Steve Martini

When Judge Armando 'The Coconut' Acosta is caught with a prostitute, few are sympathetic. Lawyer Paul Madriani has a long history of enmity with the judge and considers Acosta's arrest to be the consequence of a lifetime of corruption. Even when the call girl is found to be a beautiful police academy recruit and the entire case appears to be a set-up, Paul is still reluctant to step in and save the judge's career from impending doom. Then the police recruit is brutally killed and Acosta is charged with murder. Lenore Goya, an ambitious defence lawyer, takes on Acosta's case and reluctantly Madriani is persuaded to come on board - they both know he owes her one. Together they uncover the shocking evidence, the ugly lies, the deceit and the corruption that are at the bottom of the most complex and terrifying murder trial of Madriani's career.

Recently widowed attorney Paul Madriani is struggling to hold on to what is left of his family when he and his young daughter are caught up in yet another family tragedy. Paul's sister-in-law, Laurel Vega, is involved in a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband, Jack, who wants to take their children to Washington DC. When her case disintegrates, Jack's new wife is found dead in the family home. Laurel is arrested and charged with murder. Madriani takes on her defence but the evidence against Laurel is daunting and her own failure to cooperate - in particular, to tell Paul where she was on the night of the murder - leaves the reader wondering if perhaps he is defending a guilty woman. But what actually happened that night is more tragic than anything revealed so far. And it is up to Paul to uncover the shattering piece of evidence that will lead to the terrible truth.

In the space of five days the college town of Davenport is rocked by four brutal murders: two couples - students - their bodies found tied and staked out on the banks of Putah Creek. Then two more bodies are discovered. This time the victims are Abbott Scofield, a distinguished member of the university faculty, and his former wife Karen. The police suspect Andre Iganovich, a Russian immigrant, but Paul Madriani thinks there is more to the case than meets the eye. Forensic reports on the physical evidence suggest lingering questions about the Russian's involvement in the Scofield killings, and Paul becomes increasingly convinced that the second murders are the product of a copy-cat killer - a cold and calculating murderer who has taken the lives of the Scofields for reasons that Paul is determined to uncover...

When lawyer Sam Bogdarus agrees to see Jennifer Davies little does he realise that his attractive new client is to put his life at risk. Jennifer is tracing her father - her only clue being four sheets of parchment belonging to the journals of Sir Francis Drake. These papers hold the key to her father's identity and a multitude of unsolved mysteries... Full of scepticism, Sam agrees to show the papers to university professor Nick Jorgensen. Astoundingly, Nick verifies the papers' authenticity. But already too many people know of the journal's existence. And when his lawyer partner is found murdered, Sam encounters a ruthless killer who seems determined to stop his pursuit of the truth. Eventually Sam is lured into the Simeon Chamber, to discover one of the best-kept secrets time has ever known...

Paul Madriani, a brilliant criminal defense lawyer, had a once-promising career with a prestigious law-firm, until an ill-judged affair with the senior partner Ben Potter's wife led to his resignation. Now he scrambles for work amid the ghosts of his doomed affair and the remains of a failing marriage.Then Potter is found dead, an apparent suicide. But as details come to light, the case turns from suicide to murder and the needle of suspicion points towards the victim's seductive wife, Talia Potter. Indicted and arrested, Talia turns to Paul, her former lover, to defend her against the mounting evidence in a case that for her could result in the gas chamber