Rating: 
Summary: Sleeper to Sweeper
Review: Martini's "Undue Influence" starts off a tad slow & builds to a sweep-you-off-your-feet thriller. Just when I had it figured out, I didn't...or did I? Murder, lust, mistrust..what more could you want? I found it much more than a courtroom drama.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book
Review: This author has yet to produce anything that is not above average. You can do a lot worse. I found that this was a great book, the author does a wonderful job. This book moves along and is never dull. Lots of details that make it come alive. The characters are so interesting I wanted more of them. He does a great job in keeping the story going, even in the more dry aspects of a court room back and forth. The plot and subplots keep you interested through out the full book. It is just a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book
Review: This author has yet to produce anything that is not above average. You can do a lot worse. I found that this was a great book, the author does a wonderful job. This book moves along and is never dull. Lots of details that make it come alive. The characters are so interesting I wanted more of them. He does a great job in keeping the story going, even in the more dry aspects of a court room back and forth. The plot and subplots keep you interested through out the full book. It is just a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Martini left me shaken, not stirred
Review: This book promised many twists and turns, and it delivered. I was stunned at the ending. The courtroom drama (and legal procedures) were quite entertaining. In addition, the action and adventure of the pre-trial investigation, complete with bombs and bullets, had me turning the pages in rapid succession. My only complaint was how the ending left the problem that some of the events were extremely coincidental - would have been much nicer if they had all been truly related in some "cause and effect" manner. In other words, it left me feeling that the hero of our story was very lucky.
Rating:
Summary: Martini left me shaken, not stirred
Review: This book promised many twists and turns, and it delivered. I was stunned at the ending. The courtroom drama (and legal procedures) were quite entertaining. In addition, the action and adventure of the pre-trial investigation, complete with bombs and bullets, had me turning the pages in rapid succession. My only complaint was how the ending left the problem that some of the events were extremely coincidental - would have been much nicer if they had all been truly related in some "cause and effect" manner. In other words, it left me feeling that the hero of our story was very lucky.
Rating:
Summary: Freeze pages 439-457 until Christmas!
Review: This is a suspenseful, "who-done-it" murder story told from the POV of a lawyer, Paul Madriani, who is defending the apparently innocent Laurel Vega. It has the standard elements. Laurel complicates her defense by refusing or forgetting to tell her lawyer critical information. Jimmy Lama, an influential but sleazy cop, is determined to railroad Laurel and sabotage Madriani's case. On the other hand, Madriani has Harry his quirky partner and some good friends in important places, including his bed.The story keeps you turning pages as Madriani's case bounds and rebounds from bad to worse, then from better to awful, as a result of clever legal maneuvering and unfortunate surprises. The courtroom drama is plentiful, interesting and evidently realistic; Steve Martini has a law degree and practiced as a trial lawyer. Martini's writing style irritated me at times. On a few occasions, I had to stop to figure out to whom a pronoun referred to. During the legal proceedings, he often interrupts the dialogue to interpret what is said, as if only a lawyer could grasp the significance. A couple of times he abruptly jumped the scene, making me wonder if the typesetter might have left out a paragraph or two. He reminds you of earlier events that he develops later in the story, however. This helps busy people reading the book over several weeks. The plot has some neat twists and surprises, yet the events and characters are believable, up to the point where the story should have ended. In the final two chapters, Martini appends an ending after the ending that I guess was supposed to be the final ironic twist. It didn't work for me. After enjoying a fast and suspenseful ride through an interesting and credible plot, I felt as if someone dinged the fender on my brand new car. Before reading Undue Influence, I suggest you tear out pages 439-457 (paperback version), seal them in an envelope, stick them in the freezer, and thaw them out next Christmas.
Rating:
Summary: Freeze pages 439-457 until Christmas!
Review: This is a suspenseful, "who-done-it" murder story told from the POV of a lawyer, Paul Madriani, who is defending the apparently innocent Laurel Vega. It has the standard elements. Laurel complicates her defense by refusing or forgetting to tell her lawyer critical information. Jimmy Lama, an influential but sleazy cop, is determined to railroad Laurel and sabotage Madriani's case. On the other hand, Madriani has Harry his quirky partner and some good friends in important places, including his bed. The story keeps you turning pages as Madriani's case bounds and rebounds from bad to worse, then from better to awful, as a result of clever legal maneuvering and unfortunate surprises. The courtroom drama is plentiful, interesting and evidently realistic; Steve Martini has a law degree and practiced as a trial lawyer. Martini's writing style irritated me at times. On a few occasions, I had to stop to figure out to whom a pronoun referred to. During the legal proceedings, he often interrupts the dialogue to interpret what is said, as if only a lawyer could grasp the significance. A couple of times he abruptly jumped the scene, making me wonder if the typesetter might have left out a paragraph or two. He reminds you of earlier events that he develops later in the story, however. This helps busy people reading the book over several weeks. The plot has some neat twists and surprises, yet the events and characters are believable, up to the point where the story should have ended. In the final two chapters, Martini appends an ending after the ending that I guess was supposed to be the final ironic twist. It didn't work for me. After enjoying a fast and suspenseful ride through an interesting and credible plot, I felt as if someone dinged the fender on my brand new car. Before reading Undue Influence, I suggest you tear out pages 439-457 (paperback version), seal them in an envelope, stick them in the freezer, and thaw them out next Christmas.
Rating: 
Summary: His very best, wonderful inventive plot with ultimate twist!
Review: We've nearly given up on Steve Martini several times. While we enjoyed his first novel, "Simeon Chamber", most of the others of his books we have read, including a couple others from the Defense Attorney Paul Madriani series, have been so incredibly dry during sluggish middle sections that we really should have quit them right there. However, this his fourth novel, and third Madriani, gets it completely right: good writing, one of the most clever plots we've ever encountered, sustained suspense and pace, and a story so engrossing we'll admit to staying up til three in the morning to get to the end! We don't want to reveal too much plot, but in short, Madriani is defending his sister-in-law Laurel on the charge of murdering her ex-husband's trophy wife. A custody battle for her two kids is an apparent motive, and the evidence all seems to look bad, including secrets Laurel won't even reveal to her defense team. Suspense builds as we join the courtroom audience for an entertaining fight with a female prosecutor with a chip on her shoulder, not to mention the main cop (Lama) who is a Madriani enemy. Things don't get sorted out until quite late in the book, yet we're on edge til nearly the very last page as twists and turns in the story line have us hustling through the pages at breakneck speed. A most unusual ending is our final reward! This book is as good as Scott Turow or John Grisham at their best. While we're still not totally Madriani fan club enthusiasts, this is surely one of the best books we've read in a long time -- and thus very highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: His very best, wonderful inventive plot with ultimate twist!
Review: We've nearly given up on Steve Martini several times. While we enjoyed his first novel, "Simeon Chamber", most of the others of his books we have read, including a couple others from the Defense Attorney Paul Madriani series, have been so incredibly dry during sluggish middle sections that we really should have quit them right there. However, this his fourth novel, and third Madriani, gets it completely right: good writing, one of the most clever plots we've ever encountered, sustained suspense and pace, and a story so engrossing we'll admit to staying up til three in the morning to get to the end! We don't want to reveal too much plot, but in short, Madriani is defending his sister-in-law Laurel on the charge of murdering her ex-husband's trophy wife. A custody battle for her two kids is an apparent motive, and the evidence all seems to look bad, including secrets Laurel won't even reveal to her defense team. Suspense builds as we join the courtroom audience for an entertaining fight with a female prosecutor with a chip on her shoulder, not to mention the main cop (Lama) who is a Madriani enemy. Things don't get sorted out until quite late in the book, yet we're on edge til nearly the very last page as twists and turns in the story line have us hustling through the pages at breakneck speed. A most unusual ending is our final reward! This book is as good as Scott Turow or John Grisham at their best. While we're still not totally Madriani fan club enthusiasts, this is surely one of the best books we've read in a long time -- and thus very highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: His very best, wonderful inventive plot with ultimate twist!
Review: We've nearly given up on Steve Martini several times. While we enjoyed his first novel, "Simeon Chamber", most of the others of his books we have read, including a couple others from the Defense Attorney Paul Madriani series, have been so incredibly dry during sluggish middle sections that we really should have quit them right there. However, this his fourth novel, and third Madriani, gets it completely right: good writing, one of the most clever plots we've ever encountered, sustained suspense and pace, and a story so engrossing we'll admit to staying up til three in the morning to get to the end! We don't want to reveal too much plot, but in short, Madriani is defending his sister-in-law Laurel on the charge of murdering her ex-husband's trophy wife. A custody battle for her two kids is an apparent motive, and the evidence all seems to look bad, including secrets Laurel won't even reveal to her defense team. Suspense builds as we join the courtroom audience for an entertaining fight with a female prosecutor with a chip on her shoulder, not to mention the main cop (Lama) who is a Madriani enemy. Things don't get sorted out until quite late in the book, yet we're on edge til nearly the very last page as twists and turns in the story line have us hustling through the pages at breakneck speed. A most unusual ending is our final reward! This book is as good as Scott Turow or John Grisham at their best. While we're still not totally Madriani fan club enthusiasts, this is surely one of the best books we've read in a long time -- and thus very highly recommended!
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