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    Double Tap
    Double Tap
    Double Tap
    Audiobook (abridged)4 hours

    Double Tap

    Written by Steve Martini

    Narrated by Joe Mantegna

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Attorney Paul Madriani defends a soldier on trial for murder and unwittingly steps into a maze of secrets and lies that the government -- and even his client -- would rather leave undisturbed.
    Madriani is faced with arcane ballistics evidence, a so-called "double tap" -- two bullet wounds tightly grouped to a victim's head, shots that can only be made by a crack marksman. Madriani's client is an enigma, a career soldier who refuses to talk about his past. The victim was an alluring businesswoman and software tycoon whose empire catered to the military. The case's most damning evidence is the weapon that killed her: a handgun used only in special operations where the "double tap" is the trademark of the most skilled assassins.
    Madriani faces a wilderness of mirrors in a courtroom battle where every witness can hide behind "national security," where information is power and digital information is absolute power. It is a war in which the scales of justice are being tipped by evasion, deceit -- and murder. Finding the unvarnished truth has never been so elusive -- or so dangerous.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJul 26, 2005
    ISBN9780743551649
    Double Tap
    Author

    Steve Martini

    Steve Martini is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including The Enemy Inside, Trader of Secrets, The Rule of Nine, Guardian of Lies, Shadow of Power, Double Tap, and others featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani. Martini has practiced law in California in both state and federal courts and has served as an administrative law judge and supervising hearing officer. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

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    Reviews for Double Tap

    3.5/5

    137 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Excellent story and narration. This was abridged down to 5 hours, and I thought that the pacing was excellent. The main character (our hero the defence lawyer) has depth of character and family history leaking through plot line.

      I liked it and will search out for more titles from this author.
    • 4/5
      A little slow to start and somewhat difficult to get into, but very good once it got going. I hadn't read a Paul Madriani mystery in a while and forgot how much I like the character. Not much action and a lot of lawyering, but it worked.
    • 4/5
      Double Tap is a light and easy read by Steve Martini. It contains action, suspense and personal connections. I found the audio enjoyable and the narration was well done. The information on data mining, training for fast action shooting in the military and security measures was interesting. The book was well named. I will definitely continue to read Martini’s books and give it a 3.5 stars.
    • 4/5
      In Double Tap, attorney Paul Madriani represents a former Delta Force operative, Emiliano Ruiz, being accused of murder of a CEO of a high tech company. The CEO is a beautiful woman who he had an affair with, and her company develops software for the government. This software is being used by the government in an anti-terrorist effort. It does so by cyber snooping on anyone who goes on government websites. She was killed by two bullets delivered in double tap fashion, something that only a highly capable marksman like Ruiz would be capable of delivering.I liked how prescient this novel was, going into areas like the government illegally snooping on private citizens, which has been in the news in recent days with the NSA scandal. Even though I’m not a big conspiracy theorist, the ones in this novel were right on the money. As far as legal thrillers go, this was well done. The client was behind the eight ball throughout the case, as the evidence stacked against him was pretty hard to overcome. Madriani showed good legal acumen as he navigated through the case. Ruiz comes off as sympathetic because it is pretty clear to the reader that he didn’t commit the murder and has a strong ethical code. This is one of the better legal thrillers I have read and would recommend it.Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
    • 5/5
      An incredible read! I can't believe it took me so long to read this title. It's a 2005 copyright that could still be "today's topic" in so many ways. If you missed it too, don't wait any longer.
    • 4/5
      A tense courtroom drama. Kept me turning pages.
    • 3/5
      Paul Madriani's defense of a soldier on trial for murder-and the explosive government secrets it could reveal-propel Steve Martini's latest thriller. Now Madriani is faced with daunting ballistics evidence: a so-called "double tap"-two bullet wounds tightly grouped in the victim's head, shots that could have been made only by a crack marksman. Paul's client, Emiliano Ruiz, is an enigma-a career soldier who refuses to discuss his past though it is clear that he is a battle-tested pro. Ruiz is accused of killing a beautiful businesswoman and guru of a high-tech software empire catering to the military. A key to the case: the murder weapon is one used solely in special operations, where the "double tap" has become the signature of the most skilled assassins. Ruiz is sitting on secrets-there's a seven-year gap on his military résumé, for which Madriani can find no details. And, more troubling, he discovers that the victim and her company were involved in a controversial government computer program designed to combat terrorists. Madriani finds himself in a deadly legal quagmire-with a client who is unwilling to cooperate and prosecutors who stonewall his every question about the victim's shadowy business and his client's past. Finding justice, and the unvarnished truth, has never been so elusive-or so dangerous.
    • 2/5
      Politics and murder. The detective depended on a deus ex machina in the form of an email disclosed in discovery at the last minute; he didn't seem to have deduced the killer before then, but I only read the first and last sections, as I did not care for the steamy parts.There were some good court scenes (author is a lawyer?), but the denouement wrapped up too quickly and featured some really stupid moves by the protagonist, i.e., going out alone knowing the villain was gunning for him.
    • 3/5
      Legal thriller. Political basis in legislator's corruption, federal espionage, and corporate complicity. Gratuitous sex scenes. Court-room drama; special forces antics.
    • 5/5
      A CEO of a Fortune 500 company is shot in her beach front home in La Jolla, California. Her former personal executive security guard (Ruiz) is arrested, charged with the murder and is facing the death penalty. Attorney Paul Madriani is retained to represent Ruiz by a foundation established to assist veterans with legal woes.Madriani has his work cut out.Ruiz has spent his adult life in the employ of the U.S. military. He has a seven year gap in his resume and his is not willing to explain it to his attorney.The CEO ran a company that has as a major customer, the US government.The deputy district attorney assigned to prosecute Ruiz is a charismatic vertically challenged man, with a prefect record in capital cases.The story moves fast. It has twists and turns that are logical on reflection - thus not annoying . . . and it is timely, fresh from the real world.
    • 5/5
      "Double Tap" was my first exposure to Steve Martini and his defense-attorney protagonist Paul Madriani. I enjoyed this story immensely, both for its tight, realistic plot line and the high quality of the writing. Martini's work, it seems, has found the sweet spot in the legal thriller genre, midway between Grisham's breezy, over-the-top scenarios and Turow's high-density realism. The story itself revolves around the murder of a high-flying female CEO, Madelyn Chapman, and Madriani's defense of the victim's former bodyguard, Emiliano Ruiz. All of the evidence, almost too neatly, points in Ruiz's direction, suggesting a classic frame-up. Complicating matters for Madriani are Ruiz's secretive demeanor, a brilliant prosecutor who takes every advantage of his diminutive physical stature in court, and difficulty penetrating the proprietary goings-on at Madelyn's company (a software vendor to the Department of Defense). Unlike many thrillers, where actual trial time is a scarce commodity, the bulk of this novel describes the clever courtroom jousting between Madriani and the prosecutor. As a lawyer, I appreciated the accuracy of the legal procedures and points of law. And as a thriller lover, I appreciated the page-flipping suspense as well as the political angle involving Government intrusions on citizens' privacy. A final plot twist, after a suitable climax had been realized, struck me a bit contrived and superfluous, although these devices have come to be almost required in the genre these days. As a whole, this was many notches above the typical courtroom thriller, leaving me echoing the sentiment expressed by one of the characters at the end of the book: "If I ever get in trouble, I want [Madriani] for a lawyer." -Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"