Novelist Draws On Her Experiences As Prosecutor by Michele Martinez (NAPSA)—Anybody who’s been a prosecutor or a cop in a big city has “war stories”—stuff that most people don’t know, would never see | and might not even : believe if they heard about it. Someof it is troubling, someofit totally hilarious but it all falls into the category of “you can’t makethis stuff up.” We] Martinez i USPENSE Like Melanie Var- gas, the main char- acter in my novels, I had the privilege of serving as a federal prosecutor in New York City. For eight years, I was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, which covers some of the most drug- and gang-infested areas of Brooklyn and Queens. I had jurisdiction over the biggest narcotics organizations in the world. I’m talking about Mexican cocaine cartels loading forty or fifty million dollars of cash at a time into tractor trailers to send back across the border and Burmese warlords controlling hundredsof kilos of heroin hidden in seemingly innocent shipments of goods from SoutheastAsia. Now, I write about thefictional adventures of Melanie Vargas. In my latest book, “Notorious” (William Morrow), Vargas is about to bring a famousrap starto trial for murder when she becomes the sole witness to the murderof his lawyer. Her career and her safety are on theline, but so is her heart. Her relationship with the charismatic defense lawyer was more than strictly professional. Determined to hunt down his killer, she finds herself in a dan- gerous world of subterfuge and double crosses. As she zeros in on the answer, she finds she can’t trust anybody—not even those closest to her. New York Times best selling author Lisa Gardner described “Notorious” as “taut and edgy,” and taking “the reader on a wild ride through high-powered law firms, bullet-riddled drug dens and the darker corners of the humanheart.” Publishers Weekly called it “exciting” and “engaging.” USA Today called previous books in the series “smart and gritty,” while the New York Daily News said mythrillers “hit the spot” and “offer a fun-filled ride.” For more information, visit my Website at www.michelemartinez. com. Martinez is a graduate of Harvard University and Stanford Law School. She worked at a prestigious Manhattan law firm before becoming a federal prosecutor. Now a mother of two, Martinez lives in New Hampshire.
