Presumed Innocent: Booktrack Edition characters

Appears from the start

Kindle County's chief deputy prosecuting attorney and the novel's narrator. Rusty is an experienced courtroom lawyer, husband, and father whose controlled professional manner conceals a more unsettled private life. His superior assigns him to investigate the killing of another prosecutor in their office.

Appears from the start

A successful deputy prosecutor found murdered in her apartment shortly before the county election. Carolyn was admired for her courtroom skill and ambition, and her death places the prosecutor's office under intense pressure to find her killer.

Appears from the start

The elected Kindle County prosecuting attorney and Rusty's longtime superior. Facing a serious reelection challenge, Raymond needs the Polhemus investigation handled quickly and credibly, so he puts his trusted chief deputy in charge.

First appears in chapter 2

Rusty's wife, an intelligent academic with a composed manner. The Sabiches have a teenage son and a marriage strained by emotional distance, though Barbara remains closely attentive to the family and to the pressure surrounding Rusty's work.

First appears in chapter 2

Rusty and Barbara's teenage son. Nat is observant and deeply important to both parents, making the stability of the Sabich household more than a private concern between husband and wife.

First appears in chapter 2

A veteran homicide detective who works closely with Rusty on Carolyn's murder. Lipranzer is methodical, skeptical, and personally loyal to Rusty, but his job requires him to follow physical evidence wherever it leads.

First appears in chapter 3

A former prosecutor challenging Raymond Horgan in the county election. Nico presents himself as an energetic alternative to the incumbent administration and has allies inside the office who question how it has handled Carolyn's death.

First appears in chapter 3

A prosecutor in Horgan's office who aligns himself with Nico Della Guardia. Molto is persistent, resentful of Rusty's authority, and alert to weaknesses or conflicts in the investigation.

First appears in chapter 5

The medical examiner responsible for important forensic work in the Polhemus case. Kumagai is defensive about his methods and records, and his conclusions become central to how the physical evidence is understood.

Also known as Sandy Stern

First appears in chapter 16

A highly regarded defense attorney retained when the investigation turns against Rusty. Stern is courteous and measured but strategically exacting, testing every assumption in the state's case while guiding Rusty through the unfamiliar position of being a defendant.

First appears in chapter 20

The experienced judge assigned to Rusty's trial. Lyttle maintains a formal, controlled courtroom and must rule on a politically charged prosecution in which the lawyers and witnesses are members of the same legal community.