Loose Among the Lambs [Hardcover]

Jay Brandon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994

A man pleads guilty to a charge of child molesting and abuse. But at the point of trial he changes his plea. It is clear he has been leaned on by somebody. The DA, Mark Blackwell, begins to interview the children involved. By the author of "Fade the Heat" and "Rules of Evidence".

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

San Antonio DA Mark Blackwell returns in this high-powered, courtroom drama involving a well-connected attorney accused of child molestation.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In San Antonio, a twisted sexual deviant confesses, then recants. A victim then identifies another player--attorney Austin Paley--as the perpetrator. It falls to DA Mark Blackwell to sort out the highly publicized case. Quick scene shift to the trial, comprising half the text, pitting Austin Paley's word against the victim's and showcasing Brandon's clear talents for the drama of cross-examination. Brandon slowly scales up the tension, producing surprise witnesses and withholding the consequences should Paley be convicted; Paley is a powerful string puller and could tell of the whereabouts of a number of buried bodies. But Brandon drops this plot line, content to skillfully construct his courtroom dialogues, missing in the process an opportunity to portray corruption at city hall. Brandon delivers for his numerous readers by maintaining doubts until the jury's verdict; perhaps he's saving the corruption angle for a more daring plot next time, for his alter ego Blackwell is now his serial protagonist. Brandon has all the props for a legal thriller (see also his Rules of Evidence ), but he needs to swing for the fences to break into legal mysterydom's big leagues. Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 670 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Pr; Lrg edition (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786201975
• ISBN-13: 978-0786201976
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,056,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jay Brandon (1953- ) grew up and his lived primarily in San Antonio, Texas. A graudate of the University of Texas, he also has a Master's degree from The Writing Seminars of Johns Hopkins University, and a J.D. from the University of Houston.
Brandon is the author of 15 novels and one book of non-fiction, as well as a number of short stories published in anthologies.
Brandon has also been a lawyer since 1985. His first job out of law school was at the Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal court in Texas. He then served as an assistant district attorney of Bexar County (San Antonio), Texas, and a staff attorney on the Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas, before going into private practice in 1990.
Brandon's 1990 novel FADE THE HEAT, his first legal thriller, was shortlisted for the Edgar Award and optioned by Amblin Entertainment. That and later novels have been published by more than a dozen foreign published, with worldwide distribution.
Brandon is married and the father of three children. He is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and the American Crime Writers League (although he generally dislikes belonging to any group; just a natural prejudice).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOLF AMONG THE LAMBS INDEED, July 25, 2004

By 

Michael Butts (Berkeley Springs, WV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loose Among the Lambs: Loose Among the Lambs (Paperback)

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!

5.0 out of 5 stars Jay Brandon's Loose Amaong the Lambs is top-knotch, May 22, 2010

By 

Ed Benjamin "author, "Cash In on the Obam... (Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Loose Among the Lambs: Loose Among the Lambs (Paperback)

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

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Jay Brandon ever wrote., July 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Loose Among the Lambs (Hardcover)

STUNNING STORY. Deep dark plot. You won't be able to put it down