The Prosecution: A Legal Thriller - Hardcover

Buffa, D. W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080506107X ISBN 13: 9780805061079

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 1999

Synopsis

From the best-selling author of The Defense, a spellbinding sequel.

It was a one-way ticket out of his self-imposed isolation and into the courtroom on the right side of justice. It was a favor for his old friend Judge Horace Woolner. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to serve as special prosecutor in a case against a man sworn to uphold the law, Marshall Goodwin, the chief deputy district attorney accused of having his former wife murdered. It was an opportunity Joseph Antonelli couldn't walk away from.

But Antonelli is walking into more than he bargained for. The Goodwin case renews his appetite for the practice of law, and although Antonelli is determined to remain on the side of justice, there are many shades between right and wrong. And Antonelli may be over his head when Russell Gray, an urbane, worldly, and wealthy man from a prominent Portland family, is found murdered in his living room. Horace Woolner's wife stands accused of the crime. With justice and love on the line, the stakes couldn't be higher. In this stunning look at our legal system and our hearts, D. W. Buffa delivers on the promise of The Defense and takes us into the dark recesses of our courtrooms and our souls, where there are no easy answers.

About this title

About the Author

D. W. Buffa completed a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Chicago and worked as a defense attorney for ten years. The author of The Defense, he now lives in Walnut Creek, California.

Reviews

Buffa's debut novel, The Defense, earned accolades for its multilayered plot, careful writing and philosophical musings about guilt and innocence. This sequel attempts to combine those same elements, with less satisfactory results. Once again, Portland's crackerjack defense attorney Joseph Antonelli is selected for a formidable taskAthis time, to act as special prosecutor investigating the murder of Nancy Goodwin, wife of Chief Deputy D.A. Marshall Goodwin. A grungy sociopath named Travis Quentin admits to having slashed Nancy's throat, but claims he was hired by Goodwin and his new wife, the "shapely and infinitely desirable" Assistant D.A. Kristin Maxfield. All Antonelli has to work with is the problematic Quentin's uncorroborated testimony; nevertheless, for reasons not entirely clear, Antonelli brings Goodwin to trial. Minutes after the verdict on Goodwin is revealed, Antonelli learns that Judge Horace Woolner's wife has been charged with the murder of her putative lover, the rich, sexually ambiguous and powerful Russell Gray. Antonelli automatically goes to bat for the accused woman, but Buffa hasn't developed the Goodwin plot sufficiently to abandon it just yet. Even if readers accept Antonelli's telephone-booth transformations from defense attorney to ethical hero/special prosecutor, they may be skeptical of the one-dimensional evil of everyone else in Portland's power circles and their unlikely off-the-record confabs with Antonelli. The many weaknesses in plot and character are not disguised by the pretentious, and sometimes downright silly, academic asides. Author tour. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In a sequel to Buffa's The Defense (1997), ace criminal lawyer Joe Antonelli, having quit his practice, returns in a pair of murder cases, first as a special prosecutor, then as a heavily conflicted defense attorney. After taking a year off to read Aristotle in the book-lined study of his former client and mentor, the late Judge Leopold Rifkin, Antonelli is teased by good buddy Judge Horace Woolner into prosecuting what appears to be a hopeless case. Popular, ever-so-charming district attorney Marshall Goodwin has been accused by convicted murderer Travis Quentin of paying for the rape-and-slash killing of Goodwin's wife, Nancy. There are no witnesses to corroborate Quentins story, though he remembers a beautiful femme fatale handing him a sealed envelope a few days before he did the deed. The envelope contained $10,000, which Quentin spent, and information about Nancy's whereabouts, which he burned. Antonelli pegs the femme fatale as Goodwin's new wife, fellow district attorney Kristin Maxfield, who in a private conversation admits having handed over the envelope, but then denies it when Antonelli has her testify before a grand jury. Buffa's cynical insights into the exigencies of the prosecutor's artthe need to believe that the accused is guilty, the urge to turn a trial into a grudge match with the defense lawyerbalance his largely routine courtroom scenes. Minutes after the first case is resolved, Antonelli volunteers to defend Alma Woolner, Horaces wife, who has just been accused of murdering bisexual society playboy Russell Gray, who may have been her lover. Antonelli tries to suppress his emotional ties to his two favorite people as he finds out more than he wants to know about their marriage. Heavily contrived, with convoluted prose that only a lawyer would love. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Buffa's second thriller, following the successful of The Defense (LJ 9/15/97), continues the story of attorney Joseph Antonelli. After a sabbatical, Antonelli is appointed special prosecutor in the murder-for-hire case involving the chief deputy district attorney. After that verdict is in, another case comes his way when a close friend's wife is accused of murder. The middle of the novel becomes a bit murky, with the two cases beginning to intertwine, but the story is rescued by a strong ending, something The Defense lacked. Both cases and their repercussions have a profound impact on Antonelli; even after the tentative resolutions, he continues to scrutinize his legal ability. Buffa again provides readers with a thorough look at the legal system from an insider's viewpoint and relates Antonelli's struggles with dynamic writing and well-rounded characterization. Essential for all public libraries and any library with a strong legal thriller clientele.
-ACecilia R. Cygnar, Niles P.L. Dist., IL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080506107X
• ISBN 13: 9780805061079
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256