Customer Reviews

The Prosecution

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

D. Buffa's book, "The Defense" was outstanding, as is "The Prosecution". I like his writing style. There's not an "F" word in every paragraph, and he seems not to waste a sentence. It's fiction, and the shortcomings I overlooked. This guy is a good writer, and has my attention.

D. W. Buffa's 1997 debut, the critically acclaimed THE DEFENSE, introduced Joseph Antonelli, a brilliant, arrogant defense attorney driven to win at all costs. In that novel, Antonelli summed up his legal career by saying, "I never lost a case I should have one, and I won nearly all the cases I should have lost." Antonelli rode high until his mentor, Judge Leopold Rifkin, asked him to defend Johnny Morel, a loathsome man charged with raping his twelve-year-old stepdaughter. Although he knew Morel was unquestionably guilty, Antonelli nevertheless used his legal prowess to win an acquittal. Morel and his ex-wife were later killed, and Judge Rifkin was wrongfully accused of the murders. Emotionally involved in a case to an unprecedented degree, Antonelli suborned a witness to clear the Judge. Rifkin walked out of court a free man, but later committed suicide. Besides losing his best friend, Antonelli later discovered he had been manipulated from the start, a pawn in a much larger game.

As THE PROSECUTION begins, Antonelli has been retired from the practice of law for over a year. Depressed by his perceived failure to save Rifkin, he spends his days studying philosophical texts the Judge willed him, emerging from his self-imposed exile only to visit close friends like Judge Horace Woolner and his wife Alma. Antonelli reluctantly returns to the law when Woolner, reacting to evidence that assistant DA Marshall Goodwin may have hired a hitman to kill his wife, convinces him to act in the capacity of special prosecutor. Satisfying himself that Goodwin is guilty, Antonelli relentlessly pursues and secures a conviction against the apparently sociopathic assistant DA, reestablishing himself as a major player in his profession. Flushed with victory, Antonelli resumes his practice.

Things, however, are not as clear cut as they seem. First, Antonelli receives information that casts doubt on Goodwin's guilt. Then, he is distracted by a new case when Alma Woolner is accused of killing socialite Russell Gray, with whom she was rumored to be having an affair. As the stakes increase, Antonelli again finds himself at the center of intrigue, forced to question his own loyalty, morals, and profession; his search for the truth will either destroy him or set him free.

At 277 pages, THE PROSECUTION is somewhat lean, but still substantial. Having considered questions of law from one side of the courtroom in THE DEFENSE, Buffa turns the tables, using Antonelli's change in perspective to examine complex issues of law and morality. There's no skimping on drama, however--numerous plot twists keep Antonelli and readers guessing until the book's bittersweet finale.

Buffa's clean, straightforward prose, and "damn-the-torpedoes" style of storytelling combine to create a vivid tale with a high degree of immediacy. The story is also well served by Antonelli's first person narrtion. Because of his extreme candor, it's easy to sympathize with his personal and professional struggles. Although extraordinarily intelligent, he's human and makes mistakes. Although he usually wins, his victories have their costs.

Cynical and knowing, yet idealistic and hopeful, THE PROSECUTION poses many difficult questions. Unfortunately, as Joseph Antonelli's experiences ultimately reveal, there are no easy answers to these questions, just shades of the truth.

This genre is generally braindead, but D.W. Buffa's "The Prosecution" makes the best of a bad hand by playing up the full intensity of courtroom drama, making the events and consequences of a criminal trial alive and threatening to the reader.

While throughout the book intensity is banked by the character's inherent stability and need for clear-cut mandates, during the trial sequences we see the traditional murder mystery hero trade dodging bullets and fisticuffs for outwitting a number of traps only obvious to those who spend time in courtrooms. In this the book comes alive.

The rest is fairly predictable, but executed with good editing (tight text) and reasonable expectation transferred to the reader. Characters outside the main three are mostly plastic stick figures who wander by and wave plot objects, and the frame-of-focus of the lead character limits scenery, background, setting to minimalist devices. Despite these genre-limitations, however, this book remains an entertaining read.

Warning: politics of racial pity afoot in choice of characters and dilemmas. It wasn't to my taste. Black people don't need pity, and white people don't need to get caught up in giving pity to others and being morosely self-critical.

Buffa is a terrific writer and this book, the second in a series, is a great read. I really enjoy the characters in these novels and through the authors skill, I felt close to them and cared about them. Grisham wishes he could write this well. Don't read this book until you have read the author's "Defense" novel. You'll understand this one much better after the complete setup that occurs in that book. I read this book and then turned around and read it through again. I don't believe I've ever done that before. Enjoyed it both times.

I am the Dutch translator of Buffa's DEFENSE and today I will start on THE PROSECUTION. Buffa tells a very good story in a very easy, relaxed style. I like it better than some other legal thrillers. My only problem with The Prosecution is that it consists in fact of two stories. In my opnion it would have been better to make the first one longer and use the second, where Alma Woolner is accused of murder, for a third book. But once again: good story. A reader who did enjoy THe defense won't be dissapointed by the sequel.

If you like legal thrillers set in courtrooms, then who better to read than an author who has been a defense attorney for ten years. Buffa isn't your run-of-the-mill attorney turned author. His characters are a step above the rest and his storylines keep you guessing. While reading his books, you are as unsure of a guilty/not guilty verdict as are the attorneys prosecuting and defending the cases.

In this book, Joe Antonelli, who was a defense attorney in Buffa's first novel "The Defense", resurfaces -- this time as a prosecuting attorney. Those of us who left Joe off, after reading The Defense, weren't sure if he would ever return to practicing law. He was so disenchanted by the events surrounding his last case, that he went into retirement. Fortunately for the reader, he is convinced to reenter the courtroom by another mentor and friend, Judge Horace Woolner. Since this case is so close to home for the Portland D.A.'s office, Antonelli is brought in as a special prosecutor. It turns out that Woolner has received information that could implicate the city's deputy district attorney in his own wife's death. Up until the verdict is given by the jury, you're not sure which way it's going to go. Of course, you'll have to read the book to witness one of the best legal minds out there today.

And, just when you think that this one case may just put Joe over the edge again, he is asked to defend Horace's wife who has now been arrested in connection with the death of a member of a prominent Portland family, who also happens to be her "good" friend.

Buffa gives us two mysteries in one in The Prosecution. I read his first book The Defense a few years ago and was immediately drawn to the main character Joe Antonelli. He's ruthless yet sensitive, educated but not overbearing and very, very vulnerable at this point in his life. I look forward to entering the courtroom once again with Joe Antonelli in the future. If I could give him one piece of advice, after reading these two books, it would be to pick better mentors and friends!!!

"The Defense," by the same author, was riveting, and "The Prosecution" has some of the same qualitites that made the former book so engrossing. Joe Antonelli is a fine protagonist and the book has sharp dialogue and a brisk pace. The problem is the last quarter of the book. The resolutions to the crimes are too convoluted and unrealistic. In an attempt to keep the reader off balance, the author throws in too many twists and turns. He is game playing, which does not make for good plotting. Buffa should have reduced some of the plot complications at the end, and he should have attempted to make the characters' motivations and actions more realistic. This book had the potential to be first rate, but it missed because of the over-the-top ending.

It's a real shame that a few inconsistencies and a tendency to hurry on the part of the author end up destroying an otherwise pretty decent courtroom mystery. From the beginning you will note Buffa's writing style lean towards a militaristic editing hand. Only Buffa manages to knock out huge swaths of plot that would be imperative in supporting this novel. Its very frustrating to leap twice in one book from a murder suspect being apprehended to a trial with what feels like no more than a couple of days passing meantime. Of course it should take months and months to reach the trial point with endless investigation along the way. Not here. Secondly, Joseph (the protagonist) is presented to us as the penultimate lawyer. But it does not come across that he is so here. Instead not once, but twice he wins his case on unsupported writing via Buffa's hand. I mean, when you read this... if you do, think about Christine's testimony in court that sends Goodwin away. Why did she testify? There was no need whatsoever.

Beyond all of my bellyaching, there is a lot to like about Buffa. His characters are enjoyable to read and the story, regardless of all of its flaws, is fun to read and is unusual. I would try my hardest if we were in the same room to stop you from picking up this book and wasting your time. I think that Buffa might have an interesting book in him. It is just that this is not it.

I love mystery and court room drama. I did not like this book. I struggled through the first half, and I did not finish as I felt as if I were forcing myself to read. The story line seemed good and the characters often seemed promising, but the result was never delivered. The book seemed too slow paced due to the "sage" advice of another character to the main character, Antonelli. Why this was meandering from a side character was needed when Antonelli had been a lawyer for years, is beyond me. I would not pick up another book by this author again. My title says it all - very disappointing.

Buffa brings his excellent writing (and legal) skills to two mysteries here.

Both involve couples. In the first, his hero Joseph Antonelli prosecutes (hence the title)--a first, for him. In the second, Antonelli goes back to his forte, defense.

The two crimes are linked by more than just Antonelli, though. They are linked by his friend Judge Woolner, and (more important) by the theme of True Justice.

In the end, true justice is done (or is it?), but Antonelli realizes his ferocious prowess as an attorney has caused all kinds of deceptions and suffering--and has failed.

This is all part of Buffa's very sly method. He deals in character and ambiguity as much as justice.

A terrific novel.