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Melanie Vargas is an assistant U.S. District Attorney in New York City. Her professional star is on the rise even as her personal life descends into chaos. She is busy juggling legal and familial duties, complicated by the fact that she and her husband are separated. Vargas gets the assignment of a lifetime when she steps into a murder investigation in which the victim is a prominent New York attorney. Vargas aggressively pursues leads on her own but is hampered by office politics (an aside, here --- Martinez's description of office politics, particularly on the Federal level, is so dead-on accurate that underlined passages of MOST WANTED are without question being clandestinely circulated around more than one water cooler in Manhattan).
Fortunately, Vargas is paired up with Dan O'Reilly, a streetwise FBI agent whose extensive contacts stretch up and down both sides of the street. O'Reilly makes Vargas's professional duties much easier but complicates her personal life. The mutual attraction is undeniable. Vargas, however, continues to have feelings for her husband, notwithstanding the infidelity that led to their separation. Martinez does a nice job of balancing the different stressors in Vargas's life so that the narrative never seems too overbalanced one way or the other. Just as MOST WANTED seems to lurch with both feet into soap opera territory, Martinez shifts the focus back to the gritty reality of the investigation.
And what an investigation it is. Vargas, with yeoman's assistance from O'Reilly, continues kicking over rocks and soon uncovers a scandal that reaches into the office of the U.S. Attorney itself. Vargas doesn't realize, however, that her efforts have attracted the attention of the wrong people. As a result she has placed not only herself but also those she loves the most in terrible danger.
While Vargas's professional life is a bit more exciting than your average assistant U.S. attorney, Martinez infuses her criminals, and the damage they wrought, with a gritty realism that isn't soon forgotten. Vargas's personal life rings true, and the problems she faces as a working parent will undoubtedly evoke sympathetic head-nods from many readers, particularly those of the female persuasion.
There are just enough unresolved issues revolving around Vargas at the conclusion of MOST WANTED to have readers highly anticipating the next book in the series. Martinez's considerable storytelling abilities make such a book one to be welcomed. It should be noted that Martinez fought the good fight for several years, working as an assistant U.S. Attorney in New York City. Some of her experiences, anecdotal or otherwise, undoubtedly contributed to MOST WANTED, making it an excellent debut novel. Recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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