The Jury - Softcover

Martini, Steve

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1410400514 ISBN 13: 9781410400512

Publisher: Christian Large Print, 2002

Synopsis

Paul Madriani is back with a trial lawyer's worst nightmare: a murder defendant he believes to be innocent who refuses to cooperate in his own defense. Dr. David Crane, accused of strangling his bright, black and beautiful assistant, Dr. Kalista Jordan, hides behind his top-secret genetic research when asked to explain his well known differences with the deceased. As always, Mr. Martini does the best job in the business of showing us the legal strategy of a contentious trial without talking down and gives us examples of cross-examination that should be studied in a law school. The dialogue is perhaps his best, the mystery is up to his usual standards - although I've come to care for his daughter Jennifer and would have liked to see more of her as she continues to grow up without a mother - there is a possibility of racism to complicate things and the surprise ending is indeed a brilliantly conceived (and fairly hinted at) surprise. Perhaps it is a bit longer than necessary despite it's twists and needed technical explanations, but it's so good I missed half a night's sleep to finish it./THIS IS A GIFT QUALITY BOOK/BEST VALUE /FAST SHIPPING ALL OVER THE WORLD/OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE/

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Review

So much of the action in this courtroom thriller happens outside the jury's purview that it makes one wonder if there's a touch of irony intended in the title. Paul Madriani, the lawyer-hero of five previous Martini novels set in San Francisco, has moved to San Diego for reasons that are never made clear. He's taken on the case of David Crone, a doctor involved in mapping the human genome, who's been charged with the murder of his colleague, a young African American research physician whose ambitions threatened Crone's career.

Crone seems to have had ample motivation for killing Kalista Jordan: witnesses have testified to the friction between them, and Crone himself seems less concerned about the capital murder charge than about what may be going on in his lab. When a key witness for the prosecution dies in what looks like a suicide and leaves a note confessing to the murder, Crone is freed. And in an O. Henry-like twist in the last chapter, a most unlikely killer emerges and threatens Madriani's life.

But even this doesn't do much to enliven this slow-moving novel. There's very little tension on the page or in the plot, and neither the narrative nor the characters offer the reader the kind of excitement found in Martini's previous novels. --Jane Adams

About the Author

Steve Martini was born in San Francisco and grew up in Southern California. An honors graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz, he worked as a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles and as a correspondent at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, specializing in legal issues. After obtaining his law degree, he appeared in state and federal courts; he also served as special counsel to the California Victims of Violent Crime Program. His first novel, Compelling Evidence, was published in 1992 and became a bestseller. He has gone on to write a number of other books, including The Trader of Secrets, Guardian of Lies, The List, The Judge, and Prime Witness, among others. He currently resides in the Pacific Northwest.

About this edition

• Publisher: Christian Large Print
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1410400514
• ISBN 13: 9781410400512
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 494