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.
Just moments after a confidential
discussion on the courthouse steps with federal prosecutor
Melanie Vargas, the lawyer for a notorious rap star is blown
to pieces. Melanie heard the man's last words . . . Melanie
witnessed his death . . . Melanie saw the face of his
killer.
On the eve of a murder trial,
the lawyer for a famous rapper reveals that his client wants
to sing for real—to turn state's evidence and give up a much
bigger fish. Then a car bomb rips the lawyer apart. Though
Melanie's relationship with the murdered man had once been
more than professional, she realizes she knew very little
about him. Now determined to hunt down his killer, she's
entering a dangerous world of terror, subterfuge, and
double-cross, and heading deeper into harm's way than she's
ever been. Because Melanie Vargas was the sole witness to a
heinous and horrible crime with wide and frightening
implications . . . and she cannot be allowed to live.