Customer Reviews

Fade the Heat

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.