Rating: 
Summary: I'd give it six stars if I could!
Review: The best book I ever read involving courtroom activity. A beautiful jigsaw puzzle of intrigue. The desciptions of how lawyer Joseph Antonelli does his work, down to exactly when he puts his hands in his pockets or moved an eyebrow show how important such things are in communication. I have never read a book that does that so well; I could relate to every item of body language. The story is terrific, and its unwinding a delight. This was my first Buffa book - won't be the last! I am at a loss to comprehend the other poor reviews. Maybe the abridged audio version and Mark Feuerstein's reading make it better than the unabridged hard cover original. All the the characters were excellently formed and believable. Every twist in the plot came as a surprize. I have read about 400 audiobooks in the last 3 years and this was in the top 3. I would think it would make a superb movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Pales in comparison to the other Antonelli books
Review: This 4th book in the Antonelli series was quite a disappointment. The first 3 books were well written with tight, interesting plots and subplots. Half way through this one, I had to force myself to continue. The characters were not well fleshed out, one of the "twists" in the story was very obvious from the beginning and overall it was a confusing and muddled tale. Near the end of the book, I found myself looking longingly at the stack of other books that I have available to read and I wound up scanning the last third of The Legacy just to finish it off. I guess all authors have a clunker now and then. I hope this was Mr. Buffa's misfire and that future books in this series will be as entertaining as the first 3 were.
Rating:
Summary: Pales in comparison to the other Antonelli books
Review: This 4th book in the Antonelli series was quite a disappointment. The first 3 books were well written with tight, interesting plots and subplots. Half way through this one, I had to force myself to continue. The characters were not well fleshed out, one of the "twists" in the story was very obvious from the beginning and overall it was a confusing and muddled tale. Near the end of the book, I found myself looking longingly at the stack of other books that I have available to read and I wound up scanning the last third of The Legacy just to finish it off. I guess all authors have a clunker now and then. I hope this was Mr. Buffa's misfire and that future books in this series will be as entertaining as the first 3 were.
Rating:
Summary: where oh where is the Buffa of Old
Review: This is the weakest of all Buffa's books so far. I got my hands on Buffa's first book Defense when it was still in its advance reading-stage and I have since loaned it out to everyone I know as an intelligent, thoughtful and intensive legal-thriller. I have read all the other three Buffa's books now and must say that Buffa's creativity is unfortunately deteriorating here, as he is stretching his material to publish books of marketable length. It seems to me that since his last book, Buffa has either become pressured by his editors to write standard-size 400+ pages books, or he gets paid by the word.The Legacy follows yet again farther "adventures" of Joseph Antonelli. Buffa's writing here is again pensive, reflective and attempts to be thorough when it comes to the development of his characters. But unlike in his first two books, all that seems to come at a price here. Buffa looses sight of his goal - the reader is swallowed in completely irrelevant details as the writer hopelessly tries to fill the page. Buffa becomes so lost in this book in his attempt to write an abbreviated behind the scene history of San Francisco and introduce us to the corrupt world of politicians and the rich that he forgets that he is writing a legal thriller. The book consists effectively of two parts: the first 300 pages which set up the trial and stretch a very thin story and the last 120 pages during which the trial takes place. Unfortunately, only the last 120 are worth reading and allow the book to fit the legal thriller category. In the first 300, each piece of information is repeated at least three times. This background is neither very interesting nor ultimately relevant. All I could ask myself was, what was it that interested Buffa about the rich and famous and why does he make me read it? None of the rich and politicians are interesting characters. He even decries their corruption and their shallow intelligence - perhaps that is his purpose in this book (something the Bogdonovitch character debates in the end) - but at the same time, we are forced to read the life story of at least 3 politicians and 3 rich people. But the biggest problem for me was how Buffa portrayed the accused. I might be wrong, but I remember only about 3 instances in which Buffa even talks about him. We never get a sense of Jamaal's frustrations, inner struggles, or attempts to deal with the possibility of being convicted - even in the end! He is the least developed character in the whole book! Normally, character-development would be the last thing one would expect from legal-thrillers, but that has always been Buffa's strengths (considering the court-room action takes second stage). Verdict: If you are looking for a smart legal-thriller with philosophical musings, with imaginative plot-twists and characters who attempt to reconcile themselves with life and everything (yes, Buffa can do all that) and offer interesting bits of wisdoms while they entertain you, I recommend the Defense and the Prosecution. The Legacy and his third novel Judgment are only for die-hart Buffa fans.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Grisham and Turow
Review: This was my first reading of a Buffa book and I thoroughly enjoyed its entertaining story. I like Joe Antonelli because he struggles with his cases and with his life. Moral and ethical issues are pondered and as a reader I began thinking how I would react in a similar situation. The book is fiction so liberties are taken. The conclusion was a surprise to me. However, I have read all the Ludlum and Clancy books and Buffa's style is more like theirs than Turow's or Grisham's. If you want to be entertained and you want to think, you'll enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Grisham and Turow
Review: This was my first reading of a Buffa book and I thoroughly enjoyed its entertaining story. I like Joe Antonelli because he struggles with his cases and with his life. Moral and ethical issues are pondered and as a reader I began thinking how I would react in a similar situation. The book is fiction so liberties are taken. The conclusion was a surprise to me. However, I have read all the Ludlum and Clancy books and Buffa's style is more like theirs than Turow's or Grisham's. If you want to be entertained and you want to think, you'll enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham's Legacy to the Literary Community
Review: Whenever an innovative artist takes the next step in the evolution of his craft, lesser skilled imitators inevitably crop up riding on the coattails of success. After Raiders of the Lost Ark came along, the short-lived adventure series Tales From the Gold Monkey came along. After Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings became popular, Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shannara was published. In the wake of the success of Star Wars, Star Trek was reborn as a motion picture. John Grisham single-handedly brought a revolution to the genre of legal thrillers. D.W. Buffa's The Legacy is a weak mimicry of Grisham's work. Through this book, characterization is minimal and inconsistent with the way real people talk, act and feel. When a witness for the defense refuses to come to court, Joseph Antonelli is concerned that his weak case will lose the little momentum that it has. With the extra few days until the witness can appear, does Mr. Antonelli work on the case for the defense? Does he ever show the slightest concern for the innocent defendant that may be sentenced to death? No. Instead, he spends the long weekend laying around his girlfriend's house feeling cozy and domestic. The most profound characterization comes about when the characters ask themselves whether they should feel more strongly about events. The Legacy depicts a portion of the unique spirit of San Francisco. At the start of the book, those who live in the area refer to San Francisco as "The City." Such a label did not give San Francisco a feeling of homogeneity with every other city, but rather demonstrated the importance of this city to the Bay area and beyond. The bridges are the defining characteristic of the city in The Legacy. They leap across the Bay and across the Golden Gate. They are monuments greater than those who built them. Other areas of "The City" though are given less attention. The characters only visit Chinatown briefly, and other than a passing remark about how Chinatown is a part of San Francisco, even though San Francisco is not a part of Chinatown, there is nothing that truly immersed readers in that area. No mention is made of the City's diverse cultural background. There was no talk of the openness that many groups found here, especially in the '60's. This version of San Francisco is quite homogenous. There are two almost independent plots running through the heart of The Legacy. The primary plot is the murder of Jeremy Fullerton, the U.S. Senator. Here we have a young African American standing trial for a crime he did not commit. This potentially explosive plot line is given little attention in comparison to the secondary plot. This secondary plot delves into the corruption and greed that exemplify the common view of American politics. The nepotism, greed, and betrayals all occur far from the current events of the story and often come across as simply background material without having any dramatic impact. Overall, this superficial tale is simply a light read. It lacks emotional depth and has a predictable plot. The protagonist is not profoundly changed by his experiences. In the end, Joseph Antonelli is simply a great deal wealthier, traveling in a circle of corrupt friends.
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