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.

This review is from the hardback edition.

Book Summary

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.