Here's
the list of Jay Brandon's mystery novels.
Learn
more about each title by clicking on the name of each book or scroll down!
Pocket Books ISBN: 0671708872 Buy Now
Grey Stanton once thrived in the hard-edged courts of criminal
law. Now, on a lawyer’s sabbatical, he’s writing a book and spending the
time he never had with his wife and child on their remote and peaceful Texas
homestead—blissfully unaware that his idyllic world is soon to be brutally
disrupted.
It starts when a vivacious young woman, a student, stops by to
ask him questions about an old case — an assault and robbery trial that Grey
had lost and all but forgotten. Then, he receives a series of bizarre visits
from his former client, a dangerous man whose awkward words quickly turn
menacing…
Simon Hocksley is not interested in justice. He’s on a
mission to recover money he stashed before doing time, and he’s dead certain
Stanton knows where to find it. Desperate to settle his vendetta, Hocksley
threaten’s Stanton’s wife and daughter. Using the tactics of violence and
terror, he will force the lawyer to learn a savage kind of code: the law of
survival at all costs.
"One of the most powerfully realized, convincing
thrillers of the past ten years."—Booklist.
Pocket Books ISBN: 0671708880 Buy Now
In the back room in a Baltimore office, Elizabeth Truett
witnessed a killing, and walked into the middle of a fatal duel. On one side is
Marco Galvin, a vicious underworld mastermind; on the other is Captain Bill
Jerek, determined to bring Galvan to justice and uncover Galvan’s spy inside
his own department. Jerek has another worry: how to keep Elizabeth Truett —
and her husband, John — alive.
Two thousand miles away a new player enters the game. A young
man claiming to be the Truett’s son has suddenly materialized. Presumed dead
in Vietnam, he wants to be reunited with his parents. Or does he want to kill
them?
Jerek is sure that Bryan Truett is a trap — a hitman hired
by Marco Galvan. The Truetts want to believe their son is alive. Galvan’s men
are turning up the pressure. In a harrowing struggle of deception and stealth,
everyone is a target, everyone is a suspect, and the hunt wont’ end until
someone hits the tripwire.
"Tight, high-tension suspense" —Houston
Chronicle
"Taut suspense…begins and ends with shoot-outs and
features a chase of sustained terror in between. An utterly believable thriller…"
— ALA Booklist
Pocket Books ISBN:
0671708899 Buy Now
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
"Predator’s Waltz climaxes with one of those
frenetic, crowd-filled emotionally satisfying big scenes that bring theater
audiences to their feet…Brandon is a skillful narrator…adept at raising the
emotional ante…" —Houston Chronicle
"Strong…and solid…(Greer is) sympathetic and
sensitively portrayed…" — Kirkus Reviews
Pocket Books ISBN:
0671702610 Buy Now
On a quite April night, San Antonio’s peace is shattered by
insistent screams. A cleaning woman working late in a downtown office building
points to a young computer expert as her attacker. Her version of the incident
is rape: he claims he’s been framed—that she ripped her own clothes and
clawed at her own flesh. When the sun rises, this event will shock the entire
city, because the accused rapist is David Blackwell, son of the new District
Attorney.
Mark Blackwell knows that his son’s story will sound
preposterous to a jury. Although a master at the bureaucratic chess game, the
District Attorney cannot "fade the heat" and prevent David from going
to trial. In desperation he will put everything on the line—his family, his
marriage, even his secret love affair—to save David. But as he searches for
clues and sorts out his strategies, a chilling question surfaces. If David is
innocent, then it means that he himself is the target of a frame-up—by enemies
whose devious motives he cannot even begin to fathom…
"High-tension, nonstop courthouse thrills…"— Kirkus
Reviews
"First-class writing and high drama all the way."
— Associated Press
"Its knowing view of the American justice system chills
to the bone." The Washington Post Book World
Pocket Books ISBN:
0671793896 Buy Now
Raymond
Boudrou, San Antonio’s best black criminal lawyer,
has publicly branded white police detective Mike Stennett a racist. But now
Boudro has accepted Stennett as a client, with one warning: The truth or I will
ruin you. Stennett is accused of beating a black drifter to death; an eyewitness
claims to have seen the whole thing. With his own hard-won reputation at stake,
and a client even other cops distrust, Boudro is driven by a gut feeling for
justice. Even Stennett, he believes, would not stubbornly insist he is innocent
against such odds unless something in this perplexing case were note what it
seemed to be.
Combing through the evidence, working his network of childhood
buddies, informers, and dealers on San Antonio’s east side, Boudro unearths a
witness who can probably determine the outcome of the trial. But he still has
nagging doubts about his client’s character and his plea. As the curtain rises
on the courtroom drama, the stage is set for a double and deadly duel — not
simply Prosecution v. Defense, but a community’s volatile emotions v. the raw
and shattering truth.
"A wild novel that has its own surprises and conclusions…The
courtroom dialogue and drama are some of the finest I have seen in recent
years." — Lincoln Journal-Star
"A compelling, explosive conclusion…Jay Brandon is a
talent to be reckoned with." — Rave Reviews
Pocket Books ISBN: 0671760335 Buy Now
In the course of a hot, tense summer in San Antonio, Texas,
three children have briefly disappeared, each returning home with chillingly
similar stories — of the man who took them in, tended to them, touched them in
all the wrong ways. For District Attorney Mark Blackwell, the case could be a
publicity windfall, invaluable to his reelection campaign. And when the molester
— represented by a high-powered attorney — wants to turn himself in directly
to the D.A., Blackwell sees a chance to recharge his passion for his work.
But he confessor recants, the children are unable to identify
him, and the case begins to crumble. What could drive an innocent man to subject
himself to a city’s violent hatred and recrimination? The answers lie in the
shocking testimony of one ten-year-old boy. Suddenly, Blackwell finds himself
pitted against the city’s power elite, where promises are always kept and
secrets never violated. In a breathtaking novel of legal insight, intrigue, and
intensity, Blackwell unearths a scandal that could destroy lives and careers…and
he alone must decide whether to let a city bear witness to the deepest desires
and degradations of the human heart.
"…rises above the crowd…Tensely drawn and…convincing."
— Chris Petrakos, Chicago Tribune
"Dynamic courtroom drama…Blackwell is an appealing and
vulnerable protagonist surrounded by brilliantly credible supporting
characters." — Publisher’s Weekly
Pocket Books ISBN: 0671884093 Buy Now
The old county courthouse casts the longest shadow in Green
Hills, Texas, and when former San Antonio Assistant D.A. Jordan Marshall is
ticketed for speeding, he’s hauled before the bench of Judge Richard Waverly.
His Honor has a job for a city lawyer like him: serve as court-appointed
defender for Wayne Orkney, a local boy charged with attempted murder of his own
best buddy. When an outrageous bail is set, Jordan knows his sullen client is
being railroaded. The defendant stands speechless before the court, the whole
town arrayed against him—and it’s up to Jordan to find out why.
"Jay Brandon just keeps getting better…Local Rules
presents a terrifically engaging protagonist…beautifully paced…a wonderful
book by a masterful author." — Jeremiah Healy, author of Rescue
"Jay Brandon’s talent is revealed in the courtroom. He
delivers all the drama inherent in conflicts between the law and humanity…"
— Laurie Trimble, Dallas Morning News
Pocket Books ISBN: 0671536559 Buy Now
Galilee, Texas, is not far from Houston, but it might as well
be in another world – which is why a hideous double murder that rocks Galilee’s
ruling family knocks the town to its knees. Lorrie Beaumont and her husband have
been shot to death, and their infant daughter has been kidnapped. And Alice
Beaumont, the family’s powerful matriarch, is pressing for swift justice
against Billy Fletcher, the chief suspect.
Enter Kelsey Thatch, a young prosecutor sent by the Texas
Attorney General. She immediately feels the heavy hand of Alice Beaumont pushing
for a speedy trial. But Kesley also discovers that in Galilee, loyalties are
easily twisted, and nobody seems to have a plausible answer to two key
questions: Where is the baby? And why has there been no ransom demand? As
the trial fireworks begin, Kelsey senses that the truth lies in the forbidding
pine woods at the edge of town. But to penetrate the mystery, she will have to
unearth a shocking secret — one that could destroy Galilee forever.
"Brandon’s unquestionable skill at presenting the
courtroom procedural has never been stronger." — Dallas
Morning News
"In court and out, this deviously plotted and masterfully
written novel represents Brandon at his very best." — Jon L. Breen, Armchair
Detective
"Jay Brandon knows how to put together a tight,
believable courtroom melodrama." — Gene Lyons, Entertainment
Weekly
Hardcover Forge Books
Tor/Forge; dist. By St. Martin's, $24.95 ISBN: 0-312-86541-4
Mass Market Paperback
Forge; ISBN: 0812540433 Buy Now
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.
"Chris Sinclair is a solid character--honest, dedicated,
resourceful — but, as so often happens, it's the villain who steals the show.
Reese, the community leader who isn't nearly as upstanding a citizen as he
appears to be, is a cold, cold person: not quite pure evil but as close as a
character can get and still be a relatively realistic human being. And while the
novel sometimes lapses into a cliché (a romance between Christ and a
psychiatrist is predictably affected by Reese's machinations), it's generally
quite fresh and always mysterious enough to keep readers turning the pages. Sure
to be popular with the legal thriller crowd." — David
Pitt
"ANGEL OF DEATH is an exciting legal thriller that is a
fabulous one-sitting read that asks penetrating questions about how equal is the
so-called blind justice system? Without preaching, the story line is fast-paced
and moving and filled with action that occasionally overwhelms the poignancy of
the tale. The characters are fully developed, especially the enigmatic Malachi
and the obsessed Chris, who will leave readers wondering about each of them.
Clearly, this novel is one of the sub-genre’s best books of the year. "
— Harriet Klausner
After-Image
Forge Books/St. Martin's Press
February 2000 352 pages Buy Now
District Attorney Chris Sinclair has not seen
Jean, his first real love, since college. But when a young woman is found buried
in a shallow grave on the outskirts of San Antonio, like an after image in his
mind, Chris sees Jean’s face in the young girl’s and knows the child is
hers. What he doesn’t know is why she wouldn’t have reported her own
daughter’s disappearance; the body had been buried for months.
It doesn’t take Chris long to find Jean and
tell her the grisly news. Even more shocking to Chris, though, is learning of
Clarissa, a daughter Chris is told is his own — a product of his and Jean’s
last wild time together. And she’s been kidnapped.
"Haunting, profound, and breathtaking, Jay
Brandon’s AfterImage is perhaps the finest legal thriller since
Presumed Innocent. Once you’ve started reading this book, you won’t want to
stop until it’s over. And maybe not then." — William Bernhardt,
best-selling author of Dark Justice
"Taut and intense, AfterImage is also a novel
about loss and reclamation written with a complexity and subtlety and depth of
feeling that raises it far above other novels of its kind." -- Martha
Grimes
"Jay Brandon is a fine storyteller and a gifted writer.
In his new novel, AfterImage, the combination is unbeatable." –
Sharyn McCrumb, New York Times Best-selling author of The
Ballad of Frankie Silver
"I’ve long been persuaded that Jay Brandon is the
finest writer of legal thrillers in the country, and AfterImage proves it
conclusively…[A] riveting tale." – Jeremiah Healy, author of The
Only Good Lawyer and Spiral
Silver Moon 
Tor Books ISBN: 0812575466 Buy Now
When D. A. Chris Sinclair and his beloved Anne Greenwald accept an invitation to visit Anne's estranged father, they expect a strange weekend. Mr. Greenwald's past is a wasteland of shadows and conspiracies in Texas government, and Anne has her doubts that the aged man has entirely renounced his former dubious political activities.
She and Chris expect some awkwardness over the fact that when Anne needed him, her father
wasn't there for her. What they don't expect is sudden death, when both Chris and Anne
witness the demise of Anne's ex-fiancé, Ben, at her father's home. But all they can agree on is
their disagreement. Chris is positive he saw Ben shoot himself; Anne is sure she saw Ben
being shot by someone else. The man she saw commit murder is released. Anne knows what
she saw, and also knows that if she's to convince anyone, she first must convince the
man she loves. But Chris, the best trial lawyer in San Antonio, knows what he saw, and he can't compromise his principles and change his story, even if it's the only way to keep his
relationship with Anne from being damaged.
When Anne begins receiving threats on her life, she knows that if she can't find
the truth behind the mystery soon, she will be helpless in the hands of the one lurking in the
shadows, so she starts to investigate on her own. But Chris can't stand by and let her venture into the shark-infested waters of Texas politics. She turns up some nasty surprises as she gets closer to the truth, while Chris uses his legal pull to try and uncover leads that might have been buried in the media frenzy over this case.
Chris will have to shake the pillars of the justice system to bring the truth to light in a case
with ramifications that reach to the very highest levels of Texas government. And when the
lieutenant governor herself intervenes on behalf of the man Anne has accused of murder, Chris
realizes that this case might prove his undoing, despite all his efforts, experience, and courtroom expertise. But even if he can somehow ferret out the truth from the mound of lies, secrets, and dirty politics that shroud this case, it might be harder yet to repair the breach of Anne's trust.
Forge Books ISBN: 0765308924 Buy Now
This new Chris Sinclair legal thriller forces the San Antonio DA to deal with the fact that eight years ago he helped convict an innocent police officer of corruption. Now the officer has been cleared, and the real crooked cops want to shut up anyone who suspects their crimes. As life after life is taken, Chris battles to uncover the truth because he may be next.
Forge Books ISBN: 0765308932 Buy Now
Edgar finalist Brandon's compelling novel may be low on humor, but it's high on legal twists and turns. Soon after starting his career, San Antonio lawyer Chris Sinclair defended his longtime friend, high school teacher Henry Claremont, against a charge of rape brought by a student—though in doing so, he had to expose an affair Claremont was having with a fellow teacher. When Claremont was acquitted, someone in town disagreed and beat him to death one night at a local park. Four years later, new clues uncovered by the Texas Rangers point to school administrator and basketball coach Hike Grimason as Claremont's killer. After Grimason is indicted, however, Sinclair is unable to focus as directly as he'd like on the coach's upcoming trial, since someone is now stalking him, possibly a convicted multiple murderer he sent to prison or possibly the man's twin.
All contents © 2004 Jay Brandon All Rights Reserved
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