Slow to get going, long wait til surprise ending; fair drama...This is our third Martini -- er, the author's books that is. We enjoyed "Simeon Chamber" (his first outing), but felt the "List" was too dry and set too sluggish a pace for our taste. We tried the "Attorney" to see if the defense attorney Paul Madriani series, which now has some half dozen entries, might be more entertaining. Alas, a rather mundane plot gets us off to a lackluster start -- Jonah Hale's granddaughter Amanda, of whom he has legal custody, is kidnapped by her recent ex-con natural mother, with the help of a feminist activist, Zolanda Suade, who specializes in skirting the law and resisting the Establishment. Hale hires Madriani (instead of an private eye?), but little more happens until some 100 pages later, when Suade is discovered murdered. Hale is arrested on a fairly extensive list of evidence that points to him, coupled with his incentive, motive, and opportunity. At that point, Paul switches into the true mode of defending his client, with some helpers (and some inside scoop from his lady friend, director of Child Protective Services). Some reasonably interesting courtroom scenes follow as first the accused is arraigned without bail and then actually tried for the murder. Near the end, in what we thought was a somewhat unfair plot development, Hale suffers a heart attack, suspending the trial. While he's hospitalized, a new Mexican drug-runner-type villain surfaces, who has been hunted half-heartedly through the book, and sheds enough doubt on the case that for all practical purposes the prosecution is motivated to declare a mistrial and not bother with a second go-round. A twist at the end tells us readers who the perp actually was.This novel is sort of like a car running a 300-mile car race in first gear for 100 miles, second gear for 80 miles, and then a mad dash to the finish line without realizing one is 50 laps behind -- hardly a compelling run. Such is the nature of this book; while Madriani is a nice enough guy, the plot lacked zest and suspense, nor could the court scenes seize the moment "Perry Mason"-style. In fact, we're thinking maybe a third martini cocktail might be more fun!
Finished book 5 in the Paul Madriani series by Steve Martini. This time he has moved south from Northern California to San Diego and is romantically entangled with Susan McKay. I don’t recall her from earlier installments but perhaps she was there. At any rate she is integral to the story.A former client and friend who has won the lottery wants to hire Madriani and his side-kick Harry Hinds to find his missing grand-daughter who has been kid-napped by his junkie daughter, an ex-con who only wants her father’s money. The odds are against Madriani, especially given that a rampant feminist, Suade, apparently helped coordinate the kidnapping. But when Suade is murdered and everything points to his client as the guilty party, things get delicate.Martini keeps the reader guessing, but ultimately pulls a few sudden cards out of his sleeve at the end to make this a slightly less believable story than earlier ones. Grade: B
What do You think about The Attorney (2001)?
I am not really sure why this book didn't rate very high with me, but I can only call it average. There was much too much description of places and things for me. I can get the picture if the author says an area was bustling with activity. I don't need to know all the different kinds of people who are bustling and what they are all doing. On the other hand the mystery was intriguing and I have to say the ending was a total surprise to me - even though I didn't LIKE the ending and I felt a lot was left hanging in terms of really tying up loose ends. There were ethical and moral ambiguities that I thought deserved more attention. In the world of court room procedurals, this one just didn't do it for me.
—Nancy Rogan
Martini pens a very suspensful legal thriller! This book had me riveted to the pages.The case: A CA state lottery winner has gained custody of his granddaughter when the childs mother, his daughter, is imprisoned on drug-smuggling charges. Upon her release, she elicits the aid of a vigilante group called Vanishing Victims in order to steal the child back. Because it is a 'kidnapping' by a parent, the state offers no aid in getting the child returned. When the head of the organization is found dead, all fingers point to the grandfather as the murder suspect.This was my first read of Martini's work, but I will assuredly look for more. If you are a fan of this genre (which I am!!) then you will want to read this twisted and suspenseful tale
—Maurean
-(#5 in the Paul Madriani series) Paul Madriani, barely has a chance to hang a shingle in San Diego--where he has moved to be closer to his lover, child advocate Susan McKay--before he is sucked into another engrossing court battle. When Madriani takes on elderly Jonah Hale's case, it seems at first he is dealing with a simple kidnapping. Hale's granddaughter, eight-year-old Amanda, under Hale's custody, has been whisked away by Zolanda Suade, who runs Vanishing Victims, an organization that pur
—Kellie
