Customer Reviews

The List

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

It's somewhat hard to believe that the man who has written the outstanding Paul Madriani series is the same guy who pens this spiffy little "potboiler". It reminds me a lot of Sidney Sheldon's forays, but Martini's brisk pace and innate sense of plot and characterization propel this novel into higher ground. The plot revolves around an author/lawyer who after several misfires in writing finds she's written a hit---a big, money-making bestseller. Only problem is, she's an over-40 woman, not incredibly beautiful, and she knows her past flops will prevent any publisher from wanting the book no matter how good it is. She creates a pseudonymn, Gable Cooper, as the author and then sets out to find a handsome hunk to "play the role." In steps incredibly gorgeous hunk Jack Jermayne, a perfect fit to play the role. But, what have we here: murders of author's friend, ex-husband and her friends' vicious ex-husband start to point evidence that Jack may not be what he seems?? Hmm..in typical cinematic fashion, the author flees for her life to seek help from her long-time friend, Spencer.
The climax is appropriately suspenseful and the little "twist" at the end satisfying.
A fun, involving tour de force for Mr. Martini.

This is the first Steve Martini book I've ever read. Are all his books this good? I found myself intrigued by the storyline. Abby Chandlis is sick of her job, has been writing a book in her spare time, and decides to try her luck in getting it published. In a twisted and sorted way, she decides to hire a man to pose as the "writer" while she plays his lawyer. In walks Jack Jermaine. In the many twists and turns throughout the story, I found alot of mystery, humor, and yes! even romance, but not too much. This story was exhilorating, to say the least. If you're ready to try your hand at "whodunnit" and to go deep inside the literary world, hold on tight to your copy of "The List" and enjoy the ride! Three cheers for Martini on this well-written and highly entertaining book.

Steve Martini is the master of the thriller with the last minute plot twist. He weaves together a fascinating, yet believable tale of struggling authors, with seemingly unrelated events happening (death of friend, sinking of boat, etc.). Just as he traps you into thinking you know who the bad guy is - as you are trying to tell the hero's/heroine's to watch out - he throws a wicked curve ball into the plot that leaves your head spinning. And after you see it, you say, "wow, I should have seen that coming, but I got trapped just like the author intended." I found myself going back, re-reading sections where Martini left those clues I had skipped over. You beat me again, Mr Martini, touche'.

In the publishing world, there are no second chances at a first impression. Writers that get published with novels that loose money are not encouraged to try again. But previously published Attorney Abby Chandlis thinks she has written a bestseller, but she is afraid to proceed under her own name. So she decides that a 'Milli-Vanilli' stand in could fake being the author of her book. Her phony friend becomes Jack Jermaine, a brutally handsome 'first-time' novelist. The required deception quickly spirals out of control. But can all of the deceit eventually take this book to the top of the bestsellers LIST?

The story reveals several surprises in the closing chapters, including a very satisfying finish. The subtext of the novel is an interesting look into the cutthroat world of publishers, book editors and the movie studios who are eager to produce something on the shirttails of a runaway book.

THE LIST, when it was first released, did in fact make it onto the 'list' where it deservedly belonged.

This book was clearly written with a view towards creating a best seller and probably a blockbuster movie. In other words, the author did not have anything in particular to express in a novel, except the desire to sell a novel. Lots of copies. The fact that it works (he did sell lots of copies) is frustrating to actual aspiring writers who write to express an original idea. The whole premise of this novel is unbelieveable. The female thriller writer, with a track record, creates a male persona in order to create a bidding war for her next book. One reason is that she feels a man would command more money. There are many female authors who do very well thank you very much. Major publishers do not lavish huge advances on writers with no previous publishing credentials unless they are celebrities. In other words, the real author who had a track record would have a better shot at selling to a major house than her fictional alter ego would, no matter how handsome he was. The bidding war over the book is the kind of thing that would only happen with a celebrity author where there was an almost guaranteed best seller in it for the publisher. This would not be the case with an entirely unknown writer. No thriller, no matter how well crafted, would immediately strike all the major publishers as being a surefire best seller in the making. If you are willing to suspend your disbelief about the premise then you are treated to a cliched thrill ride containing a surprise, totally unrelated subplot that appears to have come in as an afterthought as a method to artificially set the scene for a dangerous chase. (It would be the big pyrotechnics scene in the movie) I enjoy a little escapist reading myself from time to time. This is not an example of how to do it right.

First, let me say that I take offense that the author believes a woman nearing the age of 40 is all washed up and must hire a stand-in, a male over 40, for the dust cover of her book, if she is to make it to the best sellers list! Puuleeease.... And to top it off, Martini wants us to believe the lady writer is an attorney!!! Duh?

I'm not exactly certain how the publishing world works, but I do know there are a number of excellent female writers over the age of forty who don't just write dime romances. Are there more men writing thrillers/mysteries in the top ten list? Probably, but that's probably because more men are writing mysteries to begin with. Law of averages.

So, the plot starts off being very weak. It's hard to really like any of the characters, the female writer is a flake, especially for an attorney, her girlriend likes to get beat on by her ex-husband, (Steve, don't you like women or was this a bad period for you at home?) the bad guy doesn't even exhibit a personality, so his unveiling/revelation will catch you by surprise. He's so weak throughout the majority of the book, you'll be hard pressed to believe he's so evil. The "dust-cover" angel, Jack (it's okay to be over forty if you're a man) raises more questions than are ever answered. Like why did he use the pen name/passport of Kellen Raid and what did it have to do with anything? It was forced to make the story come together, but even that was weak!

The middle of the book is fast paced (Thank God), but the ending is so unbelieveable that it's laughable. And, to think that after all the lies, the publishing world doesn't care that they were duped because the attorney/author is writing more best setllers and including Jack on the dust cover with her. ICK!

Come on Steve, I've read better books that you've written. Please don't insult my intelligence by throwing something together and hoping that your name carries it off. I probably won't be buying anymore of your "thrillers?" until you go back to writing good books.

This was the first time reading anything by the author and I am ready for more. I could not put this book down! The story was spellbinding and filled with surprises from beginning to end. And the ending...well let's just say I wasn't quite prepared for what was in store. Thanks for the ride Steve!

"The List" features Abby Chandlis, an attorney who writes in her spare time. She has had three books published with only lackluster sales, but has now written a book that has truly tremendous potential to hit the top. However, with her background, she is certain she will see only the backside of any publisher's door - not to mention that, being around 40, she is considered to be "too old" and "not glamourous enough" to be put on the dust cover and bring in the money. So, she fights back - she pens the book under the name Gable Cooper and finds a handsome man to play the part.

Things quickly spiral out of control and Abby discovers that, when it comes to the big bucks that come in when it comes to getting on the top of The List (the New York Times bestseller list, that is), not to mention a big Hollywood film contract, people are willing to kill to get a piece of the action.

A bit slower paced than his Paul Madriani books tend to be, this book nonetheless keeps the pressure on pretty well. I adored the way the characters are created - even those who only appear briefly are given individual characteristics so we can differentiate them from each other. Those who love a good thriller are going to gobble this one up. Admittedly this has been out for awhile (I believe it was originally published in 1997), but if you haven't had a chance to read this gem yet, go out and get a copy. You'll be glad you did.

THE LIST isn't a thriller as much as it is a satire of the book publishing industry. I found this annoying, since this novel is being marketed as a hardcore thriller, in the spirit of Steve Martini's other novels. I felt rather misled by this book's cover.

In the end, I didn't care for THE LIST very much. The prose is solid, but most of the characters in this novel are silly and unlikable, including the main character of Abby Chandlis. The plot also moves quite slowly and predictably for the first two thirds of the story.

The satire in THE LIST is pretty heavy-handed, and I would have much preferred a lighter touch. I find it interesting that Martini is so cynical about the publishing industry, given his own high level of success.

If you're fascinated by the book industry, and want to learn more about how books are published, then you might find THE LIST interesting. But if you're looking for a fast-paced novel with likable characters, THE LIST falls short.

My advice is to skip this book and read Martini's more serious novels.

I am of the opinion that Steve Martini is THE BEST Legal Thriller author out there. Have you read 'The Judge' or 'Undue Influence'? Just two examples of what a true legal thriller OUGHT to be. After reading all of his novels, I got to wondering when Mr. Martini was going to travel into different waters other than the courtroom...out comes 'The List'. I was anxious to pick it up and devour it as I had his previous books but as I managed to trudge through the first 200 pages I kept thinking, 'When is it gonna get better??' This is TOTALLY unlike ANY of his other books which were great virtually from page 1. Maybe I was just expecting too much, I don't know, all I DO know is that if you expect ANYTHING like a Paul Madriani novel here (OR with 'Critical Mass' which is anything BUT a legal thriller) you will be horribly upset. If you have yet to read anything by Mr. Martini, maybe this is a good place to start, because it can only go uP from here if you ask me.

Looking for a great legal/thriller courtroom murder/mystery? I have long held the view that Mr. Martini has forgotten more than Grisham ever learned in this particular field, and if you are looking for an example, check out 'Compelling Evidence', or either of the two books I cited above, FANTASTIC examples. Don't get me wrong, 'The List' wasn't all bad, but c'mon! It was just so boring by comparison that I--against my better judgement went ahead and gave this 2 stars, heartbreaking as it was since I LOVE Martini's books, but deservedly so. Sorry Steve.