The Rule of Nine

In Martini's nail-biting 11th Paul Madriani thriller, the California lawyer once again crosses paths with hired assassin Liquida Muerte (aka the Mexicutioner), whose enmity he earned in the previous book, Guardian of Lies (2009). Bent on revenge, Liquida makes a clumsy attempt to implicate Madriani in the death of Jimmie Snyder, a 23-year-old congressional gofer. Meanwhile, a terrorist mastermind known only as Thorn, backed by unlimited funds, is plotting a horrific attack on the U.S. Thorn's use of Liquida as a tool draws Madriani's attention. Against a fast-moving backdrop of technical wizardry, geopolitical maneuverings, and narrow escapes, Madriani and his firm's investigator, Herman Diggs, pursue Thorn in order to locate Liquida. And Liquida, when not dispatching others for Thorn, is determined to eliminate Madriani; his daughter, Sarah; and his colleagues. Martini does a fine job of misdirecting the reader as to the intended terrorist target. 7-city author tour. (June)