The Arraignment (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic Series) - Hardcover

Martini, Steve

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786243732 ISBN 13: 9780786243730

Publisher: G K Hall & Co, 2003

Synopsis

When a lawyer friend and his client are murdered outside the San Diego courthouse, attorney Paul Madriani fears he may have been the actual target and takes the case of a suspect he believes may hold the answers.

About this title

Review

In The Arraignment Paul Madriani's old friend, flamboyant criminal-defense lawyer Nick Rush, is gunned down on the streets of San Diego along with a client. Madriani sets out to find the killer. He follows the trail through shady real-estate dealings, cross-border smuggling, political corruption, and a nasty fight between Rush's ex- and his young trophy wife over a hefty life-insurance policy. Eventually the case leads Madriani to the Yucatan Peninsula near Cancun, where the last third of the book takes place--a dandy locale for skullduggery, even if it does make you suspect that the author thought up the plot while vacationing there.

The Arraignment is marred by some sloppy, foggy-headed writing ("The neighbourhood exudes the kind of aura picked up by a sixth sense that lingers and lifts the hair on the back of my neck"), and the plot, after its initial bang, sags for a while before it gets moving again. However, the sheer vigor of Martini's prose, his densely inventive plotting, and his sharply drawn characters carry you happily, tensely along. The book's action scenes--including a hand-to-hand fight in a shabby apartment and an unforgettable poolside shooting at a Cancun resort--are told in fresh, vivid prose that unfolds with hypnotic clarity. And the denouement is great fun, although the complex plot takes a lot of explaining at the end. Martini's not perfect, but he's still one of the best legal/adventure thriller writers going. --Nicholas H Allison, Amazon.com

Review

'A legal thriller of above average quality, well written with good pace' Bookseller (Bookseller)

Edition details

• Publisher: G K Hall & Co
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0786243732
• ISBN 13: 9780786243730
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 663