Fear Itself

by D.W. Buffa and Walter Mosley

Book Overview

The only lawyer willing to take the case of a black man accused of murdering a senator is an outsider. As he prepares his defense, he finds himself lost in a world ruled by backroom politics, old... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446610135
• ISBN13: 9780446610131
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 340 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.3" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

I'd give it six stars if I could!

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.

Better than Grisham and Turow

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.

A CONFIDENT, COMPELLING READING

Film and television actor Mark Feuerstein gives a confident, compelling reading of Buffa's fourth legal who-dun-it featuring Portland, Oregon based attorney Joseph Antonelli. U.S. Senator Jeremy Fullerton is shot and killed while in his car in San Francisco. The night was, of course, dark and foggy. Prime suspect is a young black man, Jamaal Washington, who was wounded by police while apparently trying to escape the scene. Fullerton was not just any senator - he was prime fodder for a presidential nomination. Politics, as we know, makes strange bedfellows - it also makes for suspenseful mystery novels. Because of the late senator's exalted position not a lawyer in San Fran wants to touch the case. Joe Antonelli does more than touch it after he is contacted by an older lawyer in the City by the Bay who wants to help the young defendant for reasons unknown. The mystery gets murkier as someone who claims have dynamite information about the Senator's past meets a sudden death. Buffa's forte is courtroom scenes, and Feuerstein delivers them impeccably. - Gail Cooke

A fast-paced legal thriller.

On a dense fog-covered street in San Francisco, United States Senator Jeremy Fullerton has been shot and killed in the front seat of his car. Jamaal Washington, a young, black, medical school student is on the way home from his weekend end job when he comes up on the Fullerton's car, before he knows what's happening Jamaal is running, and then ends up in the hospital as "the" suspect in the senator's murder.Nobody wants to touch this case because of it's explosive nature, but that is exact reason why Joseph Antonelli decides to leave his home in Portland and head to San Francisco to be Jamaal's defense lawyer.The evidence in this case is overwhelming; the police can place Jamaal at the crime, he had the murder weapon in his hand, he ran when the police tried to question him, and he threatened to shoot when the police tried to restrain him.Antonelli knows something about this case isn't right, and the deeper he dives into the evidence, and the Senator's back-round he begins to unravel a frightening cover-up that starts a chain of violence where the last man standing is the man willing to stab you in the back.The odds are against Antonelli, for the only way he can win this case is to become like Senator Fullerton; a liar and a deceiver.`The Legacy' is another CAN'T-PUT-IT-DOWN page-turner from best-selling author D.W. Buffa. Mr. Buffa introduced us to Joseph Antonelli in his previous novel `The Judgment', and here he returns in a new legal thriller that is well-written, original, and very entertaining. The plot starts moving from page one and barrels ahead like a roller coaster full of twists and turns, surprises, and a courtroom showdown where all the secrets come out.If your looking for a great beach read `The Legacy' is it! There's no doubt this novel will be one of the summer's hottest reads further proving D.W. Buffa a master of the legal thriller.Nick Gonnella

The Legacy

As a favor for his cousin, Joseph Antonelli leaves his Portland home and goes to San Francisco to defend a young black man who is accused of killing a United States Senator. The young man is a clean cut pre-med student at Berkeley. Antonelli believes that one of the Senator's powerful enemies is behind the murder.D.W. Buffa has become one of my favorite legal thriller authors. His descriptions of San Francisco--which he seems to think is one of the best cities in the country--are vivid, and make an excellent background to this suspenseful thriller. Filled with riveting dialogue, along with quite a few surprises, I recommend this to all legal thriller fans.Highly Recommended