Bill ten Boom--his friends call him “Boom”—is a middle-aged lawyer with two grown sons. His marriage of twenty-five years is over, and he is ready to tackle new personal and professional challenges. An old law-school buddy convinces Boom to move from Illinois to the Hague, where he will work as a prosecutor for the International Criminal Court. Boom's first task is to interrogate a witness, Ferko Rincic, who alleges that a mass murder took place in Barupra, Bosnia, in 2004. Rincic, a member of the Roma--known in English as "Gypsies," a discredited word with derogatory connotations--claims that he witnessed masked men in uniform herding approximately four hundred Roma to their deaths.

Scott Turow’s “Testimony” had the potential to be a provocative and intriguing work of fiction. The author tackles universal and timely themes, including religious persecution, ethnic cleansing, racial prejudice, and the damage that self-serving individuals inflict on others. The characters include Esma, a stunning female barrister who represents Rincic; Layton Merriwell, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander; Laza Kajevic, a Serbian war criminal who has escaped punishment by going into hiding; and Attila Doby, a smart and resourceful facilitator with close ties to the United States Army. As Boom digs deeper into the details of the case, he suspects that higher ups in the American government are withholding significant information. In addition, Boom and his colleague, a Belgian investigator named Goos, learn that uncovering long-suppressed secrets may be hazardous to one's health.

Why does “Testimony” ultimately fall short? It is far too long and dense. The prose style and dialogue are wooden, and the plot is so unwieldy and convoluted that the story flags by the halfway point. The conclusion, with its endless exposition, is cluttered and confusing. By the time the final page is turned, many readers will feel more weary than gratified. Although Boom is decent and compassionate, a good part of the cast consists of liars, thieves, and thugs whose actions betray their lack of basic decency. The author inserts a romantic subplot that is more silly than sultry. Turow squandered an opportunity to write a meaningful and intriguing work of fiction about the horrors of genocide, the complexities of geopolitics, and the difficulty of accurately reconstructing historical events when there are conflicting versions of the truth.

Fifty year old Bill ten Boom decides he needs a fresh start in life. He leaves his wife and family and forfeits his partnership in a prestigious law firm. He has no plans other than to enjoy life in a different setting. Then an old law school buddy recommends him to be a prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague where war crimes and other international crimes against humanity are prosecuted. Boom reluctantly takes the job and is assigned to a ten year old case in Bosnia where 400 Gypsy refugees vanished at the end of the Bosnian war.
Boom finds one witness, Ferko Rincic, the sole survivor of the massacre. Ferko testifies about his friends and family being herded in the night to a nearby cave and being buried alive inside as explosives are used to seal the cave entrance closed. Ferko’s sketchy description leads to several possible suspects for the crime. They include a disgraced U.S. major general, a former soldier reporting to the general now turned military contractor in Bosnia, a former brutal Serbian leader, and a possible conspiracy. Boom hires bull dozers and back hoes to dig up the cave in search of physical remains of the massacre. But physical evidence doesn’t match Ferko’s testimony and Boom is forced to investigate Ferko and his lawyer as well as the other possible suspects.
While this is an interesting tale, I didn’t find it thrilling or all that intriguing… in fact a little slow at times. I’ve read most of Scott Turow’s books because Presumed Innocent is one of the best legal thrillers I’ve ever read. I even remember exactly where and when I read it, on vacation at Nags Head, NC in June 1990. Nothing Turow has written since measures up… and yet I hope.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance look at this one.

Scott Turow’s TESTIMONY is a complex legal thriller. Unlike many of his previous books the action does not take place in a courtroom. This novel is a legal investigation that takes place on a worldly scale, mostly in Bosnia.

Bill ten Boom turns fifty and decides to start life again. He leaves his marriage, his home, his job, his country. He is pretty much just biding his time until an old law school friend stops by and suggests he is a candidate to be a prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague which prosecutes crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide.

The International Criminal Court handles many cases and Boom is assigned to a case concerning the disappearance of an entire Gypsy refugee camp The massacre's sole survivor, Ferko, comes forward ten years after the disappearance.

Boom's task is to examine Ferko's claims and determine who might have massacred the camp.

It is a multifaceted story told by an expert story teller.

I was intrigued with the beginning of the story when we get to hear testimony from the lone survivor of the massacre in Bosnia. Who could've possible been responsible for this was the immediate question that piqued my interest and kept me reading. Boom is called in to investigate and while he was a fairly well developed character, I could've did without some of the sex scenes between he and Ezma which for me didn't add much to the story at all. I was wondering why it took him so long to question her as well, maybe he was blinded by romance?

The case is very complex and there were many twists and turns, however, I do have to say I felt like it was bogged down in many parts and it almost felt like a chore to read certain parts which isn't how I expect to feel when reading a thriller. Perhaps it was just too heavy (for me) on the details of the DNA, soil sample, arms info etc. While I can see those details may be necessary I'm not sure they helped create suspense, rather they slowed down the pace for me. Overall, there were some surprises but in the end I was left feeling slightly underwhelmed . I would say if you enjoy legal novels with an international setting you might really like this one.

I have never read a book by Scott Turow before, but I like legal thrillers and I found the blurb of this book intriguing. The case of the missing 400 people is interesting, although I did find the story a bit slow now and then. The best part came towards the end of the book when the case started to take some interesting twist and turns because nothing is as it seems and the ending was surprising. It was also interesting to learn more about The International Criminal Court and the Bosnian war.

However, there were one thing that really bothered me in this book and that was Esma Czarni. I was not that thrilled about Boom's relationship with her, but that was not really what bothered me the most, it was that for some reason no one thought about doing a thorough investigation about her. I was actually a bit baffled when Boom started to make inquiries. At least Boom wised up and saw her for what she really is in the end.

Testimony is an interesting book, I did find the story dragged a bit now and then and to be honest Boom really didn't make a big impression on me. But, the case was interesting and I, for the most part, enjoyed reading the book and I wouldn't mind reading more books by Scott Turow.

I suspect that many readers who love Scott Turow will find themselves at odds with this departure from what we've come to expect to him. This is much more complex and thoughtful than his previous novels. If you don't remember much about the Bosnia conflict, you'll find yourself periodically stopping to do some side research. Turow has created terrific characters, not only in Boom, but also Merry, Goos, Attila, Esma and Nara. Each one of them rings true. My only quibble was with one or two of the sex scenes (not that they existed but this isn't Turow's strong point.) He's captured the Bosnian setting, especially in Tuzla. The scene at the salt mine is one which will linger. I was truly impressed with this- I expected to sail through it but found myself slowing down to savor the language and the plot, let alone trying to figure out exactly what happened to the Roma. THanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend this for a good read that demands attention and will make you think about how the world works.

Scott Turow can always be relied upon for a sound legal thriller. In "Testimony", he takes former prosecutor Bill ten Boom to the International Criminal Court, to assess a case of a crime against humanity - in this case Roma (gypsy) refugees from Kosovo.

It seems that an entire settlement in Barupra, Bosnia vanished overnight, and a witness, Ferko, claims that 400 men, women and children were taken by soldiers to the Cave in a nearby mine and blown up. The possibility is raised that the soldiers might have been Americans from a nearby base.

Though at times slow moving, this convoluted mystery twists and turns many times before it gets to a very unexpected conclusion. Definitely recommended!

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a very interesting legal thriller. I have never read one involving the International Criminal Court. There is a ton of history and investigative information to absorb. I found it very intriguing and intense at times. The characters were interesting. For me this was an enjoyable quick read.

3.75 stars

A report is given to the International Criminal Court in The Hague that 400 Roma (gypsies) have been rounded up in Bosnia and murdered. Fingers are pointed at the Americans and Bill Ten Boom is to investigate and then try the case if need be as his first assignment to the Court. Recruited by a former law school buddy, Roger, who is now a member of a secret part of the State Dept. Ten Boom is starting his life over at 50 after a divorce and a home vacated by grown sons.

The case is quite complex and a secret witness is giving testimony as the lone survivor of the massacre. The Roma has a female gypsy advocate who Boom gets involved with romantically, a terrible mistake. There is also a retired general recovering from his own sexual scandal, a local civilian who could either be a female or a male, an Indonesian female room-mate, a serious war criminal on the run and various riff-raff.

It is a dangerous case that also involves many twists and turns. It's complex and there are times when I felt like I was slogging through it. It got very technical is spots like soil samples, DNA, court regulations and arms information. I had to skim sections that were just too much to take in. It interrupted the flow of the story for me.

It was an interesting story and I liked learning about the International Court system doing important work like investigating genocide with their arms basically tied behind their back. There is lots of information about atrocities that we rarely hear about or I have skimmed over. It was also interesting to read about the deals that are made at an International level.

Although the story mainly takes place is Bosnia there are plenty of Kindle County references to keep Turow's fans happy. If you are interested in expanding your world view, this is the book for you.

How much do I love Scott Turow? I read tons of mysteries/thrillers, and am particularly fond of legal intrigue in that category. But I will drop EVERYTHING on my TBR list when a new book by Scott Turow is released! So when I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of Testimony (release date May 16, 2017) from Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley, I basically shut off the world for a few days! (Turow’s books are definitely not in my “one night stand” category!)

I read his first novel, Presumed Innocent, when it first came out back in 1986, meeting characters in the fictional Kindle County (cough Chicago/Cook County cough) – several of whom reappear in later books in the Kindle County series. Testimony is the latest in this line, this time featuring fifty-year-old former U.S. Attorney Bill Ten Boom, who finds himself in early 2015 at a crossroads: he has left his second career as a successful attorney at a major firm (so successful that he doesn’t need to work), is fairly recently amicably divorced from his wife of many years (they were both bored), and is unencumbered by people or things.

Bill (or Boom, as he is often called) happens to run into Roger, his friend since law school, who has spent the past thirty years in the Foreign Service. Roger tells him of an opportunity he might consider, working as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (a permanent war crimes tribunal) in The Hague. Bill accepts the opportunity and very quickly, he is at work in The Hague, in the middle of what appears to be a massive war crime involving the massacre of hundreds of Roma (aka “Gypsies”) at a refugee camp in Bosnia ten years earlier. The story takes place between March and July 2015, as Bill works with locals in The Hague, the U.S. military, and Bosnia to investigate this alleged war crime.

Bill/Boom is a terrific character, and Turow reveals his character both by his actions and his words/thoughts. Boom muses “These remains, just the first sight of them, affected me more strongly than I had been prepared for. Lawyers—all lawyers—live in a land of concepts and words, with precious little physical reality intruding.” And “Someday, when I finished bringing international justice to the globe, I was going to figure out the connection between self-image and love.” There are some fascinating relationships (including romantic ones) that develop during Boom’s first months in The Hague, and they enhance the development of his character while never distracting the reader from the story. And what a story! In addition to being a terrific mystery, it turned out to provide clarification for my (mis)understanding of the events that occurred in Bosnia in the 1990s. I love it when I am simultaneously entertained and educated!!!

The plotting in Testimony is complex, as we are introduced to a variety of suspects, including the Serb paramilitary, organized crime, and the U.S. military. Along the way, Boom is enmeshed in a variety of shifting alliances and some treachery, and it’s all done in Scott Turow style: it draws the reader in and won’t let go!

We often hear advice to authors to “write what you know,” and Turow clearly knows all aspects of this story. He worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago for 18 years. He then began writing, but continued practicing law: in 1995, he won a reversal in the murder conviction of a man who had spent 11 years in prison, many of them on death row, for a crime another man confessed to – and it was a pro bono effort! Since I can’t give this SIX stars, I’ll go with five. Thank you, Scott Turow!

"Testimony" by Scott Turow is an elaborate legal thriller that does not take place in a courtroom. The crime being investigated is one that took place in 2004 in Bosnia. An eyewitness account relays the story of 400 Roma Gypsies being herded into a cave. The cave is then surrounded by explosives and the occupants are buried alive. While there is no concrete evidence that this happened, aside from an unreliable eyewitness, the 400 Gypsies have disappeared.

Eleven years later, the International Criminal Court in The Hague opens up the investigation to delve more into this alleged mass atrocity. Bill ten Boom, a retired successful Kindle County Attorney is recommended by a friend to conduct the investigation. Since Bill is going through a mid-life crisis, he decides to accept the job as senior prosecutor and move to the Netherlands. Bill's predecessor, Olivier tells him "... when memories are stale and records are gone, the problems of proof in your case are likely to be insurmountable."

The rest of the story is dedicated to Bill ten Boom's quest for the truth. Along the way he becomes involved both professionally and personally with Esma Czarni, a barrister from the European Roma Alliance. Along with Goos, his investigator on the case, Bill has a burgeoning list of suspects to consider in this heinous crime. His quest leads him back to Washington DC, Bosnia and The Netherlands. Turow keeps this tale tautly wound as the truth is eventually revealed.

This is not a conventional Turow courtroom legal thriller but I would definitely recommend it. My thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Scott Turow for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story started off slow at first, and it took a while for me to get back into the slightly-infodumpy nature of Turow's writing. Eventually, though, the twists were exposed one by one, and then as soon as it was clear nothing was as it seemed, I got sucked in completely. Loved it.

This tense international legal thriller finds Bill ten Boom moving out of the Kindle County courtroom and into a post with the ICC, which prosecutes crimes against humanity at The Hague. The plot of this gripping thriller is suspenseful and feels ripped from the international headlines.

Bill is in very unfamiliar territory and has to be cautious of who ha can trust as he tries to navigate the international system. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way that keep the novel pushing right to the end. Unfortunately, some fans of Turow may be disappointed because there is no courtroom showdown in this novel that Boom is commonly known for. However, the plot and the setting for this thriller are very complex, and new and old readers should enjoy it as much as other installments. It is apparent that Turow researched this novel very well.

I would recommend this book to fans of legal thrillers, suspense, and international crime. I received this as a free ARC from Grand Central Publishing in NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Although Testimony was difficult to get into, the story did become reasonably engaging and held my interest. Parts of the story bogged down with unnecessary details, but overall it was well paced. Once the central mystery was revealed the story could have ended more rapidly. All this being said, I did enjoy the book.

From the blood soaked valleys of a forgotten civil war, to the halls of the Hague, and a quiet Chicago suburb, the reader is taken on a journey that surprises at every turn. Read the entire review at https://journalingonpaper.com/2017/04/26/book-review-testimony-by-scott-turow/

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read the wonderful Scott Turow's latest thriller. I'm a huge fan of his books and his latest doesn't disappoint.

Once again, Turow upholds his legal thriller crown with this book - even though it doesn't take place in familiar Kindle County. In fact, it takes us across the world to war-torn Bosnia, The Netherlands, Washington DC and many places in between.

This is a complicated book with a difficult subject matter - war and all the life-changing decisions that take place therein. Bill ten Boom is a Kindle County attorney who finds himself with, dare we say, a midlife crisis. Divorced and still trying to resurrect a relationship with his two boys, he finds himself untethered and in need of a life change. He is presented the opportunity to go to The Hague and work with the International Criminal Court to investigate the possible massacre of 400 Roma (gypsies).

He meets an interesting cast of characters and each come with their own stories and motivation as they tell their story to him in his quest to find the truth. Boom finds himself caught up in so many different stories, while he also tries to come up with a story for himself in the next part of his life.

Based on some true events, Testimony leaves you unsettled about war and truth. Beautifully written - the descriptions of the different countries and their people were wonderful. While I hope that Turow returns to the courtroom with his next novel, this is a wonderful read.

Very good story. It isn't a grab you by the seat of the pants type book. It grows on you and twists and turns. Good read.

I have been waiting for a new Turow book and Testimony was well worth the wait.

This is tense legal thriller from Scott Turow that follows an International Criminal Court prosecutor's real life case of the harrowing disappearance of 4oo Roma refugee camp at the tail end of the Balkans War. Turow has clearly done his research in this novel which moves out of the courtroom and out into the field. Kindle County Attorney, Bill ten Boom finds himself at a crossroads, he has quit his legal career and divorced his wife and left his family. He takes up a post at the ICC, which prosecutes crimes against humanity, at The Hague in the Netherlands, at the instigation of his friends.

Over a decade ago, over 400 Roma refugees disappeared, rumours and whispers abound as to what happened to them. The story moves from The Netherlands, Bosnia and the US. However, a witness has surfaced, Ferko Rincic, who says that he observed armed men move the Roma to a cave, where a hand grenade is triggers an avalanche which buries the entire group, with Rincic the sole survivor. Bill has the challenging task of delving into Rincic's claims as he seeks who exactly carried out the massacre, travelling to Bosnia to investigate. This leads him down a myriad of paths and numerous suspects which include a cruel, despotic former Serb leader, Laza Kajevic, Serbian paramilitaries, the strange Sergeant Atilla Doby, criminal gangs, a US Major General, Layton Merriwel, Rincic himself and his legal representative, Esma Czarni. There is the question of what else Rincic knows. There are plentiful twists in this case where Bill finds himself on a taxing personal and professional legal journey full of secrets.

This is a thrilling and intelligent novel with a compelling and gripping narrative. A story of tangled human relationships and an emotional rollercoaster. Bill finds himself on a murky case that puts him into unfamiliar territory and exploring his personal family history and identity. The characters feel authentic and draw the readers interest easily. Definitely a good read. Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for an ARC.

There is so much going on in this novel that the reader is never disappointed. Ten Boom is in his fifties, recently divorced with adult children and somewhat bored by his partnership in a major law firm. How does he solve this...by going to The Hague to the ICC as a prosecutor looking into War Crimes committed in Bosnia years earlier. His growth and development are amazing as is that of the majority of secondary characters. The plot is way too complex to evaluate here without revealing spoilers but suffice to say it is intriguing and will hold the reader's interest. I would predict this is a potential best seller and well deserving of it. Thanks to Net Galley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC for an honest review.