Steve Martini may not be an innovator in the legal thriller stakes, but he's always a reliable practitioner, delivering well-turned, efficient work in such books as The Jury, Undue Influence and Critical Mass. This one has all the customary virtues. After a lawyer friend is killed, along with a client, in a hail of gunfire outside the federal courthouse, attorney Paul Madriani reluctantly takes on the surviving co-defendant's case. As Madriani quietly investigates his friend's murder, both that case and his new one take entirely unexpected turns, with much duplicity to be uncovered. Cutting-edge lawyer Madriani is a solid, persuasive protagonist, and Steve Martini fans will get their money's worth, even if no fresh territory is covered in The Arraignment.
