Scott Turow, Susan Lewis, Stephen King
Scott Turow, Swift
**** (4 stars)
Scott Turow was a creative writing lecturer at Stanford who subsequently studied law at Harvard and became an assistant US attorney in Chicago for eight years before — thankfully — becoming a novelist. This experience powers his latest legal thriller Presumed Guilty, the third in a series spanning nearly 40 years, set in the American Midwest and involving Rožat 'Rusty' Sabich, a prosecutor and judge. It's definitely time to revisit Presumed Innocent (1987) and Innocent (2010). The pace is sedate, in line with the slow progress of the law — so much more measured than the irrational outbursts that drive some people to violence. But the tension builds to the point of unputdownable as the now-retired Rusty is propelled back into court to defend his fiancé's son Aaron Housley, an African American accused of murdering his rich white girlfriend, in a racially charged case and country. It's no surprise that Turow's 13 legal thrillers in all have sold 30 million copies. — William Saunderson-Meyer
Don't Believe a Word
Susan Lewis, Harper Collins
**** (4 stars)
This captivating read begins with a disturbing scene: a tiny two-year-old sits alone on a freezing beach in treacherous weather, seemingly abandoned until a caring woman picks her up and carries her into her warm holiday home. Fast-forward two decades and pretty Sadie Winters, a young woman raised by her two wealthy aunts, is encouraged by her best friend to find out who she is and where she came from with the help of a true crime podcast team, who agree to take on her case as the focus of their next series. Through the telling of the story, the rolling out of episodes begins a saga that reveals lies and opens secrets and sheds light on some deeply dark truths. As they unravel the mystery in real time, broadcasting an episode a week, podcasters Cristy, Connor and the Hindsight crew manage to keep their audience captivated as the story breaks at a rapid pace to its surprising conclusion. It's a worthy read indeed. — Gill Gifford
Never Flinch
Stephen King, Hodder & Stoughton
*** (3 stars)
Sometimes the problem is that illustrious writers are not edited enough. Never Flinch is bloated and could have had some major cuts to make it pacier. Also, King can write a cliché and make it fresh, but somehow with his latest, it feels like he has lost his mojo. In Never Flinch we are once again in his favourite hero's world — private investigator Holly Gibney, a neurodivergent person who uses her off-kilter skills of seeing patterns, off-the-chart knowledge, elephant memory and razor-sharp observation skills to solve weird cases. Some of the cases are on the supernatural gradient, but this one stays mostly in the pedestrian world of catching a serial killer. It's fairly predictable, but there are a few twists here and there. Not Stephen King's best is still better than most others' dredge. — Jennifer Platt
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Scott Turow, Susan Lewis, Stephen King
Presumed Guilty Scott Turow, Swift **** (4 stars) Scott Turow was a creative writing lecturer at Stanford who subsequently studied law at Harvard and became an assistant US attorney in Chicago for eight years before — thankfully — becoming a novelist. This experience powers his latest legal thriller Presumed Guilty, the third in a series spanning nearly 40 years, set in the American Midwest and involving Rožat 'Rusty' Sabich, a prosecutor and judge. It's definitely time to revisit Presumed Innocent (1987) and Innocent (2010). The pace is sedate, in line with the slow progress of the law — so much more measured than the irrational outbursts that drive some people to violence. But the tension builds to the point of unputdownable as the now-retired Rusty is propelled back into court to defend his fiancé's son Aaron Housley, an African American accused of murdering his rich white girlfriend, in a racially charged case and country. It's no surprise that Turow's 13 legal thrillers in all have sold 30 million copies. — William Saunderson-Meyer Don't Believe a Word Susan Lewis, Harper Collins **** (4 stars) This captivating read begins with a disturbing scene: a tiny two-year-old sits alone on a freezing beach in treacherous weather, seemingly abandoned until a caring woman picks her up and carries her into her warm holiday home. Fast-forward two decades and pretty Sadie Winters, a young woman raised by her two wealthy aunts, is encouraged by her best friend to find out who she is and where she came from with the help of a true crime podcast team, who agree to take on her case as the focus of their next series. Through the telling of the story, the rolling out of episodes begins a saga that reveals lies and opens secrets and sheds light on some deeply dark truths. As they unravel the mystery in real time, broadcasting an episode a week, podcasters Cristy, Connor and the Hindsight crew manage to keep their audience captivated as the story breaks at a rapid pace to its surprising conclusion. It's a worthy read indeed. — Gill Gifford Never Flinch Stephen King, Hodder & Stoughton *** (3 stars) Sometimes the problem is that illustrious writers are not edited enough. Never Flinch is bloated and could have had some major cuts to make it pacier. Also, King can write a cliché and make it fresh, but somehow with his latest, it feels like he has lost his mojo. In Never Flinch we are once again in his favourite hero's world — private investigator Holly Gibney, a neurodivergent person who uses her off-kilter skills of seeing patterns, off-the-chart knowledge, elephant memory and razor-sharp observation skills to solve weird cases. Some of the cases are on the supernatural gradient, but this one stays mostly in the pedestrian world of catching a serial killer. It's fairly predictable, but there are a few twists here and there. Not Stephen King's best is still better than most others' dredge. — Jennifer Platt
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- TimesLIVE
‘Presumed Guilty', ‘Don't Believe a Word' and more
Presumed Guilty Scott Turow, Swift **** (4 stars) Scott Turow was a creative writing lecturer at Stanford who subsequently studied law at Harvard and became an assistant US attorney in Chicago for eight years before — thankfully — becoming a novelist. This experience powers his latest legal thriller Presumed Guilty, the third in a series spanning nearly 40 years, set in the American Midwest and involving Rožat 'Rusty' Sabich, a prosecutor and judge. It's definitely time to revisit Presumed Innocent (1987) and Innocent (2010). The pace is sedate, in line with the slow progress of the law — so much more measured than the irrational outbursts that drive some people to violence. But the tension builds to the point of unputdownable as the now-retired Rusty is propelled back into court to defend his fiancé's son Aaron Housley, an African American accused of murdering his rich white girlfriend, in a racially charged case and country. It's no surprise that Turow's 13 legal thrillers in all have sold 30 million copies. — William Saunderson-Meyer Don't Believe a Word Susan Lewis, Harper Collins **** (4 stars) This captivating read begins with a disturbing scene: a tiny two-year-old sits alone on a freezing beach in treacherous weather, seemingly abandoned until a caring woman picks her up and carries her into her warm holiday home. Fast-forward two decades and pretty Sadie Winters, a young woman raised by her two wealthy aunts, is encouraged by her best friend to find out who she is and where she came from with the help of a true crime podcast team, who agree to take on her case as the focus of their next series. Through the telling of the story, the rolling out of episodes begins a saga that reveals lies and opens secrets and sheds light on some deeply dark truths. As they unravel the mystery in real time, broadcasting an episode a week, podcasters Cristy, Connor and the Hindsight crew manage to keep their audience captivated as the story breaks at a rapid pace to its surprising conclusion. It's a worthy read indeed. — Gill Gifford Stephen King, Hodder & Stoughton *** (3 stars) Sometimes the problem is that illustrious writers are not edited enough. Never Flinch is bloated and could have had some major cuts to make it pacier. Also, King can write a cliché and make it fresh, but somehow with his latest, it feels like he has lost his mojo. In Never Flinch we are once again in his favourite hero's world — private investigator Holly Gibney, a neurodivergent person who uses her off-kilter skills of seeing patterns, off-the-chart knowledge, elephant memory and razor-sharp observation skills to solve weird cases. Some of the cases are on the supernatural gradient, but this one stays mostly in the pedestrian world of catching a serial killer. It's fairly predictable, but there are a few twists here and there. Not Stephen King's best is still better than most others' dredge. — Jennifer Platt
Eyewitness News
24-06-2025
- Eyewitness News
South Africa's amapiano has the world dancing
At a studio in central Johannesburg, dancers from various countries moved together to the rhythm of South Africa's amapiano sound that is taking social media by storm. With energy and purpose, they rehearsed a sequence in the style of the house music subgenre born on the streets of the townships around 15 years ago and now showcased by stars like Beyonce and Tyla. Soweto's Finest Dance Studio draws dancers of all kinds - from ballerinas to party-goers - to learn the amapiano moves sweeping the world through TikTok tutorials and challenges. Amapiano "is not about the words but you feel it inside of you," said Venus Chidinma, 25, a professional dancer from New York who studied at the studio for several weeks. "It doesn't matter where you come from, what race, what colour - you feel it and you have to just move. It's just from inside you," the Harvard graduate told AFP. Central to the sound is the log drum, a distinctive bass that sets it apart from other forms of dance music. It blends soulful jazz and deep house with 1990s kwaito to create a local genre with no strict rules. The dance style mixes up others, from the coordinated quick steps of South African pantsula to the "baleka" move that closely resembles Michael Jackson's iconic moonwalk. "Its authenticity to South Africa makes it stand out," said Thando Nhlapho, the 21-year-old professional dancer and choreographer at the landmark Soweto studio. Nhlapho, still glistening from her latest class, creates and posts dance videos on social media to "get my name out there". "I don't only dance to amapiano but I choose to use amapiano as a marketing strategy because it is now the trending thing, the hot thing globally," she told AFP. - Global language - "Amapiano is so powerful, it's taken over Africa," said Emmanuel Mwenya, 25, a choreographer from Lusaka. "In Zambia, we dance and sing along to the music even though we do not understand the lyrics," said Mwenya, who spent a week in South Africa to learn the style. "We do amapiano but it's never original. So I thought I'd take the time to come here to learn something original," he said at the studio. Amapiano is its own language, said the professional dancer who also uses social media to promote his work. "Whether you speak Zulu, Bemba, Nyanja, English... it all connects, no matter where you're from." This spirit of inclusiveness comes to life on social media, where people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures unite in dance challenges, like the one for "Tshwala Bami" on TikTok that was taken up by US performer Jason Derulo. "My mom is 46 years old today and even at her age, I still teach her some TikTok dance challenges," said 21-year-old South African Snethemba Mathe, her face lit up. Xiaoying Zhan, 30, brought three friends visiting from China with her to a class. Zhan, who is from China but now lives in South Africa, said she caught on to the amapiano beat during the Covid-19 lockdown around five years ago. "I was enjoying the music and that is why I started dancing to amapiano," she said. "The music has a lot of upbeat tempo," she said, listing South Africa's DBN Gogo and Uncle Waffles, originally from neighbouring Eswatini, as among her favourite artists, but only after Tyla. According to Spotify, amapiano featured in more than 855 million streams recorded in 2024 alone, making the genre a powerful promotion tool for career dancers. "Amapiano is something that's so easy to vibe to," said Chidinma, the dancer from New York who posts videos of various styles on her Instagram account. "Whenever people come up with a dance, it's going to go viral," she said.
