Books 18 & 19 of 26 -- The List & Critical Mass by Steve Martini

I am just plain cruising with muh reading. Steve Martini is mostly a good read and I am excited that I have found his books.

The latest book on muh list to read... is... The List.

In The List, Martini takes a break from his successful Madriani character and delves into the world of a female lawyer. The character has broader (no pun intended) ambitions and has delved into the world of writing. For reasons well spelled out in the book, she is critically successful, but not commercially. She writes a masterpiece of a novel and is forced to find someone to play the writer of the book in order for it to sell.

For the first 300 pages of 450, Martini meticulously lays out the reasons why this is necessary and shows us plenty of insight into the publishing world. You get the feeling that Martini harbors some anymosity at the way things are done, but in the long run, how pissed can he be when he lives it every single day ... on the successful side.

The story eventually delves into action and "terror" and that is when the book kicks into 8th gear to a pretty satisfying climax... much like a hot fudge sundae... mmmm...

This is an ideal summer, beach book...

Then I had the misfortune of reading... Critical Mass. This was far from one of his better reads and I am not sure if I can even recommend this for the beach as a throw away...



I was so disappointed with his book that I wasn't sure if I wanted to erad any more by him... but heck..the rest of his books feature a rturn to the Paul Madriani character... so... I am going to do it...

Next up... Steve Martini's The Attorney...


Next up... The Attorney... by Martini...