Customer Reviews

Guardian of Lies: A Paul Madriani Novel

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Paul Madriani was the defense counsel in some earlier, excellent legal-thrillers. This book is more of an action-thriller involving a really, really ugly scheme by some really, really bad people. But it's still excellent.

The story begins with Emerson Pike pulling some strings to sneak Katia Solaz into San Diego from Costa Rica. Why did he do that? Well, Katia is drop-dead gorgeous, and even though Emerson is old enough to be her grandfather, he's still a man. Maybe that's it. On the other hand, Katia has a somewhat mysterious family background, and Emerson used to work for the CIA. Maybe that's it. In any case, when Emerson brings Katia to San Diego, he also brings some photos that Katia's mom had taken during a recent trip to Columbia, and he spends a lot of time studying them. Hmm.

Katia soon gets tired of the old geezer and begins planning her escape back to Costa Rica. She finally sneaks away one night, while Emerson is in the shower; but a couple of days later, on her way to the airport, the local authorities arrest her and charge her with not one but two murders. That brings defense attorney Paul Madriani into the picture.

There is some legal work at this point, which is very interesting, especially after federal authorities start butting in. It seems the feds are also interested -- for national security reasons, of course -- in the case; and their interest may hinder both the state prosecutor and Madriani in presenting their respective sides of the case. The legal skirmishing and gamesmanship between the feds, the state prosecutor, and Madriani are pretty amusing -- sometimes it's hard to tell who the prosecutor's main enemy is, the feds or Madriani -- but the plot quickly spins off into an all-out action-thriller, and most of the action takes place outside the courtroom.

Besides the characters described above, there's also: a legendary Mexican hit-man, the "Mexicutioner;" jihadist escapees from the U.S. detention facility at Gitmo; Fidel Castro -- yes, THE Fidel Castro; and some Columbian revolutionaries. And don't forget Katia's mysterious family background. It's possible that that has some relevance too!

Martini does a great job creating a very plausible story that gives each one of the rich cast of characters a turn in the spotlight. One particularly interesting aspect of the story is the way that a really, really ugly scheme by some really, really bad people can be jeopardized by such a seemingly trivial event: Katia's mom taking some pictures during vacation.

Terrific plot, terrific characters, terrific writing. Can't wait for the next one.

Steve Martini is a very solid writer of courtroom thrillers, and I've enjoyed most of his novels featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani. One thing I've noticed about Martini's more recent novels (SHADOW OF POWER; DOUBLE TAP) is that the plots have become less realistic and more over-the-top. GUARDIAN OF LIES continues this trend.

GUARDIAN OF LIES is unusual for a Madriani novel because there are few scenes in the courtroom. This is not a true legal thriller. Instead, the plot is more action-oriented, with lawyer Madriani trotting the globe and trying to foil a terrorist plot to detonate a nuclear weapon in the United States.

The result is just okay. There are a lot of big-scale action scenes in GUARDIAN OF LIES, but they aren't strung together in a way that builds any sense of momentum. The characterization is mostly flat. The novel drags in places, and is probably about 100 pages too long. I found this novel engaging enough to finish, but I wasn't kept on the edge of my seat.

GUARDIAN OF LIES is smartly written and serves as a decent entertainment. My hope, however, is that Martini returns to the courtroom for his next book, and comes up wih a more down-to-earth plot than what I found here.

Although I enjoyed much of the writing and especially the dialogue in this novel, I never got swept up in the plot. Considering it involved a terrorist attack of catastrophic proportions, it should have been an exciting page turner but was not for me. I think much of the problem was believability: too many aspects of the premise and the characters (not Paul or Harry) seemed unreal. Also, the way the scenes were structured and information came out was too slow-paced, repetitive and drawn out. Parts sang and were very well crafted, witty, or admirable, but the whole just lacked punch. The characters of Paul and Harry were still great, however, and the book had many compelling scenes. 3.5 stars.

Steve Martini's early Paul Madriani novels were masterpieces of courtroom drama and suspense. The dialogue and courtroom machinations were crisp and genuine, the plot twists were clever, and the characters had substance. Unfortunately, Martini's recent Paul Madriani incarnations have increasingly forsaken the courtroom and trial suspense for exotic locations and adventures more appropriate to James Bond than to a southern California criminal trial lawyer. And like Bond, the new Madriani is a totally unrealistic superhero who survives hails of bullets, bomb blasts, and the concerted efforts of professional killers to eliminate him.

Guardian of Lies is by far the worst example of Martini's recent descent into shoot-'em-up fiction. Madriani is hired by a young, gorgeous Costa Rican woman accused of murdering a former CIA operative who has discovered a plot to detonate a nuclear device left over from the Cuban missile crisis. Why does this woman -- who was spirited into the U.S. by the CIA operative but supposedly held "captive" in his house -- choose Madriani to represent her? Because she flirted with him over the banana bin in a local supermarket and somehow obtained his business card. From this far-fetched plot device the story degenerates into a boring series of contrived scenes peopled with drug lords, Mid-East terrorists, professional hitmen, and the entire U.S. national security apparatus up to and including the president.

Although this book is purportedly about a criminal trial lawyer representing a defendant in a murder trial, less than ten minutes are actually spent in a courtroom. Instead of courtroom drama, the reader is force-fed Martini's needlessly graphic descriptions of throat-cutting, kidney-slicing, death by bombing, death by shooting, death by knifing, death by uranium poisoning and various other forms of mutilation and death. Martini seems to confuse flowing narrative with flowing blood.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is Martini's abandonment of reality. His earlier novels were notable for their realistic depiction of complex psychological motives and trial strategy. Guardian of Lies is riddled with characters and situations that are so unbelievable that they would be laughable if they weren't so irritating. Among the biggest offenders: a Russian general hides for fifty years in the jungles of Columbia harboring a left-over nuclear device from the Cuban missile crisis (don't ask why); the Russian general's daughter is able to visit him on a regular basis from Costa Rica, despite the fact that he is hiding out with drug lords (who apparently aren't worried that the daughter will reveal their location); the failure of security agencies from several countries to locate the Russian or his nuclear device despite regular visits from his daughter (apparently they never thought of placing his one surviving relative under surveillance); the escape of Mid-East terrorists from Guantanamo Bay; a prison bus is attacked by a phalanx of heavily armed professional hit men, scores are killed (including prisoners, police and correction officers), except for Madriani's client who suffers a slight concussion and a temporary hearing loss (from the bomb blast that destroyed the bus she was in); Paul Madriani's numerous escapes from both professional assassins and international security agencies; and the list goes on . . .

You know a book is in trouble when the author adds a "factual" discussion at the end that attempts to legitimize the storyline. However, Martini's "Afterword" -- in which he attempts to persuade the reader that there really was a left-over nuclear device from the Cuban missile crisis that went missing and that drug lords and Mid-East terrorists really are forming alliances that threaten America -- cannot rescue this pointless and inhumane bloodbath.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book... the characters and fast-paced story. The book unfortunately became more and more unrealistic/implausible as it developed. It shifted from what I thought would be a page-turner into a rather tedious read about halfway through. The endless descriptions of nuclear weapon making was putting me to sleep. It picked up again toward the end.

Martini seems like a very skilled writer and I enjoyed Paul, Harry, and Katia. I can see this becoming a decent action movie someday. In a way it reminded me of a Clancy book (seven pages of details on how a knob on the submarine works - yawn) which when put in the hands of the best movie directors and writers turns into a huge big-screen hit.

Guardian of Lies is the latest offering from Steve Martini's Paul Madriani stories, and he has delivered a gem! I was unsure about this novel at first as it opened with a description of and monologue from Liquida (short for "muerte liquida" which is Spanish for liquid death). As you can imagine, he is not one of the good guys. However, this brief chapter quickly ends, and the story shifts into high gear. Emerson Pike, an old, retired American spy turned rare coin dealer, is obsessed with a set of pictures belonging to young Katia Solez-Nitikin's mother. Pike pulls some strings to get Katia into the country from Costa Rica, but he keeps her on an extremely short leash at his house in Del Mar, California. Katia wishes desperately to return home while Pike continues to press her for information about the pictures. As Katia enacts her escape plan, a series of events unfolds that will ensnare her in murder charges that are the tip of the ice berg of the story. Paul Madriani's firm takes her case, and what unfolds is head spinning tale of historically based conspiracy that will join an old Russian from the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis with modern day terrorists bent on nuclear destruction aimed at the Great Satan. The story spans Southern California, the Washington D.C. area, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the remote jungles of Columbia before it reaches its fevered pitch conclusion.

Guardian of Lies is not what I would call light reading. The 400+ pages a dense with plot, and there are a fair number of characters to keep track of at the various locations. At times, I thought that the story became a bit contrived as the reader must accept a lot of coincidence and/or pure stupidity on the part of Madriani. There are really no plot twists or surprises for the attentive reader, but the pace and action of the story are compelling nonetheless. Do not expect much in the way of deep character development. With the volume of players in the story, there isn't a lot of time to spend on any one person. The most developed is Liquida, but even he is not fully fleshed out. No, this is a novel that revolves around the plot. Luckily, it is filled with intrigue to keep the reader glued to the book until the end. I could see this playing out on the big screen with ease.

So, if you like plot driven spy thrillers, I highly recommend Guardian of Lies. It has plenty of adventure to offer.

Overall: B+

I'm reading my first Steve Martini book, "Guardian Of Lies". I give it five stars. I went online to see how his other books were rated. I saw mixed reviews, so I went to the book I'm reading, and saw a couple of one star reviews. I read one and was astonished to see the reviewer say that the book was SLOW paced. Wow! Did that person read the same book I did? Or maybe they didn't get beyound the second chapter, which was slow paced. I read around forty books a year, and am always looking for new authors. I just found one!

After reading this book, I wondered why so many of his other books good great reviews. First, it is more than a little unbelievable. Second, it never really caught my full attention. It has a number of action scenes, but they are not strung together well.

I found that my daughter had an old copy of one of Martini's books, Undue Influence. I read that book and understood what Martini could do with a good plot and the same central character. That one is a gripping novel and fully entertaining.

The Paul Madriani series of books are the typical legal/courtroom thrillers. This book, however, is not. While Paul is a character in the book, it wouldn't matter if he was an attorney or private citizen for the plot line. Guardian of Lies is more of a spy thriller book. Many characters are followed as their part in the plot unwinds. Paul and Harry are there, but are not followed in any more depth than the other characters. With all the characters, Paul (and Harry) are not developed any further in this book.

I enjoyed the book. Since I read thrillers in general, it didn't bother me that this wasn't really a legal drama. The first half of the book caught me up in the ride. The writing in the second half of the book was a bit choppy. Some parts were fluid, others seemed like they needed another pass of writing. Still, that's ok. I read books like this for the escapism of the plot - and this book worked for me.

So, if you want a good action read, this is the book for you. If you want in depth legal/courtroom coverage, or more in depth characterization of Paul, this is not it.

Steve Martini has crafted a decent spy thriller here, but didn't have the confidence to leave his flagpole character out of the mix. This novel's believeability factor is hampered by the inclusion of attorney Paul Madriani, hero of the great legal thriller 'Compelling Evidence' and others. However, all the legal action in this effort is done by page 200, leaving us 240 pages with Madriani, 50-ish by this point in time, running around Central America trying to stop terrorists, a role for which he is in no way qualified to succeed at.

This was a decent thriller, but there were way too many pages that didn't need to be included, and way too much time spent with supporting characters.