Just finished reading The Arraignment by Steve Martini. It was pretty good, but the ending ruined it for me. The Arraignment--never happened...kind of strange to have a title that covers just a small part of the book. Oh well, anyway, two men, one a lawyer are killed in a drive-by, right before the arraignment of the other man. Was it a murder of both men, only one, or was it random?
Paul Madriani, the main character, and also a lawyer, seeks to find out what happened to his friend, following the clues, while at the same time representing his friend's wife in an insurance claim.
The story moves along well and I enjoyed the character, Madriani; however, the resolution of what was happening was provided in a monlogue of ten pages, given as the book's epilogue. The old mandate, "show, don't tell," surely needed to be remembered. This book could have been really wonderful, if the author had moved most of the epilogue into the earlier chapters and had it as part of the action and suspense. Instead, everything that provided readers "completion" for the who and why behind the actions was thrown at us, almost as an afterthought. It became dull and boring just finishing the book...not something you like to have happened after you've been moving along ated a fast-actioned pace.
I've read Martini in the past--I was disappointed with The Arraignment...and disappointed by the author's closure to what was otherwise a good book!
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