Shadow
of Power
A
Paul Madriani Legal Thriller
Steve
Martini
William
Morrow (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-06-123088-X (006123088X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-123088-2 (9780061230882)
Publication Date: May 2008
List Price: $26.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Terry Scarborough is a legal scholar and provocateur
who craves headline-making celebrity, but with his latest book he may
have gone too far. In it he resurrects forgotten language in the U.S.
Constitution—and hints at a missing letter of Thomas
Jefferson's—that threatens to divide the nation. Then
Scarborough is brutally murdered and a young man with dark connections
is charged. What looks like an open-and-shut case to most people,
doesn't to defense attorney Paul Madriani. He believes there is much
more to the case, and that the defendant is a pawn caught in the
middle, being scapegoated by circumstance.
As the trial spirals toward its conclusion, Madriani and his partner
Harry Hinds race to find the missing Jefferson letter—and the
secrets it holds about slavery and scandal at the time of our nation's
founding and the very reason Scarborough was killed. Madriani's chase
takes him from the tension-filled courtroom in California to the trail
of a Supreme Court justice now suddenly in hiding and lays bare the
soaring political stakes for a seat on the High Court, in a country
divided, and under the shadow of power.
Review:
Shadow
of Power, Steve Martini's
ninth legal thriller featuring San Diego criminal defense attorney Paul
Madriani, is so meticulously researched and well written that it is
virtually impossible to discern where fiction ends and fact begins.
Madriani and his team take on the defense of Carl Arnsburg, a
twenty-three year old member of the Aryan Nation, accused of the murder
of noted flamboyant, and politically connected, author Terry
Scarborough. Wherever Scarborough goes to promote his latest
bestselling novel, Perpetual Slaves:
The
Branding of America’s Black Race,
racial uprisings occur: buildings are burned, cars turned over, and
more. He stimulates the hatred that still arises in our nation when the
issue of slavery is broached. Although the members of his staff try to
advise him to restrain his ardor for attention, Scarborough wants more
notoriety so his next book, a sequel to Perpetual Slaves,
will be an even bigger hit than this one.
Toward that end, Terry Scarborough plans to announce on national
television that in his next book he will reveal finding an authentic
copy of the so-called “J” letter written by Thomas
Jefferson at the time the US Constitution was drafted that reveals some
deep secret about slavery. Before he can do so, he is found dead. Carl
Arnsburg’s prints are found on the murder weapon, the
victim's blood on his pants and shoes. With a swastika and "Our Race is
Our Nation" tattooed on his body, he is the perfect candidate to arrest
for the murder. In addition to the forensic evidence, the prosecution
has eye witnesses and confirmation from the Aryan Nation that Arnsburg
did threaten to kidnap and possibly kill Scarborough. It is up to the
defense to find evidence to try to somehow prove Arnsburg did not
commit the crime, or at the very least, save Arnsburg from the death
penalty. Madriani knows the “J” letter is the real
clue to the murder, but no one knows where the letter is or even if it
exists. Members of Madriani’s law firm are taken from San
Diego to the Caribbean nation of Curacao and finally to Washington DC
where a Justice of the Supreme Court may be involved. Because Madriani
and his partner believe in Arnsburg’s innocence,
it’s a race to see if they can find the answer to who really
killed Terry Scarborough and why before it's too late.
There's something for everyone in this remarkable book. A tightly wound
plot, a historical mystery, a combination of international, political,
and legal intrigue, riveting courtroom scenes, and even a touch of
humor. Shadow
of Power is not only one of
the best legal thrillers this year, it is one of the best novels of the
year.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Shadow of Power and to HarperCollins for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Shadow of Power? How would you rate it?
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Shadow of Power
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ISBN-10: 0-06-123088-X (006123088X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-123088-2 (9780061230882)
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Omnimystery
keywords for Shadow of Power
...
Location(s) referenced: San
Diego,
Curacao, Washington DC.
