The Arraignment - Softcover

Martini, Steve

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747266107 ISBN 13: 9780747266105

Publisher: Headline Paperbacks, 2003

Synopsis

When a lawyer friend, Nick Rush, is killed along with a client in a hail of gunfire outside the federal courthouse, attorney Paul Madriani is determined to find out the reasons for this double murder. Tortured by the possibility that he himself had been marked for death, only to have a friend die in his place, Madriani casts a suspicious eye in all directions -- at Rush's business associates, his clients, even the beautiful widow and her mysterious new companion. As he investigates, Madriani rides the crest of a dangerous wave of international drug deals and people who murder for money. In a quest that takes him from California to Mexico, he discovers that, while the motive to kill may be driven by events taking place thousands of miles away, the killer lies much closer at hand...

About this title

Review

When Paul Madriani's old friend, flamboyant criminal-defense lawyer Nick Rush, is gunned down on the streets of San Diego along with a client, Madriani sets out to find the killer. He follows the trail through shady real-estate dealings, cross-border smuggling, political corruption, and a nasty fight between Rush's ex and his young trophy wife over a hefty life-insurance policy. Eventually the case leads Madriani to the Yucatan Peninsula near Cancún, where the last third of the book takes place--a dandy locale for skullduggery, even if it does make you suspect that the author thought up the plot while vacationing there.

The Arraignment is marred by some sloppy, foggy-headed writing ("The neighborhood exudes the kind of aura picked up by a sixth sense that lingers and lifts the hair on the back of my neck"), and the plot, after its initial bang, sags for a while before it gets moving again. However, the sheer vigor of Martini's prose, his densely inventive plotting, and his sharply drawn characters carry you happily, tensely along. The book's action scenes--including a hand-to-hand fight in a shabby apartment and an unforgettable poolside shooting at a Cancún resort--are told in fresh, vivid prose that unfolds with hypnotic clarity. And the denouement is great fun, although the complex plot takes a lot of explaining at the end. Martini's not perfect, but he's still one of the best legal/adventure thriller writers going. --Nicholas H. Allison

About the Author

Steve Martini, a former trial attorney, has been engaged in both public and private practice of law. He lives on the US West Coast with his wife and daughter.

About this edition

• Publisher: Headline Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0747266107
• ISBN 13: 9780747266105
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512