The Rule of Nine CD [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Steve Martini (Author), Dan Woren (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2010

Still reeling from the trauma of a near nuclear explosion at the naval base in Coronado, San Diego defense attorney Paul Madriani now finds he’s been linked to the murder of a Washington, D.C., political staffer. Authorities believe the bloodthirsty assassin Liquida Muerte—aka “the Mexicutioner”—may be responsible, and that Madriani is the ultimate target of the killer’s twisted vengeance. But the danger pales before an even more terrible unfolding scenario. Evidence is mounting that the elusive maniac and a domestic terrorist who calls himself the Old Weatherman have joined forces, intending to strike at the very seat of the United States government, pulling the capital city—and the country—into a vortex of terror . . . unless Paul Madriani and weapons control expert Joselyn Cole can somehow unravel the enigma of . . . THE RULE OF NINE.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Martini's nail-biting 11th Paul Madriani thriller, the California lawyer once again crosses paths with hired assassin Liquida Muerte (aka the Mexicutioner), whose enmity he earned in the previous book, Guardian of Lies (2009). Bent on revenge, Liquida makes a clumsy attempt to implicate Madriani in the death of Jimmie Snyder, a 23-year-old congressional gofer. Meanwhile, a terrorist mastermind known only as Thorn, backed by unlimited funds, is plotting a horrific attack on the U.S. Thorn's use of Liquida as a tool draws Madriani's attention. Against a fast-moving backdrop of technical wizardry, geopolitical maneuverings, and narrow escapes, Madriani and his firm's investigator, Herman Diggs, pursue Thorn in order to locate Liquida. And Liquida, when not dispatching others for Thorn, is determined to eliminate Madriani; his daughter, Sarah; and his colleagues. Martini does a fine job of misdirecting the reader as to the intended terrorist target. 7-city author tour.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Martini introduced Paul Madriani nearly 20 years ago, but if this latest novel is any indication, the likable criminal defense attorney is showing no signs of slowing down. The book follows closely on the heels of 2009's Guardian of Lies, in which Madriani was instrumental in averting a nuclear attack on U.S. soil. Here, an assassin, fast approaching obsolescence, takes on a risky assignment (sort of a murderous last hurrah); a corrupt politician is being blackmailed by a shadowy person who knows way too much; the American government's plan to locate and tax offshore bank accounts has a lot of people very upset; and caught in the middle of it all is Madriani, who will once again have to risk his life if he wants to save it. A solid, if perhaps slightly too intricate, legal thriller. Highly recommendable to the author's fans, but newbies might want to check out some of the earlier installments in the series to get oriented. --David Pitt --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: HarperAudio; Unabridged edition (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062008536
• ISBN-13: 978-0062008534
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,167,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve Martini was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. An honors graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz, he holds a law degree from the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law.

Martini's first career was in journalism. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles and as a correspondent at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, specializing in legal issues. In 1974 he entered private law practice in California, where he appeared in both state and federal courts. During his legal career, he worked as a legislative representative for the State Bar of California, served as special counsel to the California Victims of Violent Crimes Program, and was an administrative law judge and supervising hearing officer.

In 1984 Martini turned his talents to fiction, quickly earning positions on bestseller lists. All but his first book spent time on the New York Times Bestsellers list. To date, he has authored twelve novels, including eight featuring his popular lawyer alter ego, Paul Madriani.
In 1996 Undue Influence aired as a four-hour miniseries on CBS, followed by The Judge on NBC in 2001.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 Stars, May 12, 2010

By 

Konrad Kern (OFallon, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rule of Nine: A Paul Madriani Novel (Paul Madriani Novels) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Still feeling the effects from a near nuclear explosion he helped thwart a few months back, defense attorney--and now apparently a spytracker--Paul Madriani goes after an extremist who is bound and determined to cause a major catastrophic event in an attempt to amputate one of the arms of the government.
Normally I know Steve Martini to be a legal thriller writer. Now he seems to be venturing into the spy thriller. I blame myself mostly for being disappointed in this latest Madriani novel. The reason would be that I didn't read the previous 'Guardian of Lies' thriller and it seems to tie in with this one quite a bit. This left me in the dark on quite a few of the topics. This is not a good stand alone thriller. I'm still not sure this one would of pulled me in whether I read the first or not. Maybe it was the overall mediocre pace of the story.
I know Martini to be a very talented author from his courtroom dramas but this latest didn't stand at all by itself.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Put Down, April 22, 2010

By 

creative quilter (Oceanside, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Rule of Nine: A Paul Madriani Novel (Paul Madriani Novels) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Steve Martini has successfully built on his previous Paul Madriani novel. This is a lose sleep novel because the reader just can't put it down. Madriani and his family are still dealing with the fallout of a case which led Madriani and his investigator right into the middle of a failed nuclear attack. The FBI suddenly wants no more to do with him, his daughter, investigator and partner are all in mortal danger from Liquida, a murderer who escaped the FBI at the time of the earlier crime. And then Madriani's daughter's friend is killed and the urgency to hide from Liquida intensifies. Throw in a Supreme Court Justice and a long time Congressman and the mystery of who is doing what to whom becomes ever more complex. The characters are drawn with true empathy and they story tightly written. Another can't put it down from Martini.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our advesaries are insane." Mark Twain, June 8, 2010

By 

michael a. draper (Guilford, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Rule of Nine: A Paul Madriani Novel (Paul Madriani Novels) (Hardcover)

An extremist desires to change the direction that the United States is going by wiping out the Supreme Court.

The realistic story could have been taken from the latest news exposing politicians in Washington.

Washington is in debt and wants to generate revenue so decides to tax overseas accounts. Senator Josh Root is both embarrassed and concerned with how he and a number of political friends will explain the wealth they have accumulated in foreign banks. This wealth he derived from bribes and kick-backs. In addition, someone is blackmailing the senator for actions he took during Vietnam when he was a member of an underground movement and his actions resulted in the death of a security guard.

The story follows the action of the author's "Garden of Lies". In fact, parts of the novel follow the events in the first novel so closely that it assumes that the reader has read that novel prior to "The Rule of Nine".

In this story, the antagonist goes by the name Thorn and the FBI agent running the investigation is named Thorpe. The similarity
of names was unfortunate and I had to pause a number of times to make sure I had my characters correct.

Thorn uses a Mexican killer who is referred to as Liquida. He bears a hatred for Madriani and Madriani's investigator, Herman Diggs. This hatred is so strong that it governs Liquida's actions and the cause of it is only glossed over. I think more detail would have helped.

Madriani is an interesting character. He believes in the United States and in justice. But it does seem improbable that a defense attorney would feel compelled to stop his practice in order to chase terrorists.

There was good suspense and the plot progresses at breakneck speed which builds rapidly as the novel concluded. The final pages felt like they could be in an episode of TVs "24."

For the reader looking for a light read, this would do the trick.