Thrillers in celebration of ThrillerFest - Thrillers!

As ThrillerFest is just 4 weeks away,  I plan to celebrate by reviewing and recommending 2 thrillers a week until ThrillerFest begins.  In case you can make it to NYC from July 6 to 9 to join us for ThrillerFest, you can sign up here.


Trader of Secrets: A Paul Madriani Novel by Steve Martini

The blurb:
Defense attorney Paul Madriani is embroiled in a case as perilous as any he has ever faced: one that involves an angry killer who will stop at one that involves an angry killer who will stop at nothing short of vengeance, and two missing NASA scientists who are holding secrets that a hostile government desperately wants to purchase - in blood if they must.

Madriani's daughter, Sarah, has evaded the man known as Liquida, who has stalked her all the way across the country.  For her own safety, she is being kept under armed guard on a farm in Ohio.

But one morning, itching for a predawn run to shake off the tension that has grown in the hours she's spent waiting for word from her father, Sarah slips from her ring of protection.  What she doesn't know is that at the same moment her assailant is outside, waiting patiently in the dark.

Meanwhile in California, two men in a parked car argued over millions in cash that could be slipping through their fingers and a scheme involving government technology for sale that could rock the world.

Paul Madriani, his companion Joselyn Cole, and his longtime law partner, Henry Hinds, track Liquida, not knowing that their quest will carry them deep into the vortex of international terror.  It is a journey that will lead them toward a bizarre and cruel twist of nature -- and the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.

Review:
I hadn't read any of Steve Martini's earlier novels, but it wasn't necessary to be familiar with his lead characters or to their previous escapades to fully immerse myself in his latest work, Trader of Secrets.

 Trader of Secrets opens deep into the action.  Madriani's private investigator and "muscle" has been attacked and is in critical care. His daughter is in hiding on a doberman training farm and Hinds is assigned to watch over her for her protection.  When Sarah is attacked, the lawyers become even more invested in finding the deadly killer Liquida.   Though amateurs - Madriani, Jocelyn Cole, and Henry Hinds - through skill, perseverance, and luck followed the notorious killer Liquida.   Madriani dive into dangerous situations knowing that they lose whether they chase after Liquida or not.  Their law practice has stopped and their clients are likely to report them for having abandoned their cases.  Madriani and his partners are waiting for Liquida to be captured or to find them, and each day causes further damage to their old lives, their professional lives.

Deeply motivated and unusually skilled - Madriani and his friends take on one of the most dangerous and skilled killers.  If you are partial to the old fashioned spy novels with trade craft, you're likely to particularly enjoy Trader of Secrets.

ISBN-10: 0061930237 - Hardcover $26.00
Publisher: William Morrow (May 31, 2011), 400 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author:
Steve Martini is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including The Rule of Nine, Guardian of Lies, Shadow of Power, and others featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani.  Martini has practiced law in California in both state and federal courts, and has served as an administrative law judge and supervising hearing officer. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.  Learn more at www.stevemartini.com