Product Description
For years, Edgar-nominee (Fade the Heat) Jay Brandon has enthralled readers with novels set in the legal world of his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. But with Executive Privilege, Brandon chooses a wider stage and brings the reader an all-new thriller set against the backdrop of our nation’s capital, the story of a wife’s desperate attempt to save herself and her young son from her husband, a man involved with selling our nation’s secrets and willing to do whatever he can to ensure that his family doesn’t get away. The wife? Myra McPherson, the First Lady of the United States.

When San Antonio attorney David Owens wins an important divorce case, he hopes the victory will bring him some new business. But he never imagined that the First Lady, a Texas native, would walk through his office door. Shy and fearful, the First Lady explains that she needs to divorce the President, to get herself and her young son out of the White House. The President is engaged in dangerous dealings . . . and has been unfaithful. But no woman has ever divorced a sitting President, and while every President has secrets, none are like the secrets this President wants to protect: his nefarious dealings with a billionaire businessman willing to use his money and power to manipulate even the leader of our nation.

When the news breaks, the publicity is huge, but the threat is even bigger. Orders have been given to kill the First Lady and her son, and all that stands in the way is her divorce lawyer and one Secret Service agent whose oath to protect her charges is more important to her than the power of the President.

With all the elements of a great thriller and a great courtroom drama, Jay Brandon delivers a novel sure to keep you up long past your bedtime.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Fast-Paced Thriller

I recently became acquainted with the novels of Jay Brandon, in so doing, went back, and started reading some of his earlier works. "Executive Privilege" was written at the beginning of the George W. Bush administration and it develops an interesting plot.

In this novel, the wife of the President of the United States decides she wants to divorce her husband, the leader of the free world, and she wants to do it in Texas because she fears the political climate in Washington will not give her a fair hearing. In this novel, young San Antonio attorney David Owens has just ventured out on as a freelance attorney and won a spectacular divorce settlement his first time out. Myra McPherson, the First Lady, accompanied by an enigmatic Secret Service agent, Helen Willls, a trusted agent, approaches David initially.During this visit, the First Lady asks David if he would represent her in a divorce case. When David agrees, the pair leaves.Afterwards, alleged Secret Service agents visit David's office and they remove any trace of the First Lady's visit.

Then an email to David launches him to an impromptu trip to Washington and other players in the dram emerge. The multi-millionaire industrialist who is one of the people supporting and manipulating the President for his own motives and his agent, placed in the White House staff, to ensure the President is kept under control.
The pending divorce is seen as a threat by these outside players and complicate an otherwise complicated situation. The Secret Service in fulfilling its role as protectors of the First Family play an unwitting role in keeping David from his client and hinder his attempts to extricate the First Lady and the First Son from the situation.

In all, this is a fast-paced thriller and appropriate for today's reading public to re-visit

Ed Benjamin, author of "Cash In on the Obama $3 Trillion Spending Plan!: How to make large amounts of money by conducting business with or receiving grants from federal, state, and local governments" also available on Amazon

fun read
Great storytelling, as usual. Jay Brandon is one of very few dependably readable authors. He has a unique perspective and a good sense of timing. His books are always entertaining and if you read for enjoyment, this is a good choice. The author avoids overly complicated plots, but that doesn't mean they are especially predictable. This was thoroughly engrossing and hard to put down, put very easy to get back into when I had to. Definitely recommended.

Realities of Modern Life
Our Presidential roots suggests that it is entirely possible that a Presidential divorce would be out of the question given our high expectations of the office, its perks, and the dynamics under which it operates - while in office, as well as beyond it. However, given the nature of today's world, and the number of divorces that afflict the majority of the population, it is certainly an interesting concept to grapple with in the event it was ever a privilege at that executive level. In reviewing the concept, I had difficulty confining it to only future Presidents and was reminded of the difficulties other Presidential wives encountered, and what might have prompted a desire for divorce. For example, Jacqueline Kennedy might have been in such a situation had her husband not been assassinated prematurely. The complications of any divorce are difficult but must be nearly intolerable in such a prominent arena, thereby, encouraging the simplicity of dalliances rather than full blown affairs that might culminate in divorce for either party. It's obviously of some merit that the author decided to explore this unique, and conceivably legitimate topic since our Presidents are not usually permitted the luxury of being the human beings they might be without the pomp and circumstances that accompanies the office, sadly. The very tall order of the Presidential role does not easily lend itself to the rigors of daily life and freedom of relationships that might be formed outside of the "box," for the President or a First Lady. Perhaps, there is something to consider about placing older, and well established persons in the office, unlikely to encounter the typical stresses that often befall younger persons (whose hormones might still be active enough to pose such problems) where the good of the nation is of the utmost importance, or realize that Presidents do require a measure of privacy to prevent being so honor bound to be mounted upon the pedestal of stone so that they must endure such unearthly existences. We rarely reflect upon the fact that everyone appreciates freedom as well as privacy and safety - including Presidents and First Ladies.

At Last!
At Last!A book in which the President gets what is coming to him.The ending was a little surprising, and I could not help but have a smile on my face wondering what was going on in the President's mind.

This book is definitely a very good read.

Preposterous! But fun
Young San Antonio attorney David Owens wins a big divorce case and hopes it will attract some new business, though his wildest dreams didn't feature his next client, the First Lady - that's right, the wife of the President - who wants a divorce for the sake of her precocious young son.

Even Owens finds this preposterous and when his office is searched by sinister Secret Service agents who say the woman was an imposter, he's inclined to accept it. Until he gets a mysterious, plaintive email message, which brings him to Washington and into the White House. Intriguing? Outlandish? It gets better. Owens and a female Secret Service agent outwit various guards and technology to spirit the First Lady and her son out of captivity and off on a cross-country road trip. There's even a heavy-handed villain - a megalomaniac billionaire technology tycoon (a Darth Vader version of Bill Gates) with a direct line to the president, who he all but handed into office. Ridiculous? Certainly. But Jay Brandon keeps it all moving; juggling action, plot lines and characters for a rousing, suspension-of-disbelief entertainment. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

For fans who enjoy a political legal thriller
San Antonio District Attorney Chris Sinclair accompanies his girlfriend psychiatrist Anne Greenwald on a visit to her estranged father, Morris, notorious for his questionable dealings in Texas politics and government.Fortunately Chris' teenage daughter who resides with him is staying with her grandparents for the weekend.Chris and Anne are a bit surprised when they arrive at Morris' home to find her former fiancé, Ben Sewell, there.
The unthinkable happens when Ben is murdered before their eyes.

Chris swears he saw the victim kill himself while Anne is one hundred percent certain she saw someone shoot Ben, but the cops let that person go free.Anne and Chris disagree as to what happened even as the police arrest Morris for the homicide.Though the case has caused a schism between them, their love helps them form a bond to find the proof that her father is not the killer, but their investigation takes them into the highest levels of Lone Star society.

Fans who enjoy a political legal thriller will want to read SLIVER MOON.The story line focuses on how two intelligent witnesses see the same inncident so differently.When the tale stays within the frame, it is a powerful story that leaves readers to question what he or she sees (in a gestalt way).When the plot veers into high stakes conspiracy, it retains its excitement, but loses some of the cerebral edge.Still Jay Brandon provides a deep novel that will remain with the audience long afterward as each fan will reconsider basic observations.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more

Product Description
An old case comes back to haunt a young lawyer when, on a sabbatical from his law practice to write a book, attorney Grey Stanton is visited by a former client intent on retrieving stolen loot. Reprint. AB. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

"Dead Loss" more like it
Pedestrian-even boring--thriller(allegedly)from Texan attorney Brandon who went on to write some capable and lively books.Its protagonist is Texas lawyer "Grey Stanton"who lives with wife "Judith"and baby daughter "Katy".He is taking a sabbatical to write a history of the Jury System and is distracted by a visit from an attractive young woman named "Marcie"calaiming to be a law student researching an old case of his-an unsuccessful defence of a low life named "Simon Hocksley"on an armed robbery charge.The visits grow in frequency and include a romp in the swimming pool
Marcie is not what she claims being an intimate of the now freed Hocksley and his crippled brother Waylon 'The money has disappeared and Hocksley is convinced Stanton knows where it is .Cue harrassment and intimidation leading to a frankly ludicrous and misjudged climax at the Stanton household

The villain is a genuinely chilling creation and there is a good piece of characterization with the well meaning but weak sheriff who was bullied by Hocksley in their younger days.The amounts of money involved are low and I wonder if the author is not making an oblique point about poverty and low expectations among certain of the criminal class in Southern society

It starts out as a plod and ends as ludicrous.Go to Brandon's better later work instead

Jay Brandon's worst -- PASS
Improbable. Here's a story about a lawyer, Grey,who's family is being threatened and stalked
by a former client, Simon,just released from prison who thinks Grey stole his stash ofstolen money.Simon trespasses
on Grey's property (& INTO Grey's house), carries a gun, verbally threatens him, his wife and barely 2 year old daughter,
beats Grey half to death in a local restaurant and what does Grey do? Nothing. Grey tells everyone including the local
Sheriff,he doesn't want to violate the poor guys parole and get him sent back to prison! Can you believe that!!! Give me
a break. What man is going to let another do such a thing to his family?I stopped reading after the beating in a local
restaurant where no one lifted a finger (including Grey himself) to stop the beating. Not even Grey's wife. Unreal.

Not Suspenseful Enough
An attorney (Grey Stanton)and his wife are stalked by a previous client (Simon Hocksley) who believes Grey stole the money he hid after robbing a local store and being sent to prision.At times, the book is rathersuspenseful.At other times, you know exactly what Brandon is going to dowith a certain character or situation, which does take the suspense out ofa "suspense" novel.Still, it's an interesting read with a twistat the end that I suspected was coming, but in a different way. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Fun Cops and Lawyers Drama
Jay Brandon writes some fun lawyer stories and this is no exception. Grudge Match is the story of earnest young District Attorney Chris Sinclair and wrongly convicted police officer Steve Greerdon.As a prosecutor, Chris Sinclar sent the officer to jail as an armed robber and a crooked cop; as DA, he exonerated him based on new evidence. Once Greerdon is released and starts poking around, a fellow officer who might have known something about the bad guys turns up dead. Although the DA suspects the same crooked cops who framed officer Greerdon, he can't prove it. As a result, he pursues a murder charge against the dead officer's lover/business partner in the hopes that she will reveal what she knows. However, she steadfastly remains silent, forcing him to go to trial on a case he has limited faith in. Meanwhile, DA Sinclair's teenage daughter and psychiatrist girlfriend are drawn into the drama creating danger to those close to him.

Grudge Match works on a number of levels. This lawyer novel involves equal parts of courtroom theatrics, detective work and human interest.Although this is more of an action story than a character study, the characters have enough meat on the bones to make the reader care about them. The plot manages to keep enough balls up in the air to keep the reader guessing about where the story will go. The courtroom action is an integral part of the story and also serves to distract Sinclair from the danger to his own family.The San Antonio locales are authentically drawn.

One of their own.
When former Detective Steve Greerdon is pardoned and released from prison after serving 8 years, he is determined to prove his innocence. He was set up by fellow officers as taking part in an armed robbery, as pay-back for refusing to join in their clique, taking money from drug dealers and other criminals. At his trial, he was prosecuted by Chris Sinclair who is later horrified to learn that he helped to jail an innocent man. During his time in jail, Steves' wife divorced him and married another officer who proved to be violent to both her and her son. After Steves' pardon and return to the job, the officers who set him up, try to falsely implicate him in new crimes so as to return him to jail, but, with the help of the now DA Chris Sinclair and his lover, child psychiatrist Anne Greenwald, Steve eventually clears his name completely and helps to bring about the incarceration of the crooked cops.

innovative and exciting legal thriller
Eight years ago San Antonio assistant district attorney Chris Sinclair proved to a jury that Detective Steve Greerdon participated in an armed robbery.Steve insisted he was set up by other police officers who wanted Steve to join their little club of ripping off drug dealers and other lowlifes, but he refused so he took the fall for a crime he never committed.Chris, now the District Attorney, finds DNA evidence and a witnesses exonerating Steve who is pardoned.

Steve wants to reconnect with his son and enjoy his freedom but the police officers who set him up want him back in prison.Chris doesn?t know who to trust on the force and sets a tail on Steve so he always has an alibi.Meanwhile Chris?s lover, psychiatrist Anne Greenwald treats a patient who says Steve is guilty.When two police officers are murdered and Steve is on the scene, Chris has doubts about his innocence.The only way to find out who the dirty cops are is to set up a sting if Steve is willing to risk his life and trust an officer of the court who could put him away again.

When it comes to writing innovative and exciting legal thrillers, Jay Brandon is one of the best in the business.His latest protagonist seeks truth at any cost yet for all his years as a lawyer has a touch of innocence that readers will cherish.The walls of blue start off solid but by the time GRUDGE MATCH ends a few cracks give readers hope that the police will speak out when they see wrong doing.Fans of Linda Fairstein and Christine McGuire will definitely love this book.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Milagro Lane

Intriguing story about an old well known family in San Antonio, but could be in any community.The mystery evolves from the beginning and does not end until the completion of the story.This author possesses an uncanny understanding of female thinking.He delights in writing about many of the old hangouts in San Antonio and brings a character to them that anyone would enjoy reading.It brings back memories of the way things were fifty years ago in our country.

a quick read
Texans will enjoy this book, especially those with ties to San Antonio.It moves fast, the characters are interesting, and the local places mentioned make the story more real than fiction.I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Exquisitely written and well worth the read
Tragedy and heartache rarely occur in isolated incidents. "Milagro Lane" is a story of murder and intrigue, following what unfolds after an unexpected death. What spills forth is a spiraling plot that any mystery and thriller fan will very much enjoy. "Milagro Lane" is exquisitely written and well worth the read.

Didn't want to end
I've really enjoyed reading all of JayBrandon's books, but really loved this one...I wanted it to go on forever. ... Read more

Product Description
With his reputation on the line, African-American criminal lawyer Ray Boudro accepts as a client Mike Stennett, a white police detective accused of beating a black motorist to death. Reprint. PW. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Characters Lifta Courtroom Drama Above the Pack
Call this genre fiction if you like, but Jay Brandon elevates the familiar cops and courtrooms drama with mature insight into the lives of a Black lawyer, the first of his family out of poverty, and a White cop whoseaffection for the old neighborhood is expressed in terms only a vigilantewould understand.Raymond Boudro is the Black lawyer with a client listpacked with drug pushers and convenience store robbers.Mike Stennett isthe White narcotics cop who doesn't shy from bashing heads and breakingribs when he can't make a case stick in court.When Stennett is accused ofbeating a Black man to death, he comes to Boudro to defend him.Boudrodeplores this renegade cop's methods but wants to know the truth; takingthe case is the only way he'll ever know.The crucible in which these twocharacters are locked creates all the tension you expect from the genre,but there's much more to savor--authentic lawyer talk to be sure, but it'sthe finely wrought human side of the two characters that sets this bookapart. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

One plotline too many.
Henry Claremont was a dedicated and well-liked high school history teacher. Four years ago former defense attorney and now San Antonio District Attorney Chris Sinclair won an acquittal for defendant Henry Claremont from sexual abuse charges. Unfortunately, Henry was brutally killed just a week after his acquittal. Chris has always been haunted by the death of the sensitive high school teacher. Now Horace "Hike" Grimason is on trial for Henry's murder. Hike, the high school varsity basketball coach at the time is now a deputy superintendent of schools. Fours years ago Henry was trying to prove along with his lover, Vice-Principal Charlotte Moore, that Hike was taking bribes from the parents of basketball players. In a concurrent story, Malachi Reese a murderer that Chris put on death row ispetitioning the court for a new trial. He is claiming a lookalike is responsible for the deaths of which he has been convicted. The lookalike is terrorizing Clarissa, Chris's college student daughter. Luckily Clarissa does not scare easily, and helps her father in his quest to keep a murderer behind bars.

I really enjoyed the storyline that involved the Grimason case. I felt engaged in the outcome of the case. Henry was a sympathetic and wronged character. You want justice for him. There is even romance brewing between Chris and his co-counsel. The Reese storyline was less successful because it was a backburner story. It really wasn't well-developed. Every time the plot veered toward Reese it just felt like filler material. The story involving Reese did not feel compelling though I did like Clarissa and her part in it. I'd give the Claremont storyline 5 stars and the Reese storyline 3 stars. ... Read more

Product Description
Pawnshop owner Daniel Greer is losing everything. In the seedy and rapidly changing Houston neighborhood where he built a solid business, a new Vietnamese competitor is stealing his customers. Desperate and too trusting, Greer mistakenly turns to a knife-sharp Vietnamese kingpin for help. Soon he and his wife Carol are thrust into the thick of a bloody Asian gang war - a clash that's seeping into the city's corridors of power and wealth. But not until Carol is kidnapped does Greer guess the scope of the dark, vicious game he has entered, and the frightening price he must pay for victory.Trapped between warring factions, terrified by the senseless violence exploding around him, Greer reluctantly prepares himself for battle. He'll risk anything to save his wife - and exact a very personal revenge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Will the Wars Ever End
Jay Brandon'S mystery/thriller explores the world of violence in the underground oriental style of business set in an American city. Pawnshop owner, Daniel Greer watches his business sink as he is pushed from competition. He turns to a warlord of the Vietnamese syndicate for help.
His wife is kidnapped to enforce the rules of the waring factions. Daniel must face off his father-in-law who uses his daughter as a chip in a desperate gang war.
This book isn't for the faint hearted, when the reader realizes everything has changed and nothing has changed. Full out power drama to the last page.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS. ... Read more

Product Description
In a case that shocks San Antonio, newly elected DA Mark Blackwell's son is accused of raping a cleaning woman. As Blackwell searches for clues, he realizes that he is the real target for faceless enemies whose motives he cannot even begin to fathom. Optioned by Steven Spielberg's Amblin' Productions. HC: Pocket. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Big Difference Between Early & Later Brandon Books
I've enjoyed Brandon's latest books, and found this one at the library. I didn't realize until I brought it home that it was from 1990, and the differences between the writer's early & later work: later is better.

I was disappointed by a number of factors: the lack of realistic emotions and verbal reactions to horrible situations (as in Blackwell's conversation with his son while visiting in prison); the breakaway from standard and more satisfying plot devices such as unmasking the villain before the trial concludes, rather than concluding the trial and designing (SPOILER) the horrific nightmare a framed, innocent, gentle young man finds himself in in Huntsville (brutally beaten and raped by people who hated his DA father, and placed in that position by an arrogant and hateful warden), and the moral and unappealing ambiguity of the main character and his relations with coworkers and family.

I was not impressed with this book, and was glad that it wasn't my first experience with Brandon's writing.

Outstanding!
IMHO this stands with the best of Turow, RN Patterson, Martini, W. Friedman, & J. Amiel in courtroom dramas.

Combining a satisfying plot with sparkling dialog & sharply drawn characters, this book ranks as one of the best of its genre. ... Read more

Product Description
District Attorney Chris Sinclair has never really forgotten his first real love, Jean, a college girlfriend from the era of free love, a wild young woman who introduced him to a world of sex and drugs and alcohol drastically unlike is own.But she left his life in college and he's never seen her since, until a young woman is found buried in a shallow grave on the outskirts of San Antonio.Through forensic reconstruction of the decomposed skull, a face takes shape.A detail or two is different, but there's no doubt the face is Jean's, like an after image in his mind, he sees her face in the young girl's and he knows. What he doesn't know is why Jean wouldn't have reported her own daughter's disappearance; the body had been buried for months.
Amazon.com Review
District Attorney Chris Sinclair is stunned by the resemblance between the forensically reconstructed face of a 14-year-old murder victim and the college sweetheart he hasn't seen for almost two decades. Although the girl was gone from home for three months before her body was found in a shallow grave on the outskirts of San Antonio, she'd never been reported missing. And when Chris finds her mother, Jean, he discovers two more equally shocking facts: Kristen, the murdered teenager, has an older sister, Clarissa, who is Chris's own daughter; and Clarissa is missing too.

Sinclair's troubled feelings compel his very personal interest in saving the child he's never met, and in tracking down the presumed perpetrator of both crimes--a shadowy Fagin-like businessman named Raleigh Pentell who controls a gang of young thieves and supplies them and their classmates with illegal drugs as well. Managing to rescue Clarissa from her captivity, Chris assembles a difficult and circumstantial case against Pentell. But in the process of bringing him to justice, Chris discovers that Jean, who lived a little outside the law when they were lovers, may have been involved in her daughters' murder and abduction.

While the denouement is a bit long in coming, the growing relationships between Chris and his daughter and between Clarissa and adolescent psychologist Anne Greenwald, Chris's fiancée, are enough to sustain one's interest until the end; Brandon is an accomplished writer with atypical insight into his characters' emotional lives, which are movingly explicated. Jean remains an enigma and not as fully explored as she might have been. Although not an entirely sympathetic figure, she lingers in the reader's mind after the other characters have faded away. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

BRANDON'S LAW
This is my first Jay Brandon novel, and after reading this well-crafted thriller, I am going to try and catch up on his other works.
Brandon's plot is as thick as thieves, and he masterfully winds the reader through the involved story.Young District Attorney Chris Sinclair finds himself drawn into his past as a young girls body found in a shallow grave turns out to be the daughter of his college sweetheart.Further problems ensue when he finds out that the girl has an older sister, Clarissa, who just might be his daughter.
Sinclair digs deep to find the child's killer and rescue his supposedly kidnapped daughter.The killer is apprehended, but it's up to Sinclair with very little evidence to bring the man to justice.
There are several unexpected twists and turns and a tight, tense denouement.
There's lots of good legal writers out there, and I add Jay Brandon to the list!

A Creaking Plot
The author gets a lot of his law right, but then wants us to believe that the DA does his own investigating, even doing a little b&e on the side. Too much to buy.

Great Beginning - And All Downhill From There!
It's always difficult to write a bad review when one realizes the weeks and months that must go into writing a novel.But this book is just a waste.The idea for the book is good and it begins well.A woman is been found dead and the hero recognizes the face of his old love when he sees a reconstruction of the face of the corpse.But from that point the author does not know where to go.The plot limps along with a lot of pointless conversations, little action, and badly described emotions.It is difficult to maintain interest in the characters.I wish I had not read this book and - if you buy it - you'll be sorry too.

AFTERIMAGE by Jay Brandon
I couldn't put this one down!Stayed up late to finish it...a chiller.Not easy to read because youngsters are in danger and one has already died.Some of the characters are not as they seem, and the D.A. Chris Sinclair has to figure it out before it's too late.Not only a young girl's safety is at stake, but that of Chris and his sweetheart.

A great follow-up
As a New Englander now reincarnated as a Texan, I have been reading up on the local authors. San Antonio is fortunate to have Jay Brandon in addition to Rick Riordan as storytellers with a local flavor. "Afterimage"is the second Brandon title to feature Chris Sinclair, a young DistrictAttorney, and his lover, Dr. Anne Greenwald. In this book Chris hooks up,unexpectedly, with an old college girlfriend and discovers her/hisinvolvement in a complicated crime.My only problem with the plot is thesomewhat unrealistic portrayal of Jean Fitzgerald, the mother of two"lost" teenage daughters who happens to be the old college lover.Her "wildness" just doesn't ring true to this reviewer.Otherthan this minor quibble, I enjoyed the twisting plot, local color, and theever unfolding relationship between Chris and Anne. Please tell us thatthis series will continue! ... Read more

Product Description
To the African-American community in San Antonio, Malachi Reese is a saint, a community leader, a man who feeds the hungry and houses the homeless. To San Antonio District Attorney Chris Sinclair, Reese is the Angel of Death: a vicious killer possessed by the need for power and willing to do whatever it takes to gain it. Determined to see justice done, Sinclair overcomes incredible odds to see Reese convicted of murder and sentenced to Death Row.

But Malachi Reese has not been defeated. From Death Row, he threatens to destroy Sinclair, to take him to the very top and cast him back down. As a series of seemingly unrelated crimes begins, Sinclair feels the power of Reese descending upon him, and finds that enemies are allies and allies are enemies, and that truth and justice are much more shades of gray than an issue of Black and White.
Amazon.com Review
The excellent legal thrillers by former Texas prosecutor Jay Brandon (such ashis Edgar-nominated Fade theHeat) are the real McCoy--brainy and visceral assaults on thejustice system by someone who has seen all of its aspects.

Brandon's latest is a powerful story about two men determined to destroyeach other, using whatever it takes. San Antonio District Attorney ChrisSinclair, who is white, is so sure that a charismatic African Americancommunity leader, Malachi Reese, is a bad guy, in spite of all the goodwork he does to feed and house the needy, that he uses a legal loophole tohave Reese convicted of a double murder that he may not have committed.From his jail cell, Reese then orchestrates a monumental attack onSinclair, arranging murders and ruining reputations. Using hisstripped-down prose like a scalpel, Brandon cuts away most (but not quiteall) of the fat that often pads legal thrillers, leaving a strong story andseveral vivid characters. You might not like either Sinclair or Reese verymuch at the end, but you'll come away understanding why the law can only goso far in bringing people together. Other Brandon books include Defiance County, Local Rules, and Rules of Evidence. --Dick Adler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Jay Brandon - Angle of Death
good writer with quick plot which carries on throughout the book with lots of twists and turns.
A good read.

Angel of Death
This is a murder story that concerns King Edward I. After destroying the Red House, King Edward is confronted by a mystery. A man called Walter de Montfort is killed. It is up to King Edward to find clues and capture the culprit. In the end, he discovers it was a man called Robert de Luce, the treasurer of the Cathedral of St. Paul's, the senoir cannon of the church. King Edward found out that Robert de Luce poisoned Walter de Montfort when a drink was passed around.

I chose to read this book because of a few reasons. First because it would help me with my projects. Second because it is a mystery book. Third because it is tied in with the Middle Ages. Fourth because it is really a good book. Finally, because it is full of excitement.

I actually didn't have a favorite part. This to me was good because it was a mystery story. I liked it because it ties in with the Medieval Time. I don't think that any mystery stories have a favorite part. I like the types of mystery stories that gives you clues so you could solve the mystery yourself. Some of those types of books that I like to read Encyclopedia Brown Books.

Angel of Death
This is a murder story that concerns King Edward I. After destroying the Red House, King Edward is confronted by a mystery. A man called Walter de Montfort is killed. It is up to King Edward to find clues and capture the culprit. In the end, he discovers it was a man called Robert de Luce, the treasurer of the Cathedral of St. Paul's, the senoir cannon of the church. King Edward found out that Robert de Luce poisoned Walter de Montfort when a drink was passed around.

I chose to read this book because of a few reasons. First because it would help me with my projects. Second because it is a mystery book. Third because it is tied in with the Middle Ages. Fourth because it is really a good book. Finally, because it is full of excitement.

I actually didn't have a favorite part. This to me was good because it was a mystery story. I liked it because it ties in with the Medieval Time. I don't think that any mystery stories have a favorite part. I like the types of mystery stories that gives you clues so you could solve the mystery yourself. Some of those types of books that I like to read Encyclopedia Brown Books.

Nice try .... try again.
After reading Loose Among the Lambs I just had to grab another Brandon book - but was a tad disappointed. This one started out well, but tried too hard, was too cliche and just didn't have it. I think when Brandon's on, he's right-on, as in Loose Among the Lambs and Fade the Heat. But after reading this one I couldn't help but think that he's seen one too many episodes of Ally McBeal. Judges - no matter now incompetent - would not let attorneys blather on and on and on like they do in this novel, without getting interrupted. Brandon tries to make us believe early on that this judge is very incompetent, perhaps so that he can allow the attorneys to do just this, but I didn't buy it. And the ending? Too ridiculous. Too Hollywood. Brandon must have been thinking of the big screen when he wrote the ending. Too bad, because he's a great writer.

Exceptional Book !
Jay Brandon mixed in his thorough understanding of how the criminal justice system works, a very original and intelligent villian, and a uncanny depiction and right on the mark description of the relationshipsand dynamics within the African-American community and how that communityprecieves the Legal Justice System to create a thrilling,page turning bookthat you can't put down.His protagonists Sinclair and Greenwald are a greatmatch romantically and in helping to takedown the killer Reese. Unlikeother books that basically are written as screenplays/scripts or theirantagonist are more interesting and way smarter than the hero i.e. JamesPatterson-"Pop goes the Weasel". Malachi Reese and Chris Sinclairare both very smart and cunning in their own ways, making for some greatsuspense and good reading.Look forward to the sequel to this book if fornothing else to read about the on going relationship of Sinclair/Greenwaldand the other strong characters in the book, Asst DA Lynn Ransom andCouncilman Winston Phillips. Get the book because you won't see it on theHollywood screen because the villian is too Politicallly Incorrect forHollywood to allow the book to be made into a movie. ... Read more

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34 classic short stories about the death penalty by O. Henry, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Jack London, Victor Hugo, Guy De Maupassant, Mark Twain, Wilkie Collins, Honore De Balzac, Robert Barr, Franz Kafka, Charles Dickens, Ambrose Bierce, Frank Stockton, Edgar Wallace, Anatole France, Gertrude Landa, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Melville Davisson Post, Saki, Laurence Dunbar, Damon Runyon, Bjornstjerne Bjornson, Stephen Crane, Baroness Orczy and Thomas Hardy ... Read more

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To penetrate the mystery of a double murder and kidnapping in a small Texas town, prosecutor Kelsey Thatch will have to unearth a shocking secret--one that could destroy the town forever. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Passionless Prosecution
Author Jay Brandon sends state prosecutor Kelsey Thatch into the murkyenclave of Galilee, deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas, to pinch hit forlocal DA Morgan Fletcher, who's got a major conflict of interest--hisbrother Billy's been indicted for a double murder.This is a whodunit andarmchair sleuths too easily focus on Morgan instead of Billy.And that'swithout the aid of the Texas Ranger assigned to help Kelsey with theinvestigation.He only shows up long enough to say he can't stay.(ATexas Ranger derelict in his duty?Unbelievable!)Apparently, Brandonforgets about the Ranger to bring on a local deputy as his surrogate andKelsey's romantic interest.To find the facts, Kelsey struggles with thesocial labyrinth of the inbred East Texas town.The plot twists becomefairly predictable and the story never catches fire.In the end the readerreally doesn't care what happens to any of them. ... Read more

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Called upon to serve as the defense attorney for a young man who is accused of murdering his best friend, Jordan Marshall quickly discovers that his client has been set up and is forced to confront the entire town for the truth. Read by Jay O. Sanders. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Local Fools
I can't write little enough about this book, it all sounds like bull to me. This book made me take the next day off work sick it was so bad. A real page-sticker. Recommended to people with bad eye-sight and bad hearing with mimimal interaction with other people. Jay Brandon could ruin your life like he has ruined mine.

All that said I would still rather read this than talk to anyonre in my hostel, the USA Hostel in San Francisco.

More true-to-life than most
The story is laid out above (Editorial Reviews). So I'll just add that I liked it. It was pleasantly different than most legal
mysteries in that it was about regular people in a rural town,not your wealth blahblahblah clients who can and do buy and
manipulate everything and everyone in sight.
This is the third book by Jay Brandon I've read and enjoyed.

The only blooper I found was that the lawyer went looking to see if the defendant was wearing a ring. Everything is taken
from you when you are processed into jail.

Classic
Wicked. Cool. Sorted. Jay Brandon is da man. Aiiight! Boo ya!

Classic
Jay Brandon is the man... and I've only read one of his books. Cool cat - good courtroom stuff. Excellent. Wicked. Aiiie! Boo yah!

Classic courtroom drama told just at the right pace
Unlike the works of John Grisham, this classic coutroom drama is told at a bit slower pace, leaving enough time to watch the story unfold and enjoy the characters, yet it never gets boring and pages are turned just as quickly, maybe even faster.

I specifically enjoyed the fact that the mystery unfolds around one single case only, and is solved within the confines of the original setting (a small village and its courtroom) without resolving to surprising outside developments which in other courtroom dramas sometimes come from left field. This allows the reader to keep guessing at the solution without "changing the rules" halfway through the book.

Brandon needs no subplots and doesn't have to jump between multiple storylines to spice up his book, the suspense comes from the classic "whodunit" question, which in this case is overshaded by the questions of "whydunit" and the mystery of the strange behavior of the entire village.

I would!certainly recommend this book, however, for readers thatlook for more action-packed drama, there may not be enough "meat" in this novel. ... Read more

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Word count: 2334. ... Read more

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Chapters: Grenadian Immigrants to Canada, Jean Augustine, Jaime Peters, Solitair, Brandon Jay Mclaren, Davis Joseph. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 20. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Jean Augustine, PC, CM (born September 9, 1937 in St. George's, Grenada) is a former Canadian politician. From 1993 to 2005, Augustine was a Liberal member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of EtobicokeLakeshore. She is a former member of Cabinet, and a former school principal. Augustine served as the Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien from 1994 to 1996, and was the Minister of State for multiculturalism, and the status of women until 2004. Augustine was born in Grenada. She studied at the University of Toronto where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Education. Later on she received a Honorary Doctor of Laws from the same institution. After university she was an elementary school principal with the Metropolitan Separate School Board in Toronto. She has served on numerous organizations and Boards including the National Black Coalition of Canada, the Board of Governors of York University, the Board of Trustees for The Hospital for Sick Children, the Board of Directors of the Donwood Institute, the Board of Harbourfront and Chair of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority. She was also National President of the Congress of Black Women of Canada. Through fund-raising efforts, Augustine supports the Jean Augustine Scholarship Fund, which assists single mothers to undertake post-secondary study at George Brown College. In the 1993 federal election, Augustine became the first African Canadian woman elected to the Parliament of Canada and subsequently the first black woman in a federal Cabinet. She also served three terms as Chair of the National Liber...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=386507 ... Read more

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When a child molester offers to turn himself in to Mark Blackwell, the San Antonio district attorney finds himself caught between justice and the crimes of the city's elite. By the author of Rules of Evidence. 50,000 first printing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Jay Brandon's Loose Amaong the Lambs is top-knotch
Jay Brandon has created a great novel here about the world of child predators. The setting is San Antonio, which jay Brandon knows very well.

He is comfortable using actual locations in the San Antonio area to tell this tale of a District Attorney, Mark Blackwell, who is asked to do a favor for an old friend. Mark is running for re-election and is asked to accept the surrender of a an alleged serial child molester. This gives mark the opportunity to put a public face on his reelection race and he gladly accepts.
As the story develops, the surrender is not that simple when the suspect recants during his guilty plea sentencing. Then Mark must begin investigating and as he draws nearer to the actual suspect, the suspect alleges that the charges are false and that he is the victim of political corruption because he knows secrets about the city's power elite which must remain hidden.

The author reveals the protagonist's flaws as well as the murky world of child molestation and the difficulty in proving charges.The reader learns a great deal about the workings of the juvenile mind after a child molestation.
It is a great read and I am only sorry I discovered jay Brandon and this book now. It is well worth reading.

Ed Benjamin, author of "Cash In on the Obama $3 Trillion Spending Plan!: How to make large amounts of money by conducting business with or receiving grants from federal, state, and local governments" also available on Amazon

WOLF AMONG THE LAMBS INDEED
LOOSE AMONG THE LAMBS is one of the most compelling and gripping novels I've read in a while.Jay Brandon delivers a powerful storyline, replete with incredibly realistic characters and emotional confrontations that are explicitly and thoughtfully written.
DA Mark Blackwell is asked to do a favor for a friend---a child molester wants to confess to his crimes, and he wants to surrender to Blackwell.When the case comes to trial, however, the molester recants and says it wasn't him.Soon, a young ten year old boy watching news reports identifies the real culprit, but it's not the arrested molester---it's the man's lawyer.
From hereon, Brandon takes us through a maze of deceit and cover-ups; the brave young boy who has to fight his feelings of his abuser, and testify in court.Blackwell is aided by a dedicated underling named Betsy, and finds himself facing his old mentor in the final showdown.
The courtroom scenes are phenomenally well done, and the pacing keeps us intrigued.We feel the terror of the act; sympathy for the victim and their families; we also learn more about Blackwell and his own failed fatherhood with his son, David.This is not sugarcoated; the deck is not stacked.Faults match virtues, and even Blackwell comes under our scope at times.
All in all, however, this is a brilliant book.Well worth reading!

The best Jay Brandon ever wrote.
STUNNING STORY.Deep dark plot.You won't be able to put it down ... Read more