So, I gave Steve Martini another chance. Despite disappointing me the first time with “The Jury”, this book was pretty good. It was obvious since the first few chapters who the killer was, but the plot still developed in an interesting way and there was still an unexpected surprised in the end. I still don’t understand who the man with the laser beam was and why he was doing what he was doing.

The book was a little too long. It could have shorter and more effective.

A lexicon. Surprises to the end. Facil minded author..

I will go back and read books one and two. This is the best legal thriller I have ever read.

Fantastic read. Quite a page turner.

Undue Influence was a joy to read. Great story, excellent writing, fully fleshed out characters, and lots of twist and turns that were not obvious. This is my first Steve Martini book but it won't be for long.

It's a courtroom drama with just the right amout of explanatory info from the narrator to keep you up on everything but never feeling like you're being treated like a dunce. Not easy that. Several times Paul Madriani, the main character, the defense attorney, sees the value of things that open up the case that readers (at least me) wouldn't likely have seen but are obvius once explained. I loved that. Showed how smart he was without telling me how smart he was as so many inferior authors do.

I'm coming late to this series, this is from 1995, but it didn't feel dated at all. Highly recommended.

I had forgotten just how good this book was. Not once did I lose interest and even though it was a reread I was so caught up in the story. I love reading anything by Steve Martini and I am so sad he does not write anymore. He was a great talent.

Another great story by Steve Martini, although how little affection the character Paul has for his wife in this whole series is kind of depressing. His wife Nikki is now dead, and Paul Madriani has to defend her sister in the murder of her ex-husband's new wife. An interesting story with a lot of twists and turns and a few clues that stood out, although while I sort of knew who the killer was, I had my doubts, the reason why the murder was done was unexpected, as least to me! A bit long on the law stuff and the courtroom scenes had me reading as fast as I could because I wanted the case over big time and justice for Nikki's sisters.

One of the best legal cases with a lot of great side stories and facets to the case, none more juicy than a dirty politician that cannot keep it in his pants, and sadly two kids being used as pawns and that is just for starters, then comes the murder. Highly enjoyed this one and I cannot wait to read the next, although sadly I did not start out reading them in order I am trying to now. Blood Flag is still, for me his best.

THIS SUMMARY/REVIEW WAS COPIED FROM OTHER SOURCES AND IS USED ONLY AS A REMINDER OF WHAT THE BOOK WAS ABOUT FOR MY PERSONAL INTEREST. ANY PERSONAL NOTATIONS ARE FOR MY RECOLLECTION ONLY


It's been quite awhile since I read a really good courtroom drama and, revisiting Steve Martini's recurring character, Paul Madriani, was the perfect way to get back into the melee. Since I refer to myself as a RIO, (someone who reads series "in the order in which they were written"), this was officially the third book I've read in this series. I think I have to say that it was the best of the three thus far which is always promising. I love it when an author gets better and better. There's nothing worse than a great debut book followed by a good sophomore book and then going downhill from there. I can already see that this will not be the case with Martini. I had about 160 pages left to go in this book very late last night and refused to go to bed until I had finished it -- clearly the sign of a great book in my estimation.

Every other review has pretty much given a synopsis of the storyline but, in one sentence, Madriani is defending his sister-in-law who has been accused of murdering her ex-husband's new, much younger, very pregnant, wife. Curiously enough, on the first page of this book, attorney Paul Madriani is thinking about his recently deceased wife Nikki and the promises he made to her before her death. Right away I'm thinking....did I miss something? She wasn't even ill in Prime Witness, the second book in the series. I guess Martini didn't like the way that marriage was unfolding so he gave her cancer. Bad for Nikki but actually better for the reader as Madriani is much better as a single father trying to take care of his young daughter Sarah in the evening while saving the lives of his defendants during the day. As a widower, this opens the door to some romantic dalliances, which adds another interesting layer to the main character's life.

As in his previous books, Madriani still seeks the help of another attorney Harry Hind. These two make quite a good pair and I enjoy the way Harry handles things. If there's such a thing as a good lawyer, bad lawyer routine, Harry and Paul have this market cornered. Paul Madriani seems to be such a nice guy and is very adept at his job but there's always someone who has it in for him with some vendetta or another. In this book it's police officer Jimmy Lama, who makes it his business to throw roadblocks in the way providing some stumbling blocks for Paul as he makes his way towards unraveling this case.

Steve Martini’s Paul Madriani Series are fast paced legal thrillers with well crafted plots which will have you guessing until the end. Attorney Paul Madriani just seems to attract clients who draw him into mysterious situations that in turn draw Madriani into unraveling the threads to help his clients.

As usual, we are brought along the murder / courtroom adventure anticipating an unusual ending.
WOW, it was delivered.

I enjoyed the book overall but there were parts I found unnecessary to the story. At times it drug and I lost focus on the storyline.

My favorite courtroom novel. J.G. Rainmaker is second.

I love a good courtroom drama! Mr. Madriani got it completely right: good writing, clever plot, sustained suspense and pace! My only complaint (and it can probably be considered a minor one) is that by the end of the book I wanted to scream "Enough with the 'made-a-face-like' stuff!" Surely the characters can speak more often and make faces less often.