The Legacy

A young black student is on trial for the murder of a hot-shot California senator. The student claims he is innocent, but all the evidence indicates otherwise. Joseph Antonelli leaves his Oregon law practice to put up a case for the defence. He soon discovers a world of deceit, betrayal and naked ambition.

Like Buffa's other legal thrillers starring Portland, Ore., attorney Joseph Antonelli (The Judgment, etc.), this one has a first-class premise: a U.S. senator has been shot and killed in his car in San Francisco, and a young black man, wounded by the police while apparently trying to escape the scene, is accused. Enter Antonelli, brought in by an elderly San Francisco lawyer who wants to help the boy for his own mysterious reasons. It soon becomes clear that because of the political implications the senator was a likely presidential candidate and the victim's local network of powerful friends and rivals, no one wants anything to do with the case. When a new acquaintance of Antonelli's, a former KGB man who says he has dynamite information on the senator's past, is blown up in his office, the stakes are dramatically raised. Taut, well-paced scenes of Antonelli in court and investigating the senator's death alternate with long, meandering passages describing outings with his brother, Bobby and a new woman in his life, the glamorous and enigmatic Marissa. In the end, the trial reaches an improbable conclusion, Antonelli reacts out of character, and the book's resolution comes out of nowhere in a plot twist that's more sleight of hand than organic to the tale. It's a disappointing windup to a book that offers some strong scenes and characterizations.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Buffa's three previous legal thrillers starring Portland, Oregon, defense lawyer Joseph Antonelli have all been popular successes, but they nevertheless have suffered from clunky, often preachy dialogue. He hits his stride this time with a much more polished effort in which Antonelli agrees to represent a black premed student accused of murdering a California senator. The accused was seen fleeing the scene with the senator's wallet in his hand and blood on his clothes. But Joe believes the young man's story: on a foggy San Francisco night, he heard a gunshot, went to help the victim, and then attempted to flee when he heard sirens. Once again Buffa builds a compelling, suspenseful story--Joe's investigation unveils widespread corruption and an elaborate cover-up--but this time he combines a strong plot with more character development and a striking portrayal of San Francisco, its corruption and its opulence, its beauty and its mystery. We see the city through Joe's eyes, an outsider trying to penetrate its striking facade. Mary Frances Wilkens
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