D.W. Buffa Books In Order – Complete List

D.W. Buffa is an American legal thriller author best known for his Joseph Antonelli series. In addition, he wrote the Bobby Hart series, the Western Quartet series, and several standalone novels.

Here are the D.W. Buffa books in order for his novels, starting with his Joseph Antonelli series.

Joseph Antonelli Books in Publication Order

1. The Defense, 1997
2. The Prosecution, 1999
3. The Judgment, 2001
4. The Legacy, 2002
5. Star Witness, 2003
6. Breach of Trust, 2004
7. Trial By Fire , 2005
8. Necessity, 2018
9. The Privilege, 2021
10. Lunatic Carnival, 2023

Western Quartet Books in Publication Order

1. Helen, 2014
2. Julian’s Laughter, 2020
3. The Prince of Niccolo Machiavelli, 2020
4. Neumann’s Last Concert, 2021

Senator Bobby Hart Books in Publication Order

writing as Lawrence Alexander

1. Rubicon, 2008
2. The Grand Master, 2009
3. Hillary, 2016

Standalone Novels in Publication Order

• Evangeline, 2010
• The Swindlers, 2011
• The Dark Backward, 2012
• The Last Man, 2013
• The 45th, 2019

Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order

writing as Dudley W. Buffa

D W Buffa Biography

Born in San Francisco in the Bay Area in 1940, Dudley W. Buffa (D.W. Buffa) was raised in the Bay Area. He attended Michigan State University, followed by the University of Chicago, where he graduated with an M.A. and a Ph. D. in political science. He also received a J.D. degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

After teaching at Michigan State University, during the 1970s, he worked as a special assistant to U.S. Senator Philip A. Hart while at the same time leading the midwestern division of the National Rural Center.

Before becoming a novelist, D.W. Buffa was working as a criminal defense attorney, and his 10 years of direct experience navigating the justice system enabled him to write books that reflected his knowledge and passion for the courtroom. Having spent a lot of his life reading and studying history, politics, and law, all this knowledge and insights are equally integrated into his novels.

Over the years there has been a shift in the scope of the author’s novels. While the first books were courtroom dramas, the later books transitioned to a more political theme, while The Western Quartett series has completely shifted directions, becoming a journey of Western thought from ancient Athens to the present day.

Joseph Antonelli is a defense attorney located in Portland, Oregon, as well as in San Francisco. There are currently 10 books in the series, with the first one, The Defense, being published in 1997. It was also incidentally the author’s debut novel, which had many positive reviews from critics and literary magazines. The series tentatively ended in 2005 with Trial by Fire, however, in 2018, D. W. Buffa brought Joseph Antonelli back in 2018 with Necessity.

The Senator Bobbi Hart series, which the author wrote under the pseudonym Lawrence Alexander, has currently 3 books, with the latest one, Hillary, published in 2016, while the historical fiction Western Quartett includes, of course, 4 books.

The author’s first standalone novel, Evangeline, is different in style from his usual legal thrillers, in that he tried to answer the question, of what would shipwreck survivors do if they were put in an extremely difficult situation, and then he placed that idea in a courtroom.

When the ship went down, the survivors all squeezed on a rescue boat, and after the food and water ran out, it all became a matter of who would die in order for the others to survive. Once the boat was rescued, the captain, Vincent Marlowe, was charged with murder. Initially, he published the novel in Germany, following which it was also released in the UK and US.

Under his real name, Dudley W. Buffa, he also co-authored several non-fiction political books.

D W Buffa Awards and Nominations

• The Judgment was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2002