Undue Influence by Steve Martini

In my recent review of Martini’s latest, Blood Flag, I quipped that I remembered the author’s earlier work as greater stuff so I vowed to re-read something the author wrote earlier to prove my point if only to myself.  Undue Influence is Steve Martini’s third in his Paul Madriani series and was written in the mid 1990’s.  This is the caliber of writing I remember and the author I once revered.  A courtroom drama filled with suspense, quick witted lawyering and a drive to save the client at all costs.

Paul’s wife Nikki has recently passed and he is left to raise a young daughter alone.  His only living relatives are Nikki’s sister Laurel and her two teenage children.  Laurel divorced her unfaithful husband, Jack the state legislator in a bitter battle.  The battle continues over the children even though Jack has married one of his young conquests, Melanie.  Laurel blames Melanie for Jack’s tenacity in gaining custody of the children and assaults Jack’s new wife just outside the courtroom after a particularly ugly custody hearing.  That night Melanie is murdered in her home and Laurel is arrested.  Madriani, out of loyalty to his dead wife’s family, agrees to provide the legal defense.  But Paul soon finds out, Jack is under investigation by the FBI for shenanigans he’s pulled as a legislator.  Dana, the lovely assistant AG and former classmate of Paul’s, enlightens him on Jack’s illicit behavior.  As Paul and Dana’s relationship grows more intimate, Paul discovers Dana knows more about Melanie’s murder than she’s telling him.  She has been monitoring a woman in the Federal witness relocation program that lives across the street from Jack and Melanie.  Could it be that Melanie was mistaken for the relocated witness and murdered by mistake?  The woman has mysteriously disappeared and Paul must find her to prove his theory.  But the trial has already begun and he needs to use all his skills to proffer a solid defense… all the while, not knowing who he can trust and who wants him to stop.

Undue Influence is a great legal thriller complete with plot complexity and surprising twists and turns.  Martini clearly has the experience and insight for stimulating courtroom drama.  His talent is far better expressed here than in his later national conspiracy theory plots of terrorism and destruction.

Blood Flag by Steve Martini

Attorneys Paul Madriani and Harry Hinds are living off the proceeds of a recent windfall legal case.  But instead of basking in the sun at some Caribbean resort, they decided to rebuild their San Diego law practice.  They hire a young attractive legal assistant, Sofia and renew their efforts to attract higher brow clients.

 

Emma Brauer, a sixty something widow, is accused of mercy killing her ninety year old, World War II veteran father, Robert Bauer.  He died in the hospital of an insulin overdose and the police arrest Emma for manslaughter.  She insists she is innocent and tells Madriani and Hinds that her father had recently received a package in the mail that caused him great anxiety.  The package was sent to him by the attorney of a recently deceased Army buddy and contained a safe deposit box key and a slip of paper.  As she is escorted off to jail, she pleads with her attorneys to retrieve her father’s dog from her house.  Sofia volunteers to get the pouch and care for him until Emma is arraigned.  But Sofia never gets the dog and is found murdered a few days later.

Paul and Harry riddled with guilt for possibly having put Sofia in harm’s way, follow the clues back to Bauer’s Army unit.  The unit was stationed in Munich as WWII ended and a flag stained with the blood of Hitler’s earliest supporters had disappeared in that time and place.  The FBI becomes interested in the Blood Flag when Israel’s Mossad make inquiries.  So Madriani and Hinds surmise the package that Robert Brauer received is somehow a clue to the Blood Flag, vindication for their client, Emma Brauer, and motive for the murder of their young colleague.  But they are not sure how it’s all related and what danger they must face to find out.

Fifteen years ago, Steve Martini was one of my top ten authors.  His legal themes were well researched and full of courtroom suspense.  He then ventured into conspiracy stories on a federal and international scale and I thought his plots a bit contrived. Blood Flag is a step back toward his roots where he excels but with a touch of conspiracy theories thrown in… not his best work but good entertainment nonetheless.  I may go back and reread Compelling Evidence, Undue Influence, or The Arraignment to see if they are as good as I remember. 

The Enemy Inside by Steve Martini

The Enemy Inside is Steve Martini’s most recent legal thriller featuring Paul Madriani, a San Diego based defense attorney.  The series dates back to the early 1990’s and of late his clients tend to be tied to national political corruption and international conspiracies.

Alex Ives is a young reporter for a Washington D.C. based internet news service called Gravesite.  While vacationing in San Diego, he is involved in a traffic accident that kills Olinda Serna, a vastly successful lawyer who deals in political influence peddling in the U.S. Congress.  Ives is arrested for vehicular manslaughter and thanks to Madriani, is released on bail.  Coincidently, Ives was previously investigating Serna for Gravesite, following a trail of corruption and conspiracy that involved huge cash payoffs to congressional members by depositing the money in Swiss banks.  But Ives didn’t even know Serna was in San Diego and has no recollection of the accident.  In fact, he would have died in the accident as well if not for a Good Samaritan passerby who pulled him from the crash.  Further, his blood alcohol was well below the legal limit.  Apparently, he had been drugged at a party and the accident staged.

As Madriani and Harry Hinds, his partner begin to investigate Ives, more of his associates are murdered.  Alex’ boss at Gravesite dies shortly after Madriani interviews him and the young woman who lured Alex to the party where he was drugged the night of the automobile accident turns up dead as well.  The attorneys conclude Alex’ life is in danger and send their PI, Henry Diggs with him into hiding in Mexico.

 

With the information Madriani learns from Ives’ boss, he is convinced a conspiracy to bribe U.S. Congressmen is at the core of Ives’ problems.  Madriani and Hinds head for Switzerland to talk to an ex-bank official, Simon Koroff.  Koroff tells them about millions of dollars deposited in Gruber Bank, his former employer, in the names of several U.S. Congressman.  He also tells them that Olinda Serna and her associate, Rubin Bentz had frequently visited the bank.  Bentz is serving a jail term in a Colorado federal prison in solitary confinement... evidently to keep him from talking.  Koroff too is murdered shortly after the meeting with Madriani and Hinds.  The attorneys quickly head back to the States.

 

Madriani gets a call from a Washington political broker telling him he should apply for a federal judgeship because he has the backing of California’s senior Senator.  He is told he should consider representing Rubin Bentz if he wants the appointment.  Madriani doesn’t want the appointment but he definitely wants to talk to Bentz.  Bentz has incriminating information stashed somewhere that could unravel the U.S. Congress not to mention save Madriani’s client.

Martini is the master of complex legal thrillers as is proven once again in The Enemy Inside.  His plots and subplots are numerous and multifaceted.  But with such a sizable cast of characters, keeping all the players straight is a challenge.  From international hit men, to Washington politicians, lobbyists and conspirators, to reporters, to Swiss bankers, to Chinese government officials, Martini juggles a lot of storylines but satisfactorily connects all the dots by the end.  The thrill ride is a journey well worth the effort.