Undue Influence (A Paul Madriani Novel) [Paperback]

Steve Martini (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Paul Madriani Novel | Publication Date: July 1, 1995

Making a deathbed promise to his wife to help her sister, Laurel, win a custody battle against Jack Vega, Paul Madriani finds the process complicated when Jack's new wife is shot and Laurel is caught with crucial evidence. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A vicious custody battle escalates into a murder trial in this gripping courtroom drama, Martini's third to be narrated by defense attorney Paul Madriani ( Compelling Evidence , Prime Witness ). Before Madriani's wife, Nikki, died of lung cancer, she asked that Madriani look after her sister, Laurel, who's now going through a bruising custody battle with her ex-husband, Jack Vega. When Jack's young new wife, Melanie, is murdered, all the evidence points to Laurel as the killer: not only was she was seen threatening Melanie and arguing with her just before the murder, but when she's captured by the police, she has the dead woman's compact in her purse. Madriani takes on Laurel's case, but it's an uphill battle. Potential witnesses for the defense have mysteriously disappeared; while searching for them and pursuing other leads, Madriani uncovers evidence that points to a very different motive for murder--and a very obvious suspect. The action builds to a rousing climax through a brilliant series of trial scenes with several surprises. The characters are sharply drawn, the facts of the case are presented simply and the courtroom psychology is laid out vividly. Martini, who knows how to tell a story, wastes little time setting up his premise; by the time the trial starts, readers will find their fingers glued to the pages. 175,000 first printing; $250,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-Lawyer-hero Paul Madriani returns, this time as a widower. His sister-in-law, Laurel, is in a bitter fight for custody of her two teenage children, with Madriani helping from the sidelines. Her ex-husband is a slick politician who has married an equally sleazy woman. When the new wife is murdered, Laurel is arrested. Madriani defends her, facing what appears to be insurmountable evidence. At the same time, he must deal with his own seven-year-old daughter, his troubled niece and nephew, a ruthless prosecutor, a vengeful police lieutenant, a beautiful attorney with whom he has an affair, and a killer who is now after him. The novel shares the flaws of its genre: the characters are flat, the plot contorted, and the writing uneven. Martini persists in describing gestures and facial expressions that should stand on their own, and then interprets them for readers. And he sprinkles his writing with lame hard-boiled similes. However, the good guys are likable, the bad guys are hateful, and the trial scenes are riveting. YAs should enjoy the page-turning suspense.
Chip Barnett, Rockbridge Regional Library, Lexington,
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Jove (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062514253
• ISBN-13: 978-0451180230
• ASIN: 051511605X
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,818 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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His very best, wonderful inventive plot with ultimate twist!, September 20, 2003

By 

Gerald M. Bull "Jerry Bull" (Fairview, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Undue Influence (A Paul Madriani Novel) (Paperback)

We've nearly given up on Steve Martini several times. While we enjoyed his first novel, "Simeon Chamber", most of the others of his books we have read, including a couple others from the Defense Attorney Paul Madriani series, have been so incredibly dry during sluggish middle sections that we really should have quit them right there. However, this his fourth novel, and third Madriani, gets it completely right: good writing, one of the most clever plots we've ever encountered, sustained suspense and pace, and a story so engrossing we'll admit to staying up til three in the morning to get to the end!

We don't want to reveal too much plot, but in short, Madriani is defending his sister-in-law Laurel on the charge of murdering her ex-husband's trophy wife. A custody battle for her two kids is an apparent motive, and the evidence all seems to look bad, including secrets Laurel won't even reveal to her defense team. Suspense builds as we join the courtroom audience for an entertaining fight with a female prosecutor with a chip on her shoulder, not to mention the main cop (Lama) who is a Madriani enemy. Things don't get sorted out until quite late in the book, yet we're on edge til nearly the very last page as twists and turns in the story line have us hustling through the pages at breakneck speed. A most unusual ending is our final reward!

This book is as good as Scott Turow or John Grisham at their best. While we're still not totally Madriani fan club enthusiasts, this is surely one of the best books we've read in a long time -- and thus very highly recommended!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spellbinding, February 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Undue Influence (Paperback)

As an attorney I find Steve Martini's works to be very realistic in terms of how the justice system actually works. He is able to make the average person facinated by what actually goes on. All that I can say for any reader is that they should hold on because they are going to be taken on a ride that is full of suspense.You will suspect everyone but the real killer will not be revealed until the end of the ride.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MADRIANI FOR THE DEFENSE, February 13, 2008

By 

Nancy Martin (Pennsylvania (orig. NY)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Undue Influence (Paperback)

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?