Melanie Vargas is preparing for her most high-profile case yet. As a federal prosecutor, she leaves no stone unturned and uses her gut instincts to put men like the soon-to-be-tried notorious rapper, Atari Briggs, behind bars where he belongs. It just so happens that his defense lawyer, Lester Poe, is more than Melanie's typical courtroom adversary. Although no personal lines have yet been crossed, the two have danced around the notion that perhaps a dalliance may be in their future. With her former lover, Dan O'Reilly, on the outs for the time being, Melanie is feeling drawn to Lester as she comes to grips with the potential finality of her relationship with Dan.
Just when it appears that Melanie may have found the break she needs to put the rapper behind bars, his lawyer is the victim of a car bomb. As the sole eye-witness, Melanie is torn in two trying to solve Lester's murder while solidly building her case against the infamous Briggs.
What Melanie doesn't expect is that her potential love interest was not all she had envisioned and like his nefarious client, Lester had also lived a life of duplicity. From discovering indiscriminate and somewhat questionable relationships to uncovering evidence that sheds an unfavorable light on the reputable lawyer she thought he was, Melanie's professional judgment is put to the test.
As she pieces together the connection of his torrid past to the trial at hand, Melanie's case is unexpectedly blown apart. Who can she really trust? And more importantly, was Lester Poe as evil as the cold-blooded killer he was defending? Or did someone set him up to take the fall?
NOTORIOUS is a fast-paced, tightly-written novel that adeptly captures the reader from the get-go. Martinez teases her audience with the sexual tension between Melanie and Dan, while she entices us to turn the pages as the two try to solve the case and perhaps rekindle their former flame. From the courtroom to the streets, Martinez's skill as an author, coupled with her real world experience as a federal prosecutor, most definitely makes her latest novel ring true.
About to take a controversial rap star to trial for a past
crime, Melanie Vargas receives an important piece of
information from his lawyer. In full confidence, on the
steps of New York City's federal courthouse, he tells her
that his client may have had ties to a wanted fugitive.
Moments later, a powerful car bomb blows the man to pieces,
with Melanie only steps away.
As shocking as the murder is, it has other repercussions
for Melanie. Her relationship with the victim wasn't
strictly professional. While recovering from her breakup
with FBI Agent Dan O'Reilly, she had become attracted to
the charismatic lawyer. But after his death she realizes
that she knew very little about him--including the fact
that he was married.
Determined to find the killer, Melanie enters a dangerous
world of subterfuge and double-crosses, going as far as the
glittering lights of Vegas to discover the truth. But the
more she digs, the more she finds troubling about her old
friend. More than one person had the motive to end his life.
Meanwhile, the rapper's defense has been taken over by the
slickest shark in the business, a man of questionable
morals who may have had previous unlawful dealings with his
client. But the outcome of the case isn't the only thing on
the line. As the sole witness to the murder, Melanie is in
danger of losing her own life. It isn't long before she
realizes that she can't trust anybody, not even those
closest to her.
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