Trader of Secrets: A Paul Madriani Novel - Hardcover

Martini, Steve

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061930237 ISBN 13: 9780061930232

Publisher: William Morrow, 2011

Synopsis

“Steve Martini ranks among the top authors of legal thrillers.”
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“You like Law & Order? Or even a John Grisham novel? Well, Steve Martini is one of the best of the best when it comes to crime thrillers.”
—Asbury Park Press

The reasons why Steve Martini is one of the most popular thriller writers around are abundantly clear in Trader of Secrets: an ingenious plot, great characters, gripping storytelling that combines the legal expertise of John Lescroart, Brad Meltzer, and Scott Turow with the heart-pounding political intrigue of Vince Flynn and Brad Thor. Superstar crime novelist Linda Fairstein says, “Take it from a prosecutor—Steve Martini has created one of the most charismatic defense attorneys in thriller fiction,” referring to Martini’s fearless yet very human series protagonist, defense attorney Paul Madriani. In Trader of Secrets the crusading lawyer is on the trail of dangerous criminals who are trying to steal state-of-the-art weapons technology…with nothing less than the future of America at stake.

About this title

About the Author

Steve Martini is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including The Enemy Inside, Trader of Secrets, The Rule of Nine, Guardian of Lies, Shadow of Power, Double Tap, and others featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani. Martini has practiced law in California in both state and federal courts and has served as an administrative law judge and supervising hearing officer. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

From the Back Cover

Defense attorney Paul Madriani is embroiled in a case as perilous as any he has ever faced: one that involves an angry killer who will stop at nothing short of vengeance, and two missing NASA scientists who are holding secrets that a hostile government desperately wants to purchase—in blood if they must.

Madriani's daughter, Sarah, has evaded the man known as Liquida, who has stalked her all the way across the country. For her own safety, she is being kept under armed guard on a farm in Ohio.

But one morning, itching for a predawn run to shake off the tension that has grown in the hours she's spent waiting for word from her father, Sarah slips from her ring of protection. What she doesn't know is that at the same moment her assailant is outside, waiting patiently in the dark.

Meanwhile in California, two men in a parked car argue over millions in cash that could be slipping through their fingers and a scheme involving government technology for sale that could rock the world.

Paul Madriani, his companion Joselyn Cole, and his longtime law partner, Harry Hinds, track Liquida, not knowing that their quest will carry them deep into the vortex of international terror.It is a journey that will lead them toward a bizarre and cruel twist of nature—and the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. From the nation's capital to California, from Bangkok to Paris and the jungles of Mexico, Madriani and his party race against time to find Liquida and the scientist who is the "trader of secrets" before he can unleash the weapon that could set the world ablaze.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Trader of Secrets

A Paul Madriani NovelBy Steve Martini

William Morrow

Copyright © 2011 Steve Martini
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780061930232

Chapter One

Most of the blood left on the concrete floor of the garage in
Washington belonged to the big black investigator working
for Madriani, the man named Herman Diggs, but not
all of it.
Liquida could feel the tight constraint of the large gauze
bandage covering the searing wound under his right arm. Every
bump in the highway brought pain as the motion tugged on the
metal staples holding the wound closed. It made his eyes water.
Still, the pain kept him awake and on course.
What kept Liquida going was his hatred for Madriani and an
unquenchable thirst for retribution. The firm of Madriani and
Hinds had caused him to lose a small fortune, enough money for
Liquida to retire. That was before the lawyers? investigator carved
up Liquida?s back with a knife, but not before Liquida had dealt the
man a deathblow. As the bastard lay dying on the concrete floor,
Liquida twisted the knife by telling him that he knew where the
girl was and that she was next. Now he intended to make good on
the promise.
His right arm hung limp in a sling as he steered with his left
hand. Liquida struggled to keep his eyes on the road, periodically
holding the wheel with his knees as he sipped fluids, alternating
between coffee and orange juice. He refused to consume the pain
pills given to him by the physician for fear they might dull his
senses; not until the girl was dead.
The doctor had told him to change the bandages daily and to
remain quiet for at least a week to allow the stapled sutures to heal.
The all-night clinic was a seedy place in a dingy area just outside
D.C., one of those surgi-centers where, for enough cash, usually
they would remove a bullet or stitch up an open wound, no questions
asked. Liquida was in and out in less than an hour.
He had no intention of remaining quiet for ten days. Madriani?s
daughter would not wait that long on the farm in Ohio. Once she
was told what had happened in Washington, she would bolt for
another location to hide out, or join her father. Either way it would
be much more difficult to find her again. Liquida knew he had to
act and act quickly. Before he murdered Madriani, he wanted the
lawyer to know that his daughter had died under Liquida?s knife.
He made the four hundred miles from D.C. to Groveport, Ohio,
in a little under eight hours. Liquida napped just briefly in a small
motel a short distance from the farm where the girl was staying. He
knew that with every minute that passed he ran the risk that Sarah
Madriani and her father?s law partner, the one they called Harry
Hinds, might pack their bags and make a run for it. But Liquida had
no choice. He was in no condition to plan and carry out a killing
against a well-guarded location without at least a few hours? rest.
He changed the bandage on his wound. It was a painful
exercise, twisting around and using his one good arm, trying not to
pull the sutures or tear the skin around the wound as he wrestled
with the tape. He set an alarm for two hours and collapsed onto
the bed to sleep.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Trader of Secretsby Steve Martini Copyright © 2011 by Steve Martini. Excerpted by permission of William Morrow. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0061930237
• ISBN 13: 9780061930232
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 392