Trial by Fire

Buffa is always good at characterization, and very good--even poetic--at description of place. He is also superb at moral ambiguity. Here he adds swiss-watch construction. As always, he does not just treat individual cases, but whole concepts-- global justice, retribution, the nature of relationships, media, the ability to know the truth. I saw the ending coming long before it came, but that did not lessen my appreciation for the beautiful symmetry of this book. Julian Sinclair expresses appreciation for "The Count of Monte Christo," and that old-fashioned sense of balance pervades the book. Still, it is right up to date in its sharp critique of Trial by Media and rushing to judgment. Great work.

The author gets the reader hooked through his in-depth descriptions of his characters, carrying you on a roller coaster of emotions from love, to hate, to respect. Then, just as you have the players all figured out, he drops a bombshell of an ending that has you rethinking your opinions of many of the characters. I can't wait for his next release.

D.W. Buffa's novels are always a read to be anticipated. His latest does not disappoint. In setting up his main character, Joseph Antonelli finds himself as a guest on one of those interminable cable news channel "talk" shows about topics of the day in which the host and some of the guests have a preordained point of view and then proceed to roast and belittle anyone who opposes it. On this show Antonelli and a young law profesor, Justin Sinclair are the roastees and their protestations that you cannot prejudge guilt or innocence based upon newspaper stories and rumors are treated like a pinata at a Mexican birthday party. Soon thereafter, Sinclair is charged with murdering one of the other guests on the show, Daphne McMillan. McMillan is a prosecutor and she is also married to a man, who as it turns out may have murdered his first wife and is more than capable of murdering Daphne. However, the circumstances of the murder, in Sinclair's home, her blood on his hands and evidence of a romantic relationship which she was ending lead the talk show types to convict Sinclair in advance and during the trial that follows, not even the great Joseph Antonelli can save him from being convicted. The retribution which follows the conviction is interesting and at times a bit fanciful, but Buffa never lets certain things stand in his way of telling a story and while some liberties are taken, the story suffers not at all. While the novel stands as an indictment of the cable mentality that infects this nation and much of the world, it is also first rate fiction written by an author who desrves all of the awards he has been given.

"Trial By Fire," by D. W. Buffa, New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2005. ISBN 0-399-15281-4- HC, 293 pp. & 9.25" x 6.25". The latest of 7 novels by experienced crime fiction author, DW Buffa, Esq., who writes with an assured, vigorous & winning style, expected qualities of a practicing successful courtroom defense attorney. Buffa again makes use of San Francisco criminal defense lawyer & protagonist Joseph Antonelli, junior member of lawfirm run by Albert Craven, friend. Reluctantly steered by Craven, Antonelli joins as panel guest on the TV Bryan Allen Show along with Daphne McMillan, ADA; Julian Sinclair, Law Prof. UC; & Paula Constable, societal Trial Attorney -- for a lively discussion on hearsay evidence suggesting a husband had butchered his young wife -- a TV spectacle when even a trial date had not been set! Antonelli & Sinclair voice feverent oppostiion to the thrust of TV panel indictments & are dismayed at the jeopardizing portentous perils & media feeding-frenzy ejaculated by the Bryan Allen Show. As fate would have it, Daphne McMillan's butchered body in Julian Sinclair's home makes him a suspect & so he too is subjected to a TV Newsmedia Trial shaping public opinion on the Bryan Allen Show. The story unfolds realistically - indeed, we are tacitly prompted to identify the machinations & frequenters with the Scott Peterson trial, Paula with Gloria Allred, Bryan with Larry King (an/or now Nancy), etc...perhaps. The mockery of the plot, the devious stratagem of some principals & the inventive closure is affably engineered - & perhaps we are wont to a sequel...? The book is not only timely, but worse, its theme is too dreadfully true of our USA "Land of the Free". The courtroom drama is told shrewdly & the writing is succinct, no superflous words or embellishments. I was fortunate to have attended an author's book signing in Napa, CA in May '05 & Dudley Buffa discussed his Antonelli character, reading Chap. 2 so invitingly I purchased a copy of his book & look forward to reading the others.

D.W. Buffa would be a household name in a perfect world --- a world where bookstores are open at midnight on the eve of his new release, and the masses queue up to read the latest in a series of novels concerning defense attorney Joseph Antonelli in the same number and with the same fervor that they read the exploits of bespectacled wizards' apprentices. The scenario I propose is probably too far removed from reality to be in reasonable anticipation of occurrence, but I have witnessed miracles before and continue to hope. Over the course of six previous novels, Buffa has utilized Antonelli as a vehicle to explore the culture and mores of the American landscape. While a good deal of each of Buffa's works concerns the mechanisms of judicial trial, these novels transcend the "courtroom thriller" genre to which they are often and erroneously consigned. So it is with TRIAL BY FIRE, Buffa's newest book. There are echoes within of Dickens, Dumas and O. Henry, containing elements of the work of each of these authors. Yet TRIAL BY FIRE is not a pastiche or even a homage to these writers. The commonality that this novel has with A TALE OF TWO CITIES (which, if it was published today, might be considered a courtroom thriller) or THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is that it subtly explores the foibles of the human condition, the ones that many contemporary authors no longer care to deal with, much less mention, either implicitly or explicitly. And the man is an absolute joy to read. Buffa coins at least two phrases in TRIAL BY FIRE, creates an unforgettable minor character within the space of three short sentences, and gives over a brief paragraph to a physical description of another secondary character --- a description so complete in every way that it would render a photograph of the individual superfluous. All of this is interwoven into a narrative that presents such matters as a short history of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence, a visit to a restaurant you will never encounter otherwise, and an ongoing narrative discourse concerning trial by media --- all the while presupposing the intelligence of the reader. But there is far more going on here than stylistic gymnastics. Buffa interweaves his superior literary style with elements of suspense and mystery into a combination that makes TRIAL BY FIRE impossible to relinquish until its last word is read. As with many of Buffa's other works, this one defies an easy summarization, not because of the complexity of the plot, but rather because the symmetry of the work is so important to the narrative that one fears that revealing one thing will reveal all. TRIAL BY FIRE begins with Antonelli back in San Francisco, practicing law as an informal partner in a quietly prestigious firm. While reluctantly participating on a panel for a news television program, Antonelli makes the acquaintance of Julian Sinclair, a criminal law professor from Berkeley. Antonelli is immediately struck by the level of Sinclair's acumen and intellig