Due out August 19, 2025. THE MANIPULATOR, the debut legal thriller by Dan Buzzetta, offers a fresh take on a well-established genre and proves that legal thrillers remain entertaining and as relevant to readers as ever. Buzzetta, no stranger to the law himself, has crafted an engaging story populated with well-defined characters, including the protagonist C. Thomas Berte, and ever rising stakes. THE MANIPULATOR is the first in a planned series (# 2 can be preordered) featuring Thomas Berte, a brilliant and up-and-coming lawyer. The story opens on a giant ship in the western Mediterranean, something I enjoyed as it evoked novels I enjoyed in my youth; then Tom Berte is in a court room navigating a case that seems doomed to fail. Then Tom is summoned to a late night meeting with the firm’s chairman emeritus—he’s been nominated to serve as the Justice Department’s Executive Deputy Attorney General, reporting to the US AG. A thunderstruck Tom agrees to consider the opportunity and hopes he can measure up to expectations. Tom’s wife is thrilled by the opportunity while his mother (who’d raised him singlehandedly) is not. Nevertheless, Tom’s life and career quickly go into overdrive…
Find the complete review at Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7767941386