Prime Witness
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4.2 • 206 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
A legal thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of the Paul Madriani series.
A series of bizarre double murders has shaken the town, leading to the arrest of a prime suspect. Paul Madriani knows that the man he’s persecuting is guilty, but one disturbing fact threatens to unravel the entire case . . . There may be another killer involved.
As he delves deeper into the truth, Madriani finds himself caught in the crosshairs of an explosive trial that will test his skills and challenge his convictions. Fast-paced and filled with twists and turns, Prime Witness explores the complexities of the legal system and keeps readers on the edge of their seats until the final verdict.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
``The ugly marketplace of justice''--as one character terms the judicial process--is scrutinized with a riveting, you-are-there immediacy in the new legal procedural by the author of Compelling Evidence. When attorney Paul Madriani offers to assist a friend--the county's ailing district attorney, who subsequently dies--in investigating six brutal killings, he becomes entangled in a series of machinations that threaten his career and even his private life. Though Martini's plotting proves ingenious (the story is capped off by a nail-biting encounter in a darkened courtroom), the legal maneuvers themselves take center stage here. From the crime scene--the banks of California's Putah Creek--to a deceptively simple arrest to fascinating pre-trial scheming, Martini packs his novel with the quotidian details of the wheels of justice--and the numerous cogs therein. Madriani's first-person, present-tense narration invigorates the often intricate proceedings with first-rate wisecracks and one-liners. His character descriptions are by turns pithy and funny (frequently both): the prosecuting attorney ``looks like nothing so much as Robert Duvall's incarnation of the Great Santini''; the county's female victim-witness coordinator is ``the crime victim's answer to Don Corleone in drag . . . known as `Attila the Hen.' '' Prime is indeed the word for this involving read.
Customer Reviews
Slow start but good ending
This book was not as fast paced and thrilling as the first book. But once you got the meat of the story it is really hard to put down. The ending was a shocker with some questions left unanswered but over all a great read.
A case for the birds
In the 2nd book of the series, Martini has defense attorney Paul Madriani on the other side of the law, as the acting County Prosecutor for a “good old boy” County and it’s similar court system. Saddled with a short handed staff, including an inept and disgruntled long time employee, Madriani leans heavily on 1 female lawyer and 1 competent Detective to get the job done, barely in time. Another masterful story by Martini with another shocking ending. A great series is shaping up for the reader.
Only OK
Got a bit tedious in all the testimony.