Rating: 
Summary: A Solid Mystery with Character(s)
Review: "The Judgement" is my first exposre to the world of Joseph Antonelli and D.W. Buffa and I must admit that I am impressed. The mystery centers around Joseph Antonelli, an Oregonian attorney who finds himself drawn into the murder of two circuit court judges that appear to be related. Add a possible connection to the past and you have yourself a fine novel with deeper character development than you see out of the typical mystery. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Mystery with Character(s)
Review: "The Judgement" is my first exposre to the world of Joseph Antonelli and D.W. Buffa and I must admit that I am impressed. The mystery centers around Joseph Antonelli, an Oregonian attorney who finds himself drawn into the murder of two circuit court judges that appear to be related. Add a possible connection to the past and you have yourself a fine novel with deeper character development than you see out of the typical mystery. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Mystery with Character(s)
Review: "The Judgement" is my first exposre to the world of Joseph Antonelli and D.W. Buffa and I must admit that I am impressed. The mystery centers around Joseph Antonelli, an Oregonian attorney who finds himself drawn into the murder of two circuit court judges that appear to be related. Add a possible connection to the past and you have yourself a fine novel with deeper character development than you see out of the typical mystery. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Absorbing legal thriller.
Review: As entertainment novels go, this is a good 'un. Joseph Antonelli is a defense attorney who smells a rat after two judges are killed in the same manner, and offers his services to the homeless and seemingly helpless man accused of the second murder. Only Antonelli has all the clues to this engaging puzzle. Worth reading as a distraction.Problems (why this is a three- and not a four-star review): 1) Mr. Buffa is a bit guilty of over-writing. You'll find yourself thinking "yes, you've already said that" too often. 2) The secondary plot line, in which Mr. Antonelli's long-lost love reappears, goes nowhere worthwhile. The book needed either more or less of her. Less would've worked for me. I recommend the audio version. It is very well-narrated and you won't have to spend time outside the car on this book (let's face it, the reader who said this is "as good as fiction writing gets" is, shall we say, overstating his case).
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping Legal Thriller
Review: Attorney Joseph Antonelli's life is intertwined with the lives of murdered judges Clavin Jeffries and Quincy Griswold. After a seemingly innocent mentally deficient man is being railroad for the latter murder he decides to take up his defense and find out why and by whom the judges were murdered. This is one of the best legal thrillers I read in quite a long time. The story is gripping with enough plot twists and turns that you never know what will happen next. We get a glimpse of Antonelli's early law years involving the judges. The early years' story is as interesting as the later present time story. It's almost like getting two good books in one. This story keeps the reader involved until the very last page.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING
Review: audible.com audiobooks may or may not work. may or may not take longer than reading the book. tech dept keeps banking hours and has one phone line.
Rating:
Summary: The Judgement
Review: Buffa uses a lot of smoke and mirrors to make this novel work, but the result is a memorable read. When two rather unloved judges get stabbed in an indoor parking lot, the cases are actually hard to connect, because before the second judge is murdered the killer of the first judge has already been caught, and has committed suicide in his cell. This is the basic premise of the book, and it's up to Defense Attorney Joseph Antonelli to prove that the answer to the second killing is not simply "Copycat!" (in this intricate story?...not likely!). I'm never sure what the police are up to in this book, but the Defense Attorney basically investigates the case in the courtroom. He is defending the alleged killer of the second victim--an introverted, childlike homeless man--and I suppose I have to accept that a Defense Attorney who bases his defense on arguing a complicated, whiff-of-conspiracy theory would be allowed the far-ranging latitude that Antonelli gets up to, all in the interest of justice for his client. But would a real courtroom feature so much banter about what would sound like a far-fetched, ridiculous theory, without the judge deciding it was all an elaborate smokescreen? It turns out that Antonelli is on to something, diabolical as it may be. If the mystery content of the novel loses steam, it's because Antonelli has sniffed out the basics of the puzzle fairly early on, which allows the plot to deal with him trying to sell outlandish-sounding theories in the courtroom for many of the later chapters. So, it's fair to say that there are many surprise revelations throughout the book, but maybe not in the places you expect. As a subplot, Antonelli begins stepping out with an old sweetheart who has popped back into his life. There is a hackneyed quality to this romance--apparently Antonelli has been carrying a lifelong torch for this one woman, which burns so brightly that none of his follow-up romances have ever taken his mind off her. Meanwhile, her past is so fraught with tragedy that she may have some serious mental problems (the reader, surprisingly, may be better at spotting warning-signs than the otherwise astute lead character!). Despite any flaws, the book uses no end of razzle-dazzle to take some tricky ideas and make them pretty gripping in the final execution. In fact, it's pretty captivating. I'm not going to pick at the edges too much or it may start to split apart, but if you want a thoughtful moody book featuring a strange criminal trial destined to explore whether madness, in this instance, has truly led to murder, then try Buffa's The Judgement.
Rating:
Summary: A very entertaining read, pure Buffa
Review: Buffa's been one of my favorite legal mystery/thriller writers since The Defense. He doesn't let the reader down in his latest, although the story line is a little weak for a Buffa book. You'll love to hate the Jeffries, the evil judge, and the author does an outstanding job of characterizing him. Antonelli is a complex character and the primary plot lines move quickly. The author's detours into the plight of the homeless and mental illness are less fulfilling, but not distracting. Read this in one sitting, the book hooks you quickly and doesn't let you go. The ending is very good and satisfying. You'll enjoy this book!
Rating:
Summary: A definite winne that keeps the reader guessing
Review: Circuit Court Judge Calvin Jeffries ranked with this country's best legal minds, but his reputation to the public involved over use perhaps abuse of court power. Many attorneys who felt Jeffries unfairly undermined a defense were not toasting the deceased. However, surprisingly, the individual who murdered the Judge in the court parking lot was a homeless person not connected to the victim. Attorney Joseph Antonelli, not a Jeffries fan, accepts the defense of the accused judge killer. When the suspect kills himself, the case seems over, but Jeffries' widow thinks otherwise. Soon someone murders a second judge and the police shout copycat and arrest another homeless person. Antonelli begins to wonder if Mrs. Jeffries is right that something more sinister is the cause behind the homicides and who is next? The story line of THE JUDGMENT is a fast-paced, exciting legal thriller. The cast is fully drawn and seem real, especially the hero and the first dead Judge. Though Antonelli speaks in a stilted tongue in what sounds like to much legalese for everyday discussions, he remains a powerful caring character who readers will like but ask him to speak in plain English. D.W. Buffa provides the audience with a strong legal thriller that fans will enjoy, but need a few days to read. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A classic legal thriller in classic Turow Style
Review: D. W. Buffa returns with another superb legal thriller, The Judgment, that reaffirms his position as the 'Scott Turow of the new millennium.' Series protagonist Joseph Antonelli - "a lawyer who never lost a case he should have won, and won nearly all the cases he should have lost," returns to investigate the almost identical murders of two judges. Calvin Jeffries, a Senior Judge, has been found murdered in the courthouse parking lot. Within days the suspect is found, he confesses to the same, but within hours of his confession commits suicide, & the file is closed. Within a couple of weeks, however, another judge is found murdered in similar circumstance. The police round up a culprit, mentally challenged, homeless John Smith. Antonelli, assigned to defend John Smith, finds it difficult to believe that his client committed murder. He decides to investigate more into the crime. Slowly Antonelli finds himself in the middle of an imbroglio & that he himself is an unwitting part of the incident that caused the murders. D. W. Buffa writes a superb thriller! The plotting, though thick & multi-layered, aptly fits into the whole scheme of things so much so that the reader is engrossed in the The Judgment. A page-turner in the truest sense of the term. This author also throws light on another bugging issue in the concept of justice - how a judge's personal likes & dislikes affect the final outcome, & how much of justice is rooted in the whims & fancies of the judge presiding over a case. D. W. Buffa keeps the suspense steady, while highlighting a down-to-earth portrayal of the legal system, how it works, & how it can be twisted. Only in Scott Turow's Personal Injuries has this been previously explored. D. W. Buffa's other works, The Prosecution & The Defense were bestsellers, & there is no doubt that suspense-charged The Judgment is also destined for that status. I eagerly look forward to the D. W. Buffa's next book - The Legacy.
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