Breach of Trust: A Joseph Antonelli Novel | D. W. Buffa, Dudley W. Buffa

Breach of Trust: A Joseph Antonelli Novel | D. W. Buffa, Dudley W. Buffa | Boring Buffa...

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Breach of Trust: A...

	Breach of Trust: A Joseph Antonelli Novel D. W. Buffa, Dudley W. Buffa, 2004 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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Attorney Joseph Antonelli dives into a case of White House intrigue, intimacies not forgotten, and suspicions dark and deep in this legal thriller in the Edgar Award-nominated series called "adroit and often elegant" (Los Angeles Times).

The novels of D. W. Buffa featuring attorney Joseph Antonelli have become some of the most avidly praised of the legal thrillers being written today, called "absorbing" (Orlando Sentinel), "suspense-laden" (Houston Chronicle), and "electrically charged" (The New York Times). The Judgment, the third in the series, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year.

In Breach of Trust, Antonelli is seduced into taking a case that has dangerous implications not only for the upcoming United States presidential race but also for a group of friends who thought they had put the sudden death of a young woman behind them long ago. When Antonelli attends a Harvard Law School reunion at Manhattan's Plaza Hotel, he doesn't suspect how disturbing his return will be-for it was at a party in this very hotel that a lively young woman fell from a window to her death. The event had been ruled an accident at the time, but the case is about to be reopened, and a possible witness is wary of its potential to ruin his political chances-a man with promise and ambition in equal measure, the vice president of the United States. When the trial begins, the nation's eyes turn to the accused, the downtrodden James Haviland, and to the unseen powers both within and without the White House who want to bury him. It's up to the shrewd and sharp Antonelli to uncover just where the secrets lie-and exactly who is playing whom.

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"Antonelli...he's likable, lovable & a man for all seasons"

"Breach of Trust", Dudley W. Buffa, New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004 ISBN 0-399-15190-7, HC, 371 pp. & 6.25" x 6.25"

In this 6th. Joseph Antonelli novel, Buffa has the protagonist lawyer in NY at Harvard Law School class reunion, per request of classmate Thomas Browning, now Vice President. He's asked to be defense lawyer for expected indictment of their classmate James Haviland upon re-opening of accidental fall of Ann Malreaux, 2nd year law school classmate at Christmas Eve party several decades past.

The story line involves mutiny in White House ranks of President Walker & VP Browning, the latter seeking his own nomination & who alludes to a conspiracy to oust him in a scandal related to Annie's death. Antonelli does his homework, contacts everyone associate with Annie & enjoys assistance & sizzling romance from Gisela Hoffman, a young reporter in midst of divorce.

Demonstrated via idiosyncracies of prosecutor Caminetti & Judge Charles Scarborough, is the fierce trial Antonelli is told that must be won at all costs. We are shown the relationship of Joanna van Renaessler, Antonelli's old flame, but now wife of VP Browning -- she has kept secrets.

The plot unfolds with momentum & just when you think its over, the underlying intrigues are at last revealed: -- Antonelli is affable & crackerjack as trial lawyer but he's unprepared to the like of young Gisela. In this novel, the protagonist Antonelli really shines -- likable, lovable & a man for all seasons. This book is not to be missed.

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Boring Buffa...

This is my second Buffa work. The first was in the mold of John Grisham. I am not sure where Buffa was going with this work. The book begins with the main character, Joseph Antonelli, being summoned for a meeting with the current Vice-President and former Harvard classmate, Thomas Browning. Vice-President Browning has news of a pending charge against one of their former classmates of the murder of yet another classmate forty years earlier. Browning wants Antonelli to take the case.
As the case develops, hints of a White House conspiracy begin to surface. Antonelli tries to sort through the case of the present while dealing with the memories of the past. The problem: the book drags. I would like to see Mr. Buffa go back to the formula that has made his other books bestsellers.

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Lighten Up, Mr. Buffa!

D.W. Buffa's "Breach of Trust", while not exactly a page-turner, is an interesting novel. Buffa's super-defense attorney Joseph Antonelli is back, this time the reluctant defendant of his former Harvard law school roommate, Thomas Browning, who happens to be the Vice President of the United States. A decades-old death - apparently accidental - of a young woman from the Antonelli/Browning circle of friends resurfaces with a politically motivated vengeance. What follows is a convoluted plot of conspiracies and politics, dredging up long buried secrets while challenging friendships, loyalties, and values.

Unfortunately, "Breach of Trust" suffers from Buffa's pretentious - if not bombastic - windy and preachy prose. Characters are philosophically somber and cynical to a fault, lending to a setting unnecessarily morose and humorless. The left-leaning Buffa definitely has a political axe to grind, bordering on yet another thinly veiled attack on the current Bush administration. But to give credit to the author, the end salvages some sense of political ambiguity and neutrality. At its best, it is a stinging indictment of politics in America, while at its worst, "Breach of Trust" is a bleak and pessimistic assessment of government and justice in America. Intelligent fiction? For sure, but at times frustrating, occassionally simply boring, and A book one you'll not find hard to put down.

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No light to be seen in this one.

For the young and rich at Harvard Law School, parties that went on for days in the 1960's were common. Of course, nothing too scandalous that would come back to haunt you when you became part of the rich and legal elite and whatever secrets there were - well, they were expected to be kept hidden for the good of all. A law school reunion brings all the players together, with the guest of honor being one of their own. The heir to a fortune, the odd member of their group from their university days went on to become the Vice President of the United States.

Thomas Stern Browning has made a request of his old school friend, Joseph Antonelli. Forty years ago, at a party held at the Plaza Hotel, a young woman fell to her death. Though loved by all that met her, Annie Malreaux had two suitors at the time who were desperately in love with her and both were at the Plaza when she died. In the present day, a murder case is brought before the court; the result of which will put one of these men in jail and end the rising career of the other. Browning has only one more step to go before he reaches his ultimate political goal, and there are many who would like to stop him getting here. Defense attorney Joseph Antonelli must dig into the past that they all share to end the nightmare of the present.

D.W. Buffa undoubtedly has an elegant and meticulous style of writing. Infusing his latest work with a melancholic air Buffa has written a sombre novel of regret and lost love. The courtroom scenes do not take up a lot of time in "Breach of Trust" though the novel could be aptly described as a legal and political drama. What detracts from the read is the pompous speeches of the characters and the inherent selfishness common to most of the major players. It's difficult to care one way or another what happens to there ultra urbanized souls who spend all their time in cities and around people that they all secretly seem to despise.

"Breach of Trust" is the author's sixth novel featuring Joseph Antonelli. This work serves well as a standalone but seems more of concluding piece than an entry in a continuing series. If you don't let the darkness drag you down you will appreciate the careful deliberations that have led to the present day conflict in this thoughtful and unsettled novel.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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