The Judgment

The murder of a judge is rare, but when two in a row are stabbed in the same manner, it's suspicious enough to get attorney Joseph Antonelli looking into the men's shared pasts for answers. Certain that the homeless man accused is innocent, Antonelli agrees to defend him and begins his own probe. The direction of Antonelli's investigation is obvious early on, but this abridgment still keeps one spellbound, thanks to Ron McLarty's poignant rendering of the story. McLarty infuses the protagonist's first-person account with both sensitivity and a passion for the truth. This unusual legal thriller offers a chilling glimpse into the criminal mind. Mystery fans, don't miss it. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

May 7, 2001
Inventing a perfectly odious victim and an obvious killer with the perfect alibi, Buffa cooks up a convoluted legal thriller littered with plot-twist land mines that explode when least expected. Toss in a poignant midlife romance and an innocent, put-upon defendant, and you have a novel with wide appeal. So few people grieve when loathsome circuit judge Calvin Jeffries is stabbed to death and gutted in the courthouse parking garage that it comes as a shock when the confessed killer is revealed to be a homeless man with no apparent ties to the victim. When a second sharp-tongued judge is killed the same way in the same spot, the cops call it a copycat killing and arrest a retarded homeless man on an anonymous tip, finding him with the murder weapon. Seasoned defense attorney Joseph Antonelli, himself a particularly maligned target of the venomous Jeffries, is persuaded to take the case and becomes convinced that both murders were planned by the same brilliant criminal—one Antonelli is particularly familiar with, since the man once shot him. Antonelli's investigator, disbarred lawyer and recovering alcoholic Howard Flynn, sees his own dead son in the retarded defendant and throws himself wholeheartedly into the case. Unfortunately, Antonelli's suspect has been in the state home for the criminally insane for the past 12 years and could not possibly have committed the crimes. Meanwhile, bachelor Antonelli's high school sweetheart re-enters his life after a bout with manic depression and a rough divorce. Buffa (The Prosecution) once again produces a fast-spinning tale that jolts and veers enticingly off-track, but always stays comfortably in sight of the main objective. Well-developed characters and the rich Portland, Ore., milieu add depth to this excellent thriller. Agent, Wendy Sherman. Major ad/ promo; author tour; audio.

This smart, complex legal thriller features attorney Joseph Antonelli, a criminal attorney who, in agreeing to defend a man everyone else believes to be guilty, begins to unravel the threads of obsession, retribution, and vengeance. The plot involves not only the murder victim, but also a former colleague of Joseph's who's been a mental patient for years. From the outset, both story and narration are gripping. Dennis Predovic fully inhabits the characters and keeps the tension at just the right point throughout. His delivery is always on target, with emotional states ranging from volatile to despairing as the story dictates. Vocal characterizations are subtle but unfailingly effective. The listener shares Antonelli's determination to discover the truth behind all the lies and manipulations and will be loathe to stop until the story is complete. Neither the story nor the narrator disappoint in this compelling production. M.A.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine