There's an author --- I'm not going to name him, as it would serve no purpose --- who wrote a book of fiction over 10 years ago that was, and still is, a masterpiece. It was a tale of murder and suspense, of courtroom procedures and lawyers, and was on the bestseller lists for months and months. People who didn't ordinarily read books read this one and reread it. It was adapted into a film that was disappointing, if only because it had no hope of capturing the mood of the book upon which it was based. The author, for whatever reason, has been unable to even come close to matching the magic of that one novel. He followed up with other novels that were at best competent and at worst almost unreadable. It would be fair to say that his dwindling readership at this point is limited to those of us who keep picking up each new, sporadic release, hoping that somehow he will match the power of that earlier one.
Which brings us to D. W. Buffa. Buffa practiced law as a defense attorney in Portland, Oregon; he is apparently retired from that profession, choosing instead to write novels concerning Joseph Antonelli, a defense attorney who sees justice, and guilt, in terms of black and white. Buffa has not only captured the magic of the novel that I alluded to earlier (which he did not write) but also continues to sustain it. It is as if he picked up where the other author left off. And we are richer for it.
Buffa now resides in the Bay Area of Northern California. This, perhaps, accounts for the change of scenery in THE LEGACY, the fourth of Buffa's novels concerning Antonelli. THE LEGACY finds Buffa in San Francisco, defending a young man accused of shooting and killing Jeremy Fullerton, a United States senator, in the front seat of his car in an apparently random act of street violence. But the suspect is not some street punk with a revolving door, repeat offender history; he is a Berkeley pre-med student who is beating the odds and working his way through school. The case against Antonelli's client, however, seems airtight.
As Antonelli begins to investigate the circumstances of the Senator's life and death, he discovers that Fullerton, while enormously popular with the electorate, was an amoral, nihilistic opportunist who was loathed by almost everyone who came into contact with him. And that is only the beginning. Antonelli's investigation follows a trail that leads straight to the office of the governor of the state of California --- and perhaps beyond. When Antonelli begins asking questions, he attracts attention from individuals who will do anything to ensure that their secrets remain secret.
Buffa's forte has never been the intricacies of the mystery presented in each of his books. Experienced readers will be able to dope out "whodunit" a third of the way through THE LEGACY. That fact will not spoil or disturb their enjoyment of the book one bit, nor will it alter the compelling nature of the narrative. Buffa's ability to cast a spell through his storytelling is marvelous. In THE LEGACY, his ability to describe the city of San Francisco, it's inhabitants, and the inner workings of the city (without resorting to leaning on the more sordid elements found there) is amazing. He gets it so right and so on target that upon reading THE LEGACY one is tempted to drop everything and immediately travel there. And for a former native of The City, it is like reading an account about a former lover who, until that moment, you didn't realize you missed. Similarly, Buffa's descriptions of what occurs during the course of a trial, inside and outside of the courtroom, are quite simply without equal. For the layman, Buffa's account will be revealing and mesmerizing; for the litigator, it will recall their own experiences before the bench and in chambers.
The biggest mystery surrounding Buffa is why he has not achieved the commercial success equal to the critical acclaim he has received and so obviously deserves. Over a relatively short span of four novels, he has demonstrated that he cannot only play, but also stay, for as long as he chooses to. Any fan of literature of any genre who is not familiar with his work is needlessly depriving themselves.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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