Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Enemy Inside by Steve Martini

A long holiday weekend is the perfect time to kick back with an absorbing legal thriller. I found it in one of Steve Martini’s later books. Martini is a master of complex plots and his ability to create deliciously byzantine problems shines in the 13^th book about criminal defense lawyer Paul Madriani, The Enemy Inside (William Morrow, 2015). Madriani’s daughter asks him to defend a friend, Paul Ives, who has been arrested for vehicular manslaughter.

Police believe Ives was driving under the influence and broadsided a car driven by Olinda Serna, Washington, DC, lawyer and lobbyist. Ives survived only because a passing motorist dragged him to safety before both cars exploded into flames. Ives told a bizarre story of being invited to a party in the hills above Los Angeles by a beautiful young woman who promised to meet him there. She did not appear and he has no memory of what happened after taking one drink. That part of his story is supported by the medical tests that showed alcohol barely registering in his system, meaning the DUI charge could not be upheld by the evidence.

Unfortunately no one believed Ives enough to test him for roofies and any sign of the date rape drug would have disappeared within a day or so. His story is consistent with having been drugged, but there’s no supporting evidence, and Madriani began searching for the party site and anyone there who might have seen Ives that evening.

Ives was an investigative journalist working for a political scandal sheet and Madriani also began asking questions about his current assignment, wondering why he should have been so obviously set up. His inquiries took him across the country to Washington, DC, and from there to Switzerland, where he learned all about numbered bank accounts sheltering U.S. money from IRS scrutiny. Of particular interest are those accounts owned by PEPs, Politically Exposed Persons, or those individuals who are susceptible to bribery or corruption by virtue of their position within the government. Serna had been a specialist in financial and banking policy and Madriani began to see a pattern.

A convoluted tale of greed, politics, paid killers, lethal technology, and international intrigue, still relevant 10 years later. Parts of the story dealing with global economics are eerily prescient. Highly recommended for fans of legal crime fiction, financial thrillers, and geopolitical espionage.

 

 

·       Publisher: ‎William Morrow; 1st edition (May 12, 2015)

·       Language: ‎English

·       Hardcover: ‎384 pages

·       ISBN-10: ‎006232893X

·       ISBN-13: ‎978-0062328939

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Z675nU 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2024 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Judge by Steve Martini

After an overwhelming several days watching events at home and abroad, I wanted an absorbing story that would engage my attention; I found it in one of Steve Martini’s early legal thrillers. Martini started his career in journalism, where he reported on legal issues in the California State Capitol. He then attended law school and undertook a varied private practice. He began fiction writing in the mid-1980s, publishing three stand-alone novels and 14 books and a novella in his Paul Madriani series. A fifteenth full-length book was published in 2017, according to Fantastic Fiction; it is labelled unavailable on Amazon, with only one review. His website does not list this last title. Apparently it was not actually released.

The fourth book about Madriani is The Judge (Putnam, 1996); it is nearly perfect. At the request of a friend Madriani takes a police officer under investigation as a client. Authorities believe San Francisco police union officials have been skimming funds, and the judge in charge of the grand jury is leaning hard on Madriani’s client to testify. In an opening scene Judge Armando Acosta tells Madriani that his client can turn his buddies in or go to jail. Madriani knows a police officer will not survive in jail, even for the two or three days it would take to overturn the judge’s ruling.

The question whether to testify is quickly rendered moot when the judge is arrested for soliciting a prostitute. The prostitute is an undercover part-time agent of the SFPD Vice squad; the situation reeks of a set-up. In a sequence of events so unlikely that they could really happen, Madriani gets pulled in as the defense attorney for the judge who was threatening him just days before. Within a couple of days, the undercover agent is found dead in a dumpster. The judge can’t provide an alibi, and Madriani quickly has a capital murder charge to defend instead of a misdemeanor.

Martini’s dialog, pacing, and plotting shine in a courtroom setting, and that’s where most of this book takes place. Devious cross-examination of prospective jurors, smart deflection of the prosecuting attorney, and clever questioning of forensic experts show Martini’s expertise in the trial venue. I particularly enjoyed Madriani’s wry and witty internal commentary throughout. The culmination does not take place in the courtroom; instead there’s a great chase scene with a completely unexpected culprit. Not surprisingly the book was turned into a miniseries. It aired on NBC in May 2001 with Chris Noth as Madriani and Edward Olmos as Judge Acosta. This story is highly recommended, especially for fans of legal thrillers. 

·         Publisher: ‎ Putnam Adult (January 3, 1996)

·         Language: ‎ English

·         Hardcover: ‎ 389 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎ 0399140433

·         ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0399140433

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2021

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Compelling Evidence by Steve Martini

Compelling Evidence by Steve Martini (Putnam, 1992) is the first of 15 (so far) legal thrillers featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani in Los Angeles, California. Madriani is building a solo practice after his unceremonious departure from a large corporate practice, caused by the discovery of Madriani’s affair with the much younger wife of the senior partner Ben Potter. After a year of no contact, Potter wants to meet with Madriani, as it turns out, to make sure the hatchet between them is buried. Potter is on the verge of being nominated for the U. S. Supreme Court and he wants no subtle smear to mar the exhaustive background investigation that is about to begin.

Within 24 hours after their meeting Potter is found dead, the victim of a homicide clumsily disguised as suicide. Madriani is inveigled into defending the young Mrs. Potter, uneasy about their past history which, if discovered by the media, would destroy the credibility of any defense he could prepare. Add a partner who is the default recipient of Potter’s wildly successful legal practice if Madriani loses and a judge up for re-election who is determined no appeal or hung jury will tarnish his record, along with someone in the prosecutor’s office issuing unauthorized but damaging information about the defendant to the press, and the case could not be less promising.

Although the early writing in places needed a strong editor that it didn’t get, once the legal part of the story begins, it gallops at a breakneck pace until the surprise ending. (The Kirkus reviewer said the ending was predictable but I have no idea how anyone could have guessed it. Perhaps I am gullible.) Martini has the legal profession down cold, from the set-up and operations of large corporate practices to the showboating lawyer who is always chasing his next media opportunity regardless of his client’s interests he is supposed to be protecting. The lengthy section on the psychology of jury selection is fascinating. Highly recommended to fans of Scott Turow and John Lescroart.

Hardcover: 379 pages

Publisher: Putnam Pub Group (February 1, 1992)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9780399137129

ISBN-13: 978-0399137129

Aubrey Hamilton ©2019

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.