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Surfing the Panther: Paul Madriani vs. Alexandra Cooper
In this short story from the New York Times bestselling thriller anthology FaceOff, Linda Fairstein and Steve Martini—along with their popular series characters Alex Cooper and Paul Madriani—team up for the first time ever.
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.
Cooper and Madriani’s meeting with the source will lead them into the thick of a global conspiracy that reaches to the highest echelons of power—and ultimately, justice will be done.
For more exciting pairs, check out all eleven short stories in FaceOff!
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.
Cooper and Madriani’s meeting with the source will lead them into the thick of a global conspiracy that reaches to the highest echelons of power—and ultimately, justice will be done.
For more exciting pairs, check out all eleven short stories in FaceOff!
37 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2015
59 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Steve Martini
96 books695 followersSteven Paul "Steve" Martini is an American writer of legal novels.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 8, 2018
Too fast a story. didn't really get a feel for how they worked together.
April 16, 2025
Another individual story from the anthology “Face Off” edited by David Baldacci. A clever short story deliberately bringing two characters together by fusing the literary worlds of authors Steve Martini and Linda Fairstein.
Perfect for fans of these writers and devotees of their legal protagonists, Paul Madriani and Alexandra Cooper. Distinct characters in their own fictional environments and followed by thousands of loyal readers in their respective series.
For me these are both new authors and I was unfamiliar with these two advocates but I love a good courtroom drama. However, the background story to this story that combines these two legal minds is cleverly plotted to make a credible mystery and tense thriller. This allowed for the arguments to be made and a subsequent verdict given.
I enjoyed reading this case and the pressures made to affect the outcome of the trial. I was a little disappointed at how easily these individuals were manipulated and surprised, albeit under time constraints that some personal research wasn’t undertaken. Yet we are more forgiving in this shortened format and the ending brought some resolution allowing no lasting angst and a brief smile.
Perfect for fans of these writers and devotees of their legal protagonists, Paul Madriani and Alexandra Cooper. Distinct characters in their own fictional environments and followed by thousands of loyal readers in their respective series.
For me these are both new authors and I was unfamiliar with these two advocates but I love a good courtroom drama. However, the background story to this story that combines these two legal minds is cleverly plotted to make a credible mystery and tense thriller. This allowed for the arguments to be made and a subsequent verdict given.
I enjoyed reading this case and the pressures made to affect the outcome of the trial. I was a little disappointed at how easily these individuals were manipulated and surprised, albeit under time constraints that some personal research wasn’t undertaken. Yet we are more forgiving in this shortened format and the ending brought some resolution allowing no lasting angst and a brief smile.
February 21, 2019
Assistant DA Alexandra Cooper and LA criminal defense attorney Paul Madriani is paired together on a legal conference panel. They butt head. After the panel, an audience member claims to know something about Madriani's real-life case.
I love the sparring. Back and forth. Spirited. Then after the panel, Benghazi is mentioned. That had my attention since it had been in the news--claims that Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration attempted a cover-up. If you like court drama, then this one's for you.
I love the sparring. Back and forth. Spirited. Then after the panel, Benghazi is mentioned. That had my attention since it had been in the news--claims that Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration attempted a cover-up. If you like court drama, then this one's for you.
June 4, 2019
Author Linda Fairstein:
This author used to be a prosecutor in NY. She was a part of pushing for charges against The Central Park Five.
She still insists they are guilty after the city had to pay them $41 million dollars for malicious and wrongful prosecution.
This author is a nasty racist bitch and doesn't deserve to have a publishing contract.
https://www.newsweek.com/who-linda-fa...
https://thegrio.com/2019/06/03/centra...
https://youtu.be/u3F9n_smGWY
This author used to be a prosecutor in NY. She was a part of pushing for charges against The Central Park Five.
She still insists they are guilty after the city had to pay them $41 million dollars for malicious and wrongful prosecution.
This author is a nasty racist bitch and doesn't deserve to have a publishing contract.
https://www.newsweek.com/who-linda-fa...
https://thegrio.com/2019/06/03/centra...
https://youtu.be/u3F9n_smGWY
April 29, 2019
Not sure how I feel about this story. Too much detail and drama about the plot for such a short story. The main characters didn't quite gel, and the secondary characters almost had more of a major role. Having previously read Fairstein's Alexander Cooper mysteries, I was looking forward to this short faceoff, but it did not satisfy.
January 19, 2020
I have never read Martini before and read two Fairstein books, one non-fiction (brilliant)m and one Cooper book (Meh) this was therefore a short story with largely unknown characters to me, it was OK but nothing memorable.
Face Off #5
Face Off #5
August 16, 2021
For a short story, this had an amazing amount of history and contemporary issues for creating an interesting story, add in two excellent detectives and the story takes on twists and turns with a satisfying conclusion.
February 18, 2018
Linda Fairstein's Alex Cooper and Steve Martini's Madriani team up in a short story. Surfing the Panther has a twist that you might see coming but a good story.
Read
June 11, 2021Not too bad.
September 3, 2023
When they see us
December 10, 2024
global conspiracy Nope, not for me. Kristi & Abby Tabby
March 10, 2017
Not real crazy about it but it was okay. It was such a short story that it couldn't get too detailed. It did have a surprise ending.
January 4, 2017
Excellent!
May 4, 2015
It's Paul Madriani. Need I say more?
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews