Rating: 
Summary: It's Too Easy
Review: I had the twist figured out fairly early, but twists and turns in a novel are too easy. At least Martini gives you a hint that there is going to be a twist, and doesn't give you a big "ha ha ha" at the end when he tells you that the, wait, I can't give it away, you have to read half the book and figure it out yourself. I do enjoy Martini's work and will probably buy another cheesy legal thriller after I'm done with my "to read" list.
Rating: 
Summary: wonderful legal thriller
Review: I hadn't read many of his books and was really pleased when I read this one. Mandriani is an attorney and one of his clients, who he had defended before with good results, comes to him again. Jonah Hale, who has since won one of the biggest lotteries, wants Mandriani to find his grand-daughter who has been kidnapped by his daughter, a drug user and released felon. The woman who he feels helped his daughter with the kidnapping ends up murdered and he is accused of the murder. Mandriani has his hands full trying to keep up with all the different angles and suspects. The ending may surprise you. I enjoyed the book and I think you will too. I am looking forward to reading another of his books.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful legal thriller
Review: I hadn't read many of his books and was really pleased when I read this one. Mandriani is an attorney and one of his clients, who he had defended before with good results, comes to him again. Jonah Hale, who has since won one of the biggest lotteries, wants Mandriani to find his grand-daughter who has been kidnapped by his daughter, a drug user and released felon. The woman who he feels helped his daughter with the kidnapping ends up murdered and he is accused of the murder. Mandriani has his hands full trying to keep up with all the different angles and suspects. The ending may surprise you. I enjoyed the book and I think you will too. I am looking forward to reading another of his books.
Rating: 
Summary: Motion to Dismiss
Review: I usually love a good mystery... unfortunately, this is not a good mystery.Steve Martini's "The Attorney" starts out promising enough, with a murder victim so widely hated that the suspect list is long and the mystery deep. Fans of Mr. Martini's other novels will thrill at the return of his much-loved lawyer. The plot concerns the murder of a much-maligned child protection advocate who "makes kids disappear" in hotly-debated child custody battles. The densely-plotted novel vears between America and Mexico as the fascinating story unfolds. However, mystery fans will most likely figure out the murderer's identity half-way through the book, and some very untidy plot resolutions will leave the reader scratching his or her head and wondering what Mr. Martini was thinking. The key to a good mystery is a dense plot, characters that the reader cares about, a villain to hate, and a tidy, well-resolved ending. Unfortunately, the ending of this book leaves too many questions unanswered, and almost appears to be an after-thought.
Rating:
Summary: A little too long, with big plot holes at the end.
Review: Martini was wise to go back to his "bread and butter" protagonist, Paul Madriani. I always enjoyed this character and I was dismayed at such books as Martini's "Critical Mass," in which Martini discarded both Madriani and the legal thriller genre. Much of "The Attorney" is exciting and compelling. Paul Madriani, the hero of the title, tries to help Jonah Hale, an older man who has made a great deal of money in a lottery. Hale's granddaughter is missing, along with her drug-addicted mother. Along the way, Madriani encounters complications relating to his lover, Susan, who works with abused children, and Paul is nearly killed by a Mexican drug lord. Eventually, a key characters is murdered and Paul is the defendant's attorney at trial. As always, Martini is very good at writing courtroom sequences. As compelling as some of these courtroom scenes are, the book drags on for over 400 pages. The most problematic element of the book, however, is the tacked-on ending. Martini loves surprise endings. He delivers the surprise at the very end of the book and it simply does not hold water. There are plot holes at the end that are enormous and the author never plugs up the holes. I still enjoyed much of the book, but Martini should be more careful in making the plot more coherent. Surprise endings work only when they make sense.
Rating:
Summary: The gratuitous cigar butt
Review: My husband and I were enjoying this audio book while driving, but we ended up being disappointed because there is an element that makes no sense: the emptied out car ashtray that accuses JOnah Hale. Mr. Martini - we are paying attention. don't throw in stuff that doesn't work. Otherwise, well written and involving.
Rating: 
Summary: Courtroom Drama, Surprise Ending
Review: Steve Martini has been around a few courtrooms in his day and it shows. Martini's California lawyer Paul Madriani decides to leave his hometown of Sacramento to get away from memories of his wife's untimely death. He has been courting Susan McKay, the director of Child Protective Services in San Diego. He decides its time to relocate to that city. In San Diego he is approached by former client Jonah Hale. In the early days of Madriani's practice, he won a hard fought battle to secure a railroad pension for Hale. An $87 million lottery jackpot has since made this victory irrelevant, but Hale respects Madriani's abilities. Hale hires Madriani to help him find his granddaughter. Hale believes the child has been kidnapped from his custody by his ex-con daughter assisted by a bitter manhating ideologue who is singularly lacking in common sense. The outspoken Hale makes no bones about his hatred for the suspected kidnapper, especially when she threatens to expose him [falsely we assume] as a child molester. Some of his unconsidered remarks might even be construed as threats. And indeed they are taken as threats when the kidnapper is found shot to death. Soon his client is on trial for murder and Madriani is facing trials of his own. People are trying to kill him and a key witness turns up dead. Susan McKay is called as a witness in the case and is not helpful to the defense. There are some questionable twists in the parts of the plot. Would the police really be so unconcerned about the kidnapping? Hale did have legal custody. But, the courtroom scenes are riveting and, with the exception of the unlikely event of McKay as a witness, realistic. Martini conveys the despair Madriani feels about what is turning into a losing battle for his client's future. The ending is dramatic. True to Martini's style no one is above suspicion.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome return of Paul Madriani
Review: Steve Martini has finally returned to his Paul Madriani series and not a moment too soon. Paul, and his law partner, Harry Hinds, are two of the most endearing characters in any legal thriller. While "The Attorney" does not measure up to previous Martini books like "Undue Influence", it is still a worthwhile read. Paul and his daughter move to southern California to be closer to Paul's new girlfriend, and Harry follows to set up a new practice there. Paul is soon retained by Jonah Hale to help find Jonah's granddaughter who was snatched from his custody by Jonah's daughter. What seems to be a clear-cut, if not easily resolved case soon escalates to murder and Paul decides to represent Jonah in court. There are excellent descriptions of Paul's southern California locale, right down to certain street names. This tediousness detracts from the action somewhat. But like some of the other reviews noted, the killer is quite obvious less than halfway through the book. It is a mystery (excuse the pun) why a writer as skilled as Martini would give a clue as to the killer's identity that all but reaches out and slaps the reader across the face. This aside, "The Attorney" is tightly paced thriller that is suspenseful despite knowing who the killer is early on in the book. Martini is a writer that is among the ranks of Scott Turow and Richard North Patterson, and it is good to finally see him returning to the legal thriller genre where he writes best.
Rating:
Summary: welcome back
Review: Steve Martini has written several entertaining courtroom dramas- and he serves himself best when he stays within this genre. The three Paul Madriani novels that I've read have been page-turning entertainment, better than his two forays outside the genre- "The List" and "Critical Mass". I'd give this book three and a half stars if I could. This is not great literature, but Martini writes a good courtroom drama with a crisp pace, fairly sharp dialogue, and a healthy dose of discussion of somewhat arcane legal issues that may educate the non-lawyers amongst his readers. Case-in-point: does the character Jonah's status as a California lottery winner make him a "public figure", and hence fair game for certain types of public comment that might constitute slander if made regarding private, or "non-public" figures. This is not great literature, and it is not Martini's best (my favorite was "Undue Influence"). It is entertaining, fairly well-written, and of better quality (in my opinion) of most of the paperback novels than one will find in the bookstore of your nearest airport. If you like Martini's other work, and legal thrillers in general, you will probably enjoy this.
Rating:
Summary: Another excellent trial drama
Review: Steve Martini hits one out of the park with this excellent and gripping story of an attorney's quest to find and return his client's granddaughter from her drug addicted mother to the legal custody of the maternal grandparents. In doing so he suddenly finds himself having to defend the grandfather of murder charges involving the homicide of a woman who assisted the mother in removing the child from the home of her grandparents. The ending has a twist that is totally unexpected and unforeseen.
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