Jay Brandon Books In Order

Publication Order of Mark Blackwell Books

Publication Order of Edward Hall Books

Publication Order of Chris Sinclair Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Jay Brandon is an award-winning author best known for legal thrillers like ‘Fade the Heat’.

+Biography

Jay Brandon has been writing for as long as he can remember. It all began with his love for reading. Then he decided that he wanted to tell stories similar to those he was reading.

Many aspiring writers grow up with a desire to write. Jay was lucky enough to have teachers that actually encouraged him to pursue his habit, this along with giving him the opportunity to have his stories read in class.

Jay distinctly remembers Mr. Clarkson because the teacher assigned him the task of writing a story for St. Patrick’s Day, an opportunity he leaped upon with some fervor. Beyond Elementary school, Jay was presented with even more opportunities to hone his craft, not only working on the yearbook as a copy editor for Robert E. Lee High School (San Antonio) but also writing columns in the school newspaper.

Jay didn’t need much. So long as he had his pen and notepad on hand, he was happy because he was able to write; and he did just that, producing short stories and poems and even jotting down any unique ideas that came his way.

After leaving Robert E. Lee High, Jay Brandon enrolled at Trinity University. The author wasted no time in pursuing every single writing class he could find. During those two years, he made friends with similar interests, this including novelist-in-residence Bob Flynn.

Jay would eventually go on to acquire his degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. Jay admits that the degree wasn’t the smartest investment at the time, and his mistake became clear to him in the three years he spent doing odd jobs because he couldn’t find formal employment.

But that did not stop him from writing. And while he eventually began to accumulate rejection letters, Jay had the chance to see some of his short stories published. Of course, that wasn’t enough to give Jay the life of comfort he sought.

And if Jay had learned anything from his decision to pursue a degree in English, he didn’t show it when he went to Johns Hopkins to pursue a writing seminar; though, Jay will tell you that it was the best year of his life, during which he read and wrote with other like-minded students.

The novel he wrote at the end of that year was never published, though it got him an agent. Jay Brandon thought that he had finally hit the jackpot, snagging an agent; and this particular individual injected more courage into Jay’s life than he had ever known, calling the first suspense thriller he wrote the best he had read in ten years.

The agent had even bigger boasts for Jay’s second and third book. The fact that he never sold even one of those books was enough to convince Jay to take a different approach to his career as an aspiring author.

He moved to Houston, went to Law school and finally changed agents. Virginia Barber sold Jay’s books almost immediately, and Jay has expressed gratitude for all the work she did to drive him towards success.

It took a while for the book to run through the publication process, eventually hitting the shelves just as Jay was finishing law. The legal arena was a far bigger blessing than Jay could have possibly imagined because it provided the author new subjects from which he could mine ideas for stories.

By delving into legal thrillers, Jay found that he could write about anything, from family to love and death. Since then, Jay has found significant success as an author, with his first book being short-listed for the Edgar Award. ‘Fade the Heat’ was also optioned for a possible movie adaptation by Amblin Entertainment.

Even though the practicing attorney started out writing legal thrillers, he has since branched out to other genres, this including suspense and even romance.

+Rules of Evidence

Ray Bourdro makes the rather odd decision to represent a white police detective accused of killing a black drifter. The decision is unexpected because Ray has little love for the detective, having called him a racist at one point.

If you cannot decide whether or not Jay Brandon is the author for you, this book could change your mind, primarily because it exposes Jay as a masterful dramatist and storyteller. The dialogue in the book is surprisingly organic and believable, and so are the characters at play.

This book, as one might guess, centers on the issue of race, and Jay Brandon applies some tact in handling the subject. And even though the book spends a lot of time in the courtroom, there are a number of noteworthy twists and turns. People have compared this book to works by authors like John Grisham.

+Local Rules

When a local boy is charged with attempted murder, Jordan Marshall is tasked with defending him. It isn’t the sort of assignment Jordan would have undertaken in the first place.

However, the attorney had little choice in the matter, succumbing to the pressure after he was caught speeding near the wrong small town in Texas. It doesn’t take Jordan long to determine that his young client is being railroaded, and what he discovers upon further investigation is a secret that could bring the town to its knees.

This book is easy enough to gravitate towards. You have a lawyer that is forced to defend a client he quickly realizes might be innocent, so naturally, you are rooting for him to become the knight in shining armor that can save a boy from the nefarious machinations of others.

There are a lot of twists and turns to be enjoyed here, and few of them are predictable. While the mystery keeps readers engaged, the characters and their relationships also drive the story. They were effectively developed and fleshed out, painted in a believable and organic light, complementing Jay Brandon’s impressive dialogue.

The small town is also a character, and an intriguing one, especially the way Jay represents it, giving a detailed picture of what life in such a place might look or feel like.