Paul Madriani Books in Order: How to read Steve Martini’s series?

A legal book series written by author Steve Martini, the Paul Madriani series is about a defense attorney based in San Diego, California. Madriani finds himself entangled in complex legal cases involving high-stakes litigation, political intrigue, and personal danger.

How to Read the Paul Madriani Series in Order?

Every entry in the Paul Madriani book series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.

1. Compelling Evidence – Defense attorney Paul Madriani was on the rise with the California law firm of Potter, Skarpellos—until a short-lived affair with Potter’s wife, Talia, cost him his job. A year later, when Talia is accused of Potter’s murder Paul is thrust back into the big time—and he soon uncovers secrets that may end his career…and his life.
2. Prime Witness – It started with a series of bizarre double murders. It led to the arrest of one prime suspect. And it sparked the most explosive trial in a lawyer’s career. Paul Madriani knows that the man he’s persecuting is guilty. But one disturbing fact could destroy the case . . . He may not be the only killer.
3. Undue Influence – Defense attorney Paul Madriani is mired in a complex web of intrigue and murder when the sister of his late wife, embroiled in a bitter custody battle with her former husband, becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her ex-husband and his new young wife.

4. The Judge – When Judge Armando Acosta is charged with soliciting a prostitute, attorney Paul Madriani is less than sympathetic. Nevertheless, Madriani is forced to defend his old nemesis. And when the policewoman who snared Acosta is brutally murdered, Madriani wonders if the judge is also the executioner. 
5. The Attorney – A drug-addicted mother is pitted against her daughter’s newly rich grandfather in a contentious custody case that leads to criminal accusations—and ultimately murder…
6. The Jury – Paul Madriani has ample reason to suspect he’s representing a guilty man. Dr. David Crone, a respected medical researcher and principal in mapping the human genome, is charged with the murder of a young colleague: twenty-six-year-old Kalista Jordan, an African-American research physician whose body washed up on a beach in San Diego Bay. Forensic evidence links her murder with material in Crone’s garage. However, when a key witness for the prosecution dies unexpectedly, leaving an incriminating note behind, Crone’s innocence seems confirmed–until Madriani hits upon a potentially damning loose end.

7. The Arraignment – Madriani goes into uncharted territory—into the minds of men whose murderous greed knows no bounds…and onto the front lines of the South American drug war.
8. Double Tap – A beautiful businesswoman, founder of a high-tech software company catering to the military, is found dead, two tightly grouped bullet wounds to her head—a “double tap,” the trademark of highly skilled assassins. Paul Madriani takes the case of the man accused of the crime: a career soldier who refuses to explain the mysterious gaps in his military résumé. Faced with an uncooperative client, Madriani begins a dangerous search for the truth—in the soldier’s shadowy past, in the victim’s deadly secrets… 
9. Shadow of Power – Controversial law professor Terry Scarborough rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. With the publication of his new book—which claimed that the U.S. Constitution and some lost writings of Thomas Jefferson supported racial discrimination—he only added fuel to the fire. When he’s found beaten to death in a San Diego hotel room and a young man with connections to neo-Nazis is charged with first-degree murder, defense attorney Paul Madriani eagerly signs on to the case. 

10. Guardian of Lies – Defense attorney Paul Madriani is caught in a web of deceit and murder involving Cold War secrets, a rare coin dealer who once worked for the CIA, and a furious assassin…
11. The Rule of Nine – Defense attorney Paul Madriani is on the trail of a dangerous extremist who’s hellbent on destroying the entire Supreme Court with one deadly stroke. 
12. Trader of Secrets – Paul Madriani is on the trail of dangerous criminals who are trying to steal state-of-the-art weapons technology…with nothing less than the future of America at stake.

• Paul Madriani vs. Alexandra Cooper (short story) – Written with Linda Fairstein. Paired together on a legal conference panel, Assistant Manhattan D.A. Alexandra Cooper and Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Paul Madriani butt heads over a hypothetical case. But Madriani—currently representing a defendant in the suspected murder of an L.A.-area madam—runs afoul of Coop within minutes over the issue of empathy for the victim, real or hypothetical. Still, after the panel there are no hard feelings and the two colleagues plan to enjoy a drink at one of Coop’s favorite New York City watering holes—that is, until they are approached by an audience member claiming to know something about Madriani’s real-life case that will exonerate his client.
• The Second Man (Novella) – Attorney Paul Madriani comes to the aid of a Navy SEAL who is pursued by his own government and facing possible prosecution for disclosures he says were made by others. When the soldier disappears, Paul finds himself ensnared in a deadly game of intrigue that forces him to track the man down before it is too late.

13. The Enemy Inside – One of the most successful lawyers in the country, Olinda Serna is a master at managing money as well as her influential clients. After years of fierce combat in the political trenches, Serna knows all the dirty secrets, where the bodies are buried, and how deeply they are stacked. When she’s killed in a roadside crash in the high desert of Southern California, powerful heads in Washington begin to panic, worried that their secrets may not be safe anymore.
14. Blood Flag – Paul Madriani and Harry Hinds have a new client: Emma Brauer, a woman accused in the “mercy killing” of her aged father, Robert Brauer. Insisting she’s innocent, Emma tells Paul about a package sent to her father shortly before he entered the hospital. Bequeathed to him by a member of his unit from World War II, the box contains a key and a slip of paper. Emma fears that this package is connected to her father’s death.
15. The Secret Partner – Defending a medical researcher accused of murdering a colleague raises one of the most difficult ethical questions attorney Paul Madriani has ever faced: how far should science go to find a cure for our most life-threatening diseases? When medical researcher Michael Givens is charged with the murder of a colleague he turns to Paul Madriani and Harry Hinds to defend him.

If you like the Paul Madriani reading order, you may also want to see our guide to David Baldacci’s books. Don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or Facebook to discover more book series.