The Burden of Proof is intimately connected to Presumed Innocent. Not only are Stern and his wife Clara part of the earlier work, but the second novel discloses that Rusty Sabich is now a judge. Yet these books are linked by more than the characters. Their structures and concerns are also quite similar. Both novels feature protagonists who must cope with their parents' pasts as political refugees. Both of these men are married to complex and mysterious women whose tightly reined emotions yield explosive results when released. Both become infatuated with troubled women who offer them something they feel is lacking in their lives. Finally, both must interpret the mystery behind the death of a woman that forces them to explore regions of themselves that they had previously ignored. This continuous focus on the darker recesses of the protagonists' lives is also an important aspect of...