Prime Witness

Rating:
Summary: A bureaucratic monster of a white court horse
Review: I like Steve Martini's power of words. He is a good read. In this book however you wait for the Prime Witness to arrive forever. While you are waiting for him/her to be uncovered, there are endless repetitions, delays, repetitions, delays, repetitions.... You get the picture? A bureaucratic monster of a white court horse. If you are a lawyer you might enjoy it and learn a few tricks. Me? ... well I muddled along until the Prime Witness is encountered on page 376, and doesn't want to talk, of course, pointing will do, and 375 pages of boredome come to an abrupt end. The End. Gerborg

Rating:
Summary: In and out of Courtroom action
Review: Steve Martini serves up more of his intriguing courtroom drama in _Prime Witness_. Martini specializes in taking his plot in and out of the courtroom, with allof the events intimately linking up to a surprise conclusion. Prime Witness is no exception, opening with a mysterious event, and building through turns andtwists until all of the seemingly random events connect. In addition, Martini's protagonist, Paul Madriani, receives extensive characterization due to this novel's backdrop of marital difficulties, which adds depth the the problems Paul faces. Martini does an excellent job of keeping the book active and avoiding the legal dryness rampant in others in this genre, but does keep the legal issues believable. His practice of describing facial expressions also adds a believeable aspect to the conversations, since it communicates the unspoken aspects of discourse. For me, another interesting facet is the book's apparent setting around Sacramento, California (Martini's stomping grounds), but the author's strange practice of renaming some cities and places, yet leaving other names intact keeps one guessing from the descriptions about where things really are. For example, Sacramento seems to be renamed Capitol City.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating in and out of courtroom action
Review: Steve Martini serves up more of his intriguing courtroomdrama in _Prime Witness_. Martini specializes in takinghis plot in and out of the courtroom, with all of the events intimately linking up to a surprise conclusion. Prime Witness is no exception, opening with a mysterious event, and building through turns and twists until all of the seemingly random events connect. In addition, Martini's protagonist, Paul Madriani, receives extensive characterization due to this novel's backdrop of marital difficulties, which adds depth the the problems Paul faces. Martini does an excellent job of keeping the book active and avoiding the legal dryness rampant in others in this genre, but does keep the legal issues believable. His practice of describing facial expressions also adds a believeable aspect to the conversations, since it communicates the unspoken aspects of discourse. For me, another interesting facet is the book's apparent setting around Sacramento, California (Martini's stomping grounds), but the author's strange practice of renaming some cities and places, yet leaving other names intact keeps one guessing from the descriptions about where things really are. For example, Sacramento seems to be renamed Capitol City.