I love Steve Martini’s writing. Never boring and always a twist at the end, which I sometimes don’t agree with :-) I would give this book a 3 1/2 stars

I don't often (in fact rarely) give a 5 star rating. This book hit every facet that I look for in a murder mystery. It slowly revealed not only a fairly large number of primary characters but teased the reader with a variety of possible motives, suspects, and plots. The language of the main character, attorney Paul Madriani and his sidekick, Harry, is loaded with amusing and cleaver similes and "punch lines" which make it fun to read and keep your interest at the same time.

There is complexity in the elements of both high level secret government covert (and probably illegal) machinations coupled with computer spy technologies that could get mind-numbing if not written properly and finally tricky legal maneuvering all leading up to the finale.

I'll probably read at least one more of his books just to see if the magic holds.

Couldn't get into this one.

I kept loosing track of the story. I don't know if it was the person reading it or the actual book.

Wow! Probably the first Martini book (or one of the first) that I ever read. I bought this when it was first published. I’ve been a fan since.

#8 in the Paul Madriani series.

Paul Madriani series - The San Diego defense attorney takes on yet another especially difficult case. When Madelyn Chapman, the owner of a computer software company that sells a controversial security program to the U.S. government, is found shot twice in the head in her La Jolla home, the closeness of the bullet wounds indicates a "double tap," a feat typical of a highly skilled military marksman. Army Sgt. Emiliano Ruiz, a 20-year vet who served in Panama and the first Gulf War and who freelanced as a security guard (and occasional sex partner) for Chapman, is arrested for the killing. After the flashy defense lawyer originally in charge of the case quits, apparently under pressure, the more compassionate and less publicity-minded Madriani and his partner take it on. Ruiz turns out to have a seven-year gap in his resume: was he in fact doing dirty work for Special Ops? And can Madriani find out his secrets in time to keep the sympathetic soldier from life in prison?

Martini wrote this back in 2005....I wonder what he would think about Snowden and all of the spying presumably being done by the government now.....fiction makes for good news I guess and selling books!

Abridged/CD: I had a bit of a problem with this audio because Joe Mantegna read it and he does the voice of the gangster on The Simpsons. It took a while to get into it because of that. I did enjoy the trial scenes.
There is a midget prosecutor, who holds no punches, and goes up against our defense lawyer hero, Paul Madriani. It starts as a woman gets shot in the head twice in a military style "double tap" and her ex-military bodyguard is on trial for her murder. There were points that I felt should have been more detailed, but this was abridged. I felt the ending could have been better and it was a bit of a cop out. The big twist was kind of a yawn.

Very good book with a nice, complex death-penalty case for Paul and Harry to battle in court. Much of the action takes place in the courtroom, with interesting plot twists and turns. There are several subplots, some more complex and involved than others, and all are resolved by the end of the story. The reader cannot help but wonder how much of the computer spyware mentioned is real and how much was the author's Imagination.

A very enjoyable and intriguing read.

Synopsis:

A controversial CEO of a tech company is murdered in her own home. The motive is not clear, but her former bodyguard who is also her former lover is arrested for the crime. He claims that he was framed. He is accused of stalking her, he claims he was re-hired off of the books and was actually protecting her because she felt like she was being followed.

Emiliano Ruiz's case was dropped by his original attorney, but Paul Madriani and Harry Hinds pick it up only to find that it looks like a slam-dunk case for the prosecutor. Ruiz's pistol is the murder weapon. He has no proof that he was re-hired to protect the victim and he knows everything about her security system.

But, there is something about the case that convinces Madriani and Hinds that there is more here than meets the eye...

My take:

This is a so-so legal thriller. It's all a little too clandestine for my tastes and its conclusion was a "gotcha" ending. But, the backstory of Madriani's uncle that suffered from PTSD from his service in the Korean War was very powerful - all the more so when you read the last chapter of the book.

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Ok but not this author's best

Drama pengadilan yang menegangkan. Diceritakan tanpa didramatisir tapi mampu membuat pembaca terpaku di tempatnya.
Kelemahannya, biarpun penceritaannya teliti crnderung detail, ada bagian yang saya rasa tidak perlu (kalau dihilangkan, tidak mengganggu).
Namun demikian secara umum ini novel yang sangat asyik dibaca.