Prime Witness

Over just five days, the rural college town of Davenport, California, is rocked by two sets of brutal murders. When two more bodies are discovered, Paul Madriani, the brilliant defense attorney from Compelling Evidence, is tagged as the special prosecutor who must find the murderer, dubbed "the Putah Creek Killer" - and quickly. Following a trail of mounting physical evidence, Madriani and the police are led to a college security guard, who is arraigned on multiple charges of murder. But things begin to spin out of control when Madriani confronts Adrian Chambers, the suspect's defense attorney, who harbors a checkered past and a deep-seated vendetta against Paul. Even worse, while the evidence linking the suspect to the first four show more slayings is irrefutable, something is clearly different with the last two murders.
As the trial slowly proceeds, Madriani begins to realize there is another killer at large. Only during the trial - when he is fighting for the conviction of one killer and the identification of another - does Madriani discover terrifying answers that go far deeper than anyone imagined.
Answers that will shock, mesmerize, and hold the reader captive until the last page. show less

Another good book by Martini. Not as good as Undue Influence, but still strong plot and characterization. The female character of Lenore is very strong - a 20th century warrior goddess (which means most men would call her a bitch). The ending is particularly riveting and totally took me by surprise.

Oddly enough, I read this window into the legal workings of a small Southern county in a hotel room in Nashville. The descriptions of the politicians, lawyers, and law enforcement officers ring very true, although some bitterness towards insiders and other people who waste government money comes through pretty clearly. It could be the narrator being bitter, I suppose, rather than the author.

The book is blurbed as a "powerful new courtroom thriller" but I don't think there's really that much thrilling about it, at least in the John Grisham sense of "bad guys aiming guns at lawyers". There's a short stalking scene towards the end that might push it into the thriller genre, but that's not one of the book's strong points. Those would show more include:

The characters, not least the narrator, who makes fascinating leadership decisions.

The politics. You'll find out just how Roscoe P. Coltrane kept on as sherriff of Hazzard County after all those years of failing to catch the Dukes out.

The puzzle. You wouldn't have suspected it would make much of a whodunit, based on the amount of legalese going on, but I never saw the identity of the murderer coming. Not until they said it straight out in the last few pages of the book.

A few minor issues come up here and there; repetitive language and some laziness in describing emotions, and the hero faces down a lot of opposition rather glibly. But still, one of the better courtroom dramas out there. show less

I first got interested in Steve Martini after watching The Judge, an interesting movie that had some nice courtroom scenes for which I am always a sucker. I had already purchased Prime Witness in audio so decided to make it my chores listening. I enjoyed it. Several characters pop up who were in The Judge. This one is unusual int hat Paul Modriani, Martini's protagonist plays the role of district attorney, rather against his will and he is thrown into the middle of a case that pits him against an old antagonist. No point repeating the plot, that's available everywhere.

Some reviewers have downgraded this book because of the level of detail supplied in the investigation. That's the kind of stuff I like. I especially enjoyed the courtroom show more and lawyerly battles using obscure features of the law in an attempt to gain the upper hand in the battle to gain the advantage.

One negative, I thought, was the side plot that involved threats against Modriani's wife. I thought that was unnecessary and not well explicated. The ending is perhaps a bit preposterous; nevertheless, solid entertainment. show less

I got about 20% in on this one, & I'm done.
Nothing to hold my interest - way too formulaic.
And life is too short to read bad books or drink bad wine.

In five days, the town of Davenport is rocked by four brutal murders - two couples - their bodies found tied and staked out on the banks of Putah Creek. Then two more bodies are found, Paul Madriani thinks there is more to this case than meets eye.

First edition as new