The Rule of Nine

I have been with Steve Martini since his first novel, The Simeon Chamber. For years he was the master of courtroom drama, utilizing his own experience to explain the details of the law and use them dramatically. With Guardian of Lies he took a 90 degree turn: leaving the courtroom for the world of international thriller/suspense. The Rule of Nine is a sequel to Guardian of Lies, with Paul Madriani's nemesis, Liquida, back in business and anxious to settle scores. The story concerns a plot whose ultimate target is both revealed immediately and kept secret until the end. (I can't explain that without spoiling the story.) The plot involves a terrorist-for-hire (who has employed Liquida), a congressman, a couple of bombs (non-nuclear but beaucoup lethal), a 727, a love interest for Madriani ( a weapons control expert) and his investigator, Herman Diggs. The technical details are fascinating, the pace is perfect and the writing (a little rough around the edges in the earlier novels) is now superb. Every Martini novel is a joy; this one may well be the best.

Steve Martini has done it again. I won't describe anything as I might give it away but this ending has to be one of the best cliff hangers ever.

Did the radicals of the 1960s give up their protests and violence back then, or did they go underground only to try again, decades later, from within the established government? Series character and attorney Paul Madriani, and his sidekicks, have become aware of a plan to bring a "fat boy" into the United States. But where and when, and by who? Madriani has allot of experience with chasing down bombs, having done so in Steve Martini's previous frenetic thriller, GUARDIAN OF LIES. In fact, some bad guys from that period of Madriani's life have made his present-day situation a living hell. They just don't what to kill him; they want to torment him, his family and his close friends. Between his past heroism, and his current-day heroism, Madriani is going full tilt to save his life, his way of life, and his country.

This is Martini's second thriller set outside the courtroom, and it's very good. Martini's main character, Paul Madriani, is used to using his quick wits, analytical thinking, and tenacity in courtroom showdowns, but this time he's using those talents in chasing down a terrorist organization planning an attack in a major U.S. city. There's a personal angle involved too. Madriani's daughter is apparently being stalked by someone who may be connected to the terrorist organization. Madriani's ability to protect his daughter may depend on how he deals with the terrorists. The characters are colorful; the writing, as usual for Martini, is very good; and the story is gripping.

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.