Rating: 
Summary: Now a Made-for-TV movie
Review: When I saw that "The Judge" was going to be a TV movie, I decided to read the book first so I could compare the two. It took me a few chapters to get into this book and get used to Martini's writing style, but once I did I couldn't put it down!Armando Acosta is a judge disliked by nearly everyone-- especially the corrupt police officers who are the subject of a grand jury investigation conducted by Acosta. Acosta is arrested on a phony charge of solicitation and is suspended from the bench. However, when the decoy in the arrest turns up dead, it looks as though Acosta will be vacating the bench permanently. Acosta enlists the help of one of his least favorite attorneys, Paul Madriani, to help him beat the murder charge. In defending the judge, Madriani discovers that the corrupt officers will stop at nothing to protect themselves and their peers. Madriani suspects that the prosecution's case is missing one vital piece of evidence. His search for that missing piece leads him to the murderer and the motive in a surprise twist ending. This is my first Martini book, but it certainly won't be my last. The TV movie was good, but not as riveting as the book. Martini's material is good enough for the big screen and I wonder why some Hollywood producer hasn't discovered this author.
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