His mother, Rita, was a housewife and homemaker, though in later years she worked extensively in the local library in San Gabriel, California.
Martini graduated from San Gabriel Mission Grammar School, San Gabriel High School and Pasadena City College before transferring to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1968 with a degree in Government (Political Science).
It was followed quickly by New York Times bestsellers Prime Witness, Undue Influence, The Judge, and The Attorney, each featuring the series character Madriani and his contrarian and irrepressible law partner, Harry Hinds.
Critical Mass, his next novel published in 1998, continued the departure from the courtroom as well as the Madriani series, though it involved a lawyer protagonist and was well within the legal-thriller genre.
Other novels by Martini include: The Jury, The Arraignment, Double Tap, Shadow of Power, Guardian of Lies, The Rule of Nine, and Trader of Secrets.
To date, two network mini-series have been produced and broadcast based on Martini's works, Undue Influence by CBS, and The Judge on NBC.
Steve Martini currently resides in northwest Washington state but spends much of his time in Latin America and Southeast Asia where he writes, travels and acquires research and color for future works.