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Defending a medical researcher accused of murdering a colleague raises one of the most difficult ethical questions attorney Paul Madriani has ever faced: how far should science go to find a cure for our most life-threatening diseases?When medical researcher Michael Givens is charged with the murder of a colleague he turns to Paul Madriani and Harry Hinds to defend him. The murder victim, a noted chemist and genetic specialist, was on the cusp of one of the great medical discoveries of history, a cure for cancer - a genetic silver bullet. Prosecutors are convinced that Givens coldly planned and carried out the murder, and that the motive was professional jealousy. Madriani doesn't buy it. A longtime criminal defense attorney with a keen eye for assessing clients, he is convinced that Givens would not commit murder, and certainly not with the crude explosive device that was used. But someone else did. Digging into the victim's work and his personal life, Madriani discovers a web of deceit and lies. Rumors surface of serious ethical violations in the testing program required to pave the way to vast riches for those who hold the patents on the new drug. Whispers abound that the dead doctor crossed moral boundaries not only in his professional life, but in his personal affairs as well, conduct for which others might well have killed him.Concerns are voiced that the new wonder drug may prove so successful in eradicating cancer that global mortality rates could plummet. If so, could a population explosion of huge proportions result, leading to economic and political upheaval, violence, and war? Every silver lining has its dark cloud. Behind all of this is a sinister web of intrigue into which the lawyers tumble as they fight to defend their client and discover the truth. It is a trial unlike any they have seen before, a cauldron of conspiracy that threatens to destroy Paul and Harry along with their client.
About the Author
Martini's first career was in journalism. He worked as a newspaper reporter for the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the largest legal newspaper in the country covering the state, the local courts and the civic center beat. In 1970 he became the newspaper's first correspondent at the State Capitol in Sacramento and later its bureau chief. There he specialized in legal and political coverage. During this period he attended night law school and in 1974 took his law degree from the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law. He was admitted to the Bar in January 1975. Martini has practiced law both privately as well as for public agencies appearing in state and federal courts. During his law career, in addition to other activities, he worked as a legislative representative for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, the State Bar of California, and served as special counsel to the California Victims of Violent Crimes Program. He has worked as an administrative hearing officer, a supervising hearing officer, an administrative law judge, and for a time served as Deputy Director of the State Office of Administrative Hearings. He is currently inactive with the State Bar of California, choosing writing instead as a full-time occupation. In the mid-1980s Martini began his fiction-writing career. His first attempt at a novel, The Simeon Chamber, was represented by an agent and sold to the New York publisher D.I. Fine within two weeks of its submission. It was published in 1987. Compelling Evidence, his second novel, introduced his series character, attorney Paul Madriani, and was published by G.P. Putnam & Sons. A national bestseller, the novel earned Martini a critical and popular following. It was followed quickly by New York Times bestsellers Prime Witness, Undue Influence, The Judge, and The Attorney, each featuring the series character Madriani and his contrarian and irrepressible law partner, Harry Hinds. The List, published in 1997, a novel and thriller about the commercial book publishing industry, was the first Martini novel to depart from the series characters since the author reached the best sellers list. Critical Mass, his next novel published in 1998, continued the departure from the courtroom as well as the Madriani series, though it involved a lawyer protagonist and was well within the legal-thriller genre. Critical Mass addressed issues of terrorism and the threat from weapons of mass destruction two years before the events of 9/11. It was a topic to which Martini would return in later years.Other novels by Martini include: The Jury, The Arraignment, Double Tap, Shadow of Power, Guardian of Lies, The Rule of Nine, and Trader of Secrets.To date, two network mini-series have been produced and broadcast based on Martini's works, Undue Influence by CBS, and The Judge on NBC.
