| PRODUCT DETAILS | | Undue Influence |  | |
Undue Influence
Defense attorney Paul Madriani is mired in a complex web of intrigue and murder when the sister of his late wife, embroiled in a bitter custody battle with her former husband, becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her ex-husband and his new young wife.
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Audio
Price: $3.02
 Undue Influence
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| User Reviews |  | 4 1/2 stars -- Great read from Martini
rating: 4
Undue Influence is another strong effort from Martini featuring Paul Mandriani. This book should definitely be enjoyable to those who have enjoyed other novels with the Mandriani character. In general, Martini has again pulled together an intriguing cast of characters and a very interesting story line. In the wake of his wife's death, Mandiani is moving forward in life with his young daughter. However, in honoring his wife's dying wish to help her sister, Mandriani is thrust into a situation that is highly emotional and challenging for him. As the book progresses, the reader is consistently treated to Mandriani's quick wit, sharp mind, and cynical sense of reality in the world. It had been a number of years since I had read any of Martini's works and I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed them. Undue Influence was no exception. Whether or not you have had any exposure to Mandriani's character, you will almost certainly like this book.
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MADRIANI FOR THE DEFENSE
rating: 5
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.
This series comes highly recommended by me. My only complaint with this book, and it's a minor one, is that Martini had the ending neatly tied up with quite a twist and I was very satisfied with it. In a matter of two or three pages, he fools the reader by throwing in yet another twist, one I wasn't particularly fond of and one I found unnecessary. Just my humble opinion, but come on Steve, how do you expect us to feel about this character in future books?
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Courtroom drama at its finest!
rating: 4
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
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Changing the Rules of Evidence to Fit the Story
rating: 4
This was an enjoyable book, and at least one of the plot twists at the end was difficult to predict. This in spite of the fact that Mr. Madriani has apparently never heard of the hearsay objection, which detracted from its authenticity.
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A great legal thriller!
rating: 5
This is my first Martini novel and I shot right through it! What a great read! I found myself making time and excuses to put everything else aside and read it.
Martini's characters are sparse, but likeable. His plot is a whirlwind and more than a little unlikely, but not too bad. Martini's descriptions of courtroom battles are well done, exciting and easy to follow. All in all, well done. I will definitely be reading more of his books.
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Undue Influence
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