters celebrate, and the family tries to heal. Rusty learns from Lainie’s phone records that Mae called Joe before she died. Rusty confronts Joe, who admits he met Mae at Ginawaban. Mae strung a noose around her neck as a threat, but she accidentally fell and was hanging from the noose. Joe prevented Mae from regaining her footing and strangled her to make sure she was dead. He hid her body and car at Ginawaban. Rusty agrees not to tell Aaron and Bea, since it’ll only make their grief worse. Rusty decides to move back to Kindle County with Bea to escape the tragedy of Mae’s death.