3.5

Another good legal thriller from Martini.

Each time I read a Paul Madriani book, I am amazed at how well Martini puts together a legal thriller. I can usually tell who the perpetrator is well before the end, but this one is one I never even considered. It will keep you awake well into the night, turning page after page until the conclusion.

Read from 5/27_2200-6/4_1645/19
Actual Reading Time is 26 Hours

Once again a routine case blows up into a tangled mess of difficulties and threats that appear to be insurmountable. A sub-theme for motive is presented from the start, and runs in parallel to the prosecutor’s main case. Money and politics rule. The “law” is just a fluid mechanism for the selective enforcement of individuals. The final twist at the end was really abrupt and not entirely satisfying. But, it did prompt me to dig out the OLD “Perry Mason” TV series to rewatch in comparison, 60 years later!

Anticipation

I could not put this book down, anticipating the next move in court. However I must admit that I figured out the role that Kimberly's friend played during her first appearance on the stand.

The courtroom material is first-rate. No complaints there.

However, and the reason this only gets 2.5 stars is that the ultimate villain (when it is finally revealed) is an implausible one. The same as in Prime Witness. It is as if Mr Martini sketched out the plot and thought: "that would be cool if he/she did it," and then proceeded to write the novels with that character acting competently throughout the novel until the very end. Very disappointing.

The Judge

Let me plead
That my quest
Not enmesh
With verdicts
Dispensed from
This woeful
Judge's bench,
For from thence
Comes the stench
Of spirit
Much weaker
Than the flesh.

Great Legal Thriller

If you are a lawyer, the courtroom tactics in this book are intriguing and spot on. It is well written and hard to put down. It flows well and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

As soon as I picked up this book I realized I had lost track of Steve Martini. The Judge is based on reads I generally seek out. “Courtroom Dramas” I have much respect for Martini who can suss out so many thoughts on murder evidence and track suspects day by day. I was intrigued by the story of a Judge being the Defendant in a Killing of a young woman who posed as a police decoy and paid with for her life. Police Corruption, Prostitution, Murder play a huge part in this drama as it unfolds. 500 hundred pages fly by as the reader attempts to unfold the truth.

Book was great, great characters and storylines just like the others. Poetic justice at the end when they planet the drugs in the luggage. I caught it from the start with something being in her teddy bear and was starting to figure out the District attorney had his hands dirty. Love Paul and Lenor together.

To tell the truth I love anything Steve Martini writes.