Courtroom drama at its finest!

With UNDUE INFLUENCE, Steve Martini has penned a third successful entry in the Paul Madriani franchise first introduced in COMPELLING EVIDENCE and PRIME WITNESS.

Paul's wife, Nikki, pleaded with him as she lay dying of cancer to take care of her younger sister, Laurel Vega. Laurel and her ex-husband, state legislator, Jack Vega, have been warring with one another in a no-holds-barred nasty custody battle. When Jack's new trophy wife is murdered, the motive and all of the physical evidence seems to point to Laurel as the murderer. Against his own best legal judgment, Paul Madriani remains true to the wishes of his dead wife and assumes responsibility for Laurel Vega's defense against the charge of first-degree murder.

Like every great legal thriller, Martini fills your cup to the brim and positively overflows it with the subtle nuances of courtroom warfare and drama - dialogue, tricks, legalese, motions, delays, recesses, evidence, juries, objections, sidebars and processes. Martini unfolds a great plot with a superb ending twist in the courtroom environment and proves, as his colleague John Grisham said, that he is master of the legal thriller genre.

Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

Although I semi-guessed the final twist, this was a fantastic read!

Thoroughly enjoyed this legal drama murder mystery and I am quite smug about knowing who the killer was fairly early on despite the author changing course by sending out some new breadcrumbs to follow. I was dallying with the bait but didn't fully buy in to what became an interesting subplot & ratcheted up the tension. Although this is the 3rd in a series (& I always try to read a series in published order) one could read this without having read the previous two Paul Madriani books. The relationships among some of the players are clearly drawn. It's difficult to give a synopsis of the story arc without introducing bias or spoilers. Just say that Paul is defending his sister-in-law (Laurel)on a murder charge involving the murder of Jack's (his former brother-in-law) pregnant & younger wife in the midst of a custody battle between Laurel and Jack for their two children.

This is a much quicker read than the nearly 2 weeks it took me. Just had a lot on my plate!

good read

buck-a-bag selection

I've read some Steve Martini before but not thi sone.

Good courtroom drama, although some of the scientific evidence was drug on too long. I saw some of the plot coming early on but still had a few surprises.

Wise cracks and sarcasm are abundant in this novel. I have read other books by this author and liked them very much, but I do not remember so much sarcasm and wise cracks. If they were there I didn't mind them or they were more subtle that it did not turn me off of it.

When Jack Vega's new wife is found slain execution-style, Laurel becomes the prime suspect. Paul — remembering his promise to his wife — has no choice but to take Laurel's case. But as he tries to mount a defense and probes deeper into the lives of those involved, he discovers a trail of betrayal and duplicity that hides the truth at every turn.

A gripping drama that spirals toward its shattering conclusion, Undue Influence is a brilliant work from the author hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "the newest superstar among fictionalizing attorneys."

I enjoyed this legal suspense novel. It’s the first book I’ve read featuring Defense Attorney Paul Madriani, but I think it stood fine on its own, without having read the first two books in the series.

There were plenty of twists and turns as Madriani attempts to prove that his former sister-in-law did not murder the new wife of her ex-husband. When Madriani’s wife was dying, she made him promise that he would look out for Laurel, but Laurel’s making it difficult for him because she refuses to tell him the whole story. (A plot device for the reader’s benefit.)

As he and his partner chase down witnesses who can exonerate his client, its evident that his life may be at risk as well. A couple things I guessed and a couple things seemed a little convenient, but mostly I thought the plot twists were fun. That feeling of: Uh-oh, how’s he going to recover from that blistering attack from the prosecution?

There were some odd storytelling choices and I hate when an author switches from sometimes calling a person by his/her first name and other times refers to the person by his/her last name, but mostly, the writing was entertaining and well done.

For more of my reviews, please visit: http://www.theresaalan.net/blog

good one

Last of twists and turns with unique ending. Figured who the father was but not the depth of plot shifts and changes. Plausible plot narrative which makes it easier to follow. Bogs down in places but overall enjoyable read.

The defense lawyer wins, but for all the wrong reasons! This is an engaging convoluted puzzle that starts with a seemingly “cut and dried” case of murder. The histories of all of the characters intertwine so much that it is sometimes hard to keep track of them. Of course, as fiction, the author can spin whatever he likes into the mix. Some of that is fun, and most of his focus is on the trial machinations. But the finale would have wrung more true (if possibly more obvious) with the original direction of the defense. Instead, we get a potential cliffhanger after the final curtain, with two rapid twists in the plot revelation that are more inflammatory than entertaining.

Good book. I figured out, or thought of some of the plot twists about mid-way through the novel, but changed my mind, only to realize my uncanny thought, was spot on. Rollercoaster of some great writing though. Full of twists and turns that had my heart racing.

A real who-done-it! Totally enjoyed the twists and turns, even the legal juggling!

Great read

Martini is a master at capturing real legal drama. I thoroughly enjoy how his character, Paul, breaks down a case and goes through the direct and cross of witnesses.