The Coast Press – Book of the Month
-Trevor H. Smith
One of the most impactful books I’d ever read in my life. It is as if I was manipulated to fall in love with reading books again. I owe Dan the credit. Thank you. Reading has given me a newfound peace and desire for knowledge. His story was so fine, it was aged 30-year vintage before release. It was something I could NOT put down. So many authors have submitted books to The Coast, and it’s an honor to highlight Dan’s Manipulator as our Book of the Month [ December 2025 ]. If this is what legal thrillers are – send me MORE. LOVE it.
LOST.
To a floppy disc from 1992. Somehow, through a printed revision, Dan’s story came back to life and he finished it THIRTY YEARS later. It’s been a long time coming. We took a meeting together to discuss this book – and how it REIGNITED my passion for reading.
Dan Buzzetta’s The Manipulator, available on Amazon, as well as Kindle and Audible.
Nearly 30 years later, during the pandemic, he returned to that printed manuscript, rewrote the opening chapters, and finally finished the story he started in ’92. That alone hooked me before I even got into the plot, because in many ways, it mirrors what The Manipulator is really about: legacy, hidden forces, and the long shadow of the past.
I had the pleasure of reading The Manipulator and was immediately excited to learn that Dan is from Monmouth County, not far from where we’re based. There’s something grounding about discovering a sharp, confident voice in fiction that comes from your own backyard. It makes the experience feel personal before you even turn the first page.
When I first picked it up, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. It’s categorized as a legal thriller on Amazon and is available on Kindle and Audible. I ended up listening and reading at the same time, which is statistically proven to help with retention and processing. In this case, it worked. The story stayed with me.
What stood out immediately is how cinematic the book feels. The descriptions are vivid. The environments are textured. Scenes move with intention. It reads like a movie, and that makes sense once you realize Dan’s career as a lawyer clearly informs his storytelling. He understands structure, tension, and the moral weight behind decisions.
At the center of the story is Tom, a young lawyer whose life seems almost suspiciously perfect. Prestigious education, elite opportunities, and a shocking offer for a position within the Department of Justice all fall into place. At first, it feels like merit and momentum. Later, it becomes clear that something else is at work.
Without giving too much away, Tom eventually realizes that many of his accomplishments were manipulated behind the scenes. What he believed was earned through hard work and intelligence turns out to be carefully engineered by powerful forces connected to organized crime. That realization hits hard. It reframes everything he thought he knew about himself.
One of the strongest arcs in the book revolves around a class action lawsuit against a major chemical company. A product was sold nationwide for decades despite known health hazards. Those risks were buried for profit, and people suffered life-threatening illnesses as a result. This storyline grounds the book in reality and highlights why justice, when it works, actually matters.
A major theme running through The Manipulator is the role of lawyers as defenders of justice. Dan refers to them as foot soldiers of justice, and that idea carries weight throughout the book. In a world where lawyers are often reduced to billboards and marketing slogans, this story reminds us that many of them are fighting real battles for people who have genuinely suffered.
It reminded me of The Rainmaker, the film starring Matt Damon and Danny DeVito, where the law isn’t glamorous, but it’s necessary. The Manipulator lives in that same space.
As the story unfolds, Tom discovers that the very man he’s been trying to take down in the DOJ is his estranged father, a powerful mafia boss who has been pulling strings his entire life. It’s a brutal revelation. Everything Tom thought he earned suddenly feels devalued. The rug is ripped out from under him.
Rather than running from the truth, Tom confronts it head-on. He ultimately chooses justice over blood, even when it costs him everything he thought defined him. That’s what elevates this book. It’s not just a mob story. It’s a family story. It’s about identity, ethics, and what happens when the truth finally catches up.
I don’t read novels as much as I used to, which is honestly a shame. This book made me fall in love with reading again. Despite the small spoilers I’ve mentioned here, there are plenty of twists, easter eggs, and moments of real suspense that make it absolutely worth the read.
You can find The Manipulator on Amazon in print, Kindle, and Audible formats. I stand by this book completely. And after reading it one and a half times, I can confidently say it deserves serious attention.
We also had the opportunity to sit down with Dan Buzzetta and talk in depth about the book, the themes, and the journey of bringing it back to life after nearly 30 years. Below is a Q&A pulled directly from that conversation.
Q&A: Dan Buzzetta on The Manipulator
Coast Press: You originally started writing The Manipulator in the early 1990s. What brought it back to life?
Dan Buzzetta:
“I started it in 1992 when I was in school. I wrote the first three chapters and then life took over. During the pandemic, my oldest son, who’s now in medical school, said to me, ‘Dan, didn’t you write a book at some point?’ I told him I had written the first three chapters. He said, ‘That’s a really great story. I think a lot of people would like it. You should really write that book.’ That was really the encouragement that got me to finish something I had started 30 years ago.”
Coast Press: The title The Manipulator really earns its name. There are layers of manipulation throughout the story.
Dan Buzzetta:
“That was intentional. There are various manipulators in the book. Ignacio was a manipulator. Cosimo was a manipulator. Tom’s mother was a manipulator. Even Tom’s colleague at the DOJ was a manipulator. But in the end, Tom becomes the ultimate manipulator. He manipulates Cosimo into making damning admissions, which then lead to his arrest and prosecution. That part isn’t written explicitly, but that’s what happens at the end.”
Coast Press: You blend organized crime and the legal world in a way that feels authentic.
Dan Buzzetta:
“I’ve always had two passions: the law and organized crime. I’ve been a student of organized crime since I was young. I studied it academically, and I also knew some real-world mobsters. I wanted to bring those two passions together and tell a story about a young lawyer who seems to have everything going for him, only to learn that it was all created by strings being pulled by his father, who happens to be a criminal mastermind.”
Coast Press: The book works both as a mob story and as a family story.
Dan Buzzetta:
“I think the story works on two levels. One, it’s a mob story. If you like The Sopranos, Goodfellas, The Godfather, it works on that level. But it’s also a family story. It’s about a father and a son and a mother, secrets and betrayals, and learning the truth about your own family and how you deal with that.”
Coast Press: One of the strongest themes is the role of lawyers in society.
Dan Buzzetta:
“When I wrote this book, I wanted to make the lawyer the hero. I’ve been a lawyer for 30 years, and I see the lawyer’s role as part of our constitutional framework, where even the least deserving among us has the right to counsel. There’s a line in the book about lawyers being foot soldiers in the army of justice. That theme was very much front and center when I wrote it.”
Coast Press: Tom’s realization that his success was engineered feels devastating.
Dan Buzzetta:
“That’s exactly right. He thought it was his hard work, his intelligence, his dedication that got him there, and it really wasn’t. He probably wouldn’t have gotten those opportunities on his own. Once he learned the truth, it made him feel devalued. That’s why he was so angry with his mother, because she continued the charade.”
Coast Press: A lot of readers say the book reads like a movie.
Dan Buzzetta:
“I’m a very visual person. I write by seeing the scenes in my head. A lot of people have told me the book reads like a movie. If it ever got picked up by a studio, that would be a home run. That’s the dream.”
Coast Press: What does it mean to you when people take the time to read your book?
Dan Buzzetta:
“I don’t take it for granted at all. Time is so limited, and anyone who chooses to spend their time reading my book, it’s humbling. I’m genuinely giddy when someone tells me they read it.”
It’s worth your time. Pick it up today!
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