‘The Rule of Nine’ by Steve Martini

When we last left defense attorney Paul Madriani, he had helped stop an aging, Soviet-made atomic bomb from going off at the naval base in the Coronado section of San Diego.

His bravery was one of the highlights of last year's “Guardian of Lies” by Steve Martini. It was a scintillating story that had a coulda-really-happened feel to it.

Martini’s follow-up novel, “The Rule of Nine,” is thrilling but doesn’t quite have the same punch as “Guardian of Lies.” Maybe it’s because the story drifts between too many characters. Maybe it’s because the doomsday scenario — a thermobaric bomb going off at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. — doesn’t seem as plausible. Maybe the key antagonist — an aging ’60s radical named the Old Weatherman — isn’t as villainous as foreign terrorists or drug cartels or communists.

Whatever the reason is, “The Rule of Nine” is missing a certain (perhaps heroic?) flavor, a taste that came with past Martini stories.
Nevertheless, this story is still an action-packed page turner that is quite timely, with the Supreme Court recently welcoming its new justice, Elena Kagan. “The Rule of Nine,” of course, refers to the nine members of the Supreme Court, a very influential bunch, to say the least.

“The court was the only real agent for permanent and lasting change,” writes Martini. “Its members were immune from the whimsy of voters and the restraints of the ballot box. … A long-term change in the political balance of the court was tantamount to a revolution.”

The Old Weatherman realizes this and basically wants a revolution by eliminating the entire court while it’s in session. He hatches a plot
to acquire a thermobaric bomb — “a step down from a nuclear device” says an Army colonel — and unleash it over Washington by an airplane.

Meanwhile, Madriani and his law partner Harry Hinds are still dealing with the fallout of the Coronado bomb scare. He is threatened by the federal government to keep quiet about the event. But Joselyn Cole, a weapons control expert, comes into Madriani’s life and wants him to go public with his story to prevent a similar event from happening in the future.

The mysterious Mexican assassin named Liquida then enters the fray. He played a major role in the Coronado incident, and he’s unhappy that he was thwarted. He seeks revenge and targets Madriani and his family. And he also has a role in the Supreme Court plot.

Madriani and Cole eventually learn about the Old Weatherman’s plans, and they join forces to try and stop him. If they can find him. If they can get help. If they can keep Liquida off their backs.

Despite its drawbacks, “The Rule of Nine” will please readers who like to see gavel-to-gavel coverage of a case with lots of politics and
terror.