Kurt Wallander
Nordic noir
Series · legal thriller
Kindle County
The Kindle County series by Scott Turow has 13 known books (13 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Presumed Innocent (1987). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Presumed Guilty.
- Books
- 13 known books (12 novels + 1 novella)
- Published
- 13
- First published
- 1987
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: Presumed Innocent (1987) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Presumed Innocent
Presumed Innocent (1987, 432 pages) opens the series and follows prosecutor Rusty Sabich after he's charged with murdering a colleague he'd been having an affair with. It was a genuine publishing phenomenon that established Turow -- a practising attorney himself -- as a writer who could make courtroom procedure and legal ethics as tense as any crime plot, and its twist ending became one of the genre's most imitated.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Presumed Innocent - Book 2:
The Burden of Proof
The Burden of Proof (1990, 532 pages), the second novel, shifts focus to Sandy Stern, one of the recurring attorneys who moves through the Kindle County prosecutor's office, judiciary and defence bar across the series. It followed Presumed Innocent three years earlier.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Burden of Proof - Book 3:
Pleading Guilty
Pleading Guilty (1993, 406 pages), the third entry, is one of several Kindle County novels that center a different protagonist and read as a standalone case rather than a direct continuation of Presumed Innocent. It followed The Burden of Proof and preceded The Laws of Our Fathers.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Pleading Guilty - Book 4:
The Laws of Our Fathers
The Laws of Our Fathers (1996, 731 pages) is, at over 700 pages, the longest novel in the series -- another entry that centers a different protagonist within the same Kindle County legal community rather than continuing Rusty Sabich's story directly. It followed Pleading Guilty and preceded Personal Injuries.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Laws of Our Fathers - Book 5:
Personal Injuries
Personal Injuries (1999, 408 pages), the fifth novel, is another of the Kindle County books that reads as a standalone legal case with its own lead rather than a direct sequel, part of Turow's ongoing portrait of one legal community across decades. It followed The Laws of Our Fathers and preceded Reversible Errors.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Personal Injuries - Book 6:
Reversible Errors
Reversible Errors (2002, 522 pages), the sixth entry, continues the series' recurring institutions -- the County Prosecuting Attorney's office and the federal bench -- that tie its otherwise largely standalone cases together. It followed Personal Injuries and preceded Limitations.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Reversible Errors - Book 7:
Limitations
Limitations (2006, 199 pages) is a short novel rather than a full-length entry, originally serialised in the New York Times Magazine before its book publication. At under 200 pages it's the shortest work in the series, following Reversible Errors and preceding Innocent.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Limitations - Book 8:
Innocent
Innocent (2010, 436 pages) is Turow's first return to Rusty Sabich since Presumed Innocent, revisiting the central relationships of that 1987 novel from a new angle more than two decades on. It followed the novella Limitations.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Innocent - Book 9:
Identical
Identical (2013, 384 pages), the ninth novel, is another of the Kindle County books built around a different protagonist and self-contained case rather than continuing Rusty Sabich's story. It followed Innocent and preceded Testimony.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Identical - Book 10:
Testimony
Testimony (2017, 496 pages), the tenth entry, continues the series' pattern of moving between different figures in the same prosecutor's office, judiciary and defence bar rather than following one recurring detective. It followed Identical and preceded The Last Trial.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Testimony - Book 11:
The Last Trial
The Last Trial (2020, 464 pages) is Turow's second return to Rusty Sabich after Innocent, again revisiting the central relationships of Presumed Innocent from a new angle decades on. It followed Testimony and preceded Suspect.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Trial - Book 12:
Suspect
Suspect (2022, 688 pages), the twelfth entry, is one of the longer novels in the series at nearly 700 pages, following The Last Trial. Like several other Kindle County books, it centers a different protagonist and reads as a standalone case.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Suspect - Book 13:
Presumed Guilty
Presumed Guilty (2025, 544 pages) is the most recent Kindle County novel, continuing Rusty Sabich's story yet again -- Turow's third return to the character since the original Presumed Innocent nearly four decades earlier. It followed Suspect.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Presumed Guilty
About the Kindle County series
Scott Turow's Kindle County novels are set in a fictional Illinois county modelled closely on Cook County and Chicago, and they collectively did more than almost any other body of work to define the modern legal thriller. Presumed Innocent (1987) -- following prosecutor Rusty Sabich as he's charged with the murder of a colleague he'd been having an affair with -- was a genuine publishing phenomenon that established Turow, a practising attorney, as a writer who could make courtroom procedure and legal ethics as tense as any crime plot, and its twist ending became one of the genre's most imitated. Subsequent novels move between different protagonists within the same prosecutor's office, judiciary, and defence bar -- Sandy Stern, George Mason, Sonny Klonsky, Rusty Sabich again decades later -- so the series functions less as a single detective's case files and more as an ongoing portrait of one legal community across nearly four decades.
Turow returned to Rusty Sabich twice more, in Innocent (2010) and The Last Trial (2020), each revisiting the central relationships of Presumed Innocent from a new angle decades on, and Presumed Guilty (2025) continues Rusty's story again as the series' most recent instalment.
Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Kindle County novels in?
Publication order, starting with Presumed Innocent (1987) -- while many books stand alone with new protagonists, recurring characters age and reappear across the series, and several later books are direct sequels to earlier ones.
Do I need to read Presumed Innocent before Innocent, The Last Trial or Presumed Guilty?
Yes -- all three are direct sequels revisiting Rusty Sabich and the fallout of Presumed Innocent's events decades later.
Is Limitations a full novel?
It's a short novel/novella (under 200 pages), originally serialised in the New York Times Magazine before book publication.
How many Kindle County books are there?
Thirteen, published between 1987 and 2025, making it one of the longest-running legal thriller series by a single author.
If you like the Kindle County series
Reading order last verified .