- Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Pocket; Reprint edition (Dec 1 1992)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0671793896
- ISBN-13: 978-0671793890
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.2 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 136 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Just as cops break the rules to fight crime in the streets, lawyers may disregard them completely in their search for truth in the courtroom--and feel pious about doing it. Raymond Boudro, the foremost black defense attorney in San Antonio, Tex., champions this dubious approach in Brandon's ( Fade the Heat ) fifth novel of legal suspense. When Detective Mike Stennett, a rough white undercover narc and reputed racist, is arrested for the fatal beating of a black junkie, Raymond takes on the high-profile case and upends many of his professional beliefs in his quest to make certain his client's innocence. Although the novel is suspenseful and savvy in its portrayal of subtle legal strategies in and out of the courtroom, its credibility sours when that subtlety is abandoned. For example, during the trial, to facilitate his search for the facts, Raymond discards the procedural rules, melodramatically offering prosecutor Becky Schirhart a free hand: "There are no rules . . . . Only games have rules." Brandon develops an interesting contrast between Stennett, the unsavory but devoted cop, and Raymond, the skillful and competitive attorney; each considers himself rightful protector of the crime-ridden East Side where both grew up. But the plot hinges on Raymond's unconvincing transformation from wily professional to quixotic truth-seeker, so that the improbable ending cannot help but disappoint.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
Black San Antonio lawyer Raymond Boudro takes on the defense of Mike Stennett, a racist cop who's been his longtime adversary, when Stennett's accused of fatally beating Gordon ``Hoss'' Frazier. Raymond has no trouble breaking prosecutor Rebecca Schirhart's case, but he's not happy about the prospect of victory, as evidence mounts that shiftless Frazier had lately begun to settle down (steady job and woman, care of her abused daughter), and that Stennett, who's not getting much backing from the P.D., has certainly been beating somebody recently. The resulting yarn is good enough for a one-night stand, though the sparse story is bellied out with hints of subplots (Raymond's adroit handling of an earlier cops-vs.-blacks case, Becky's futile romance with corporate lawyer Donny Summerford) that don't go anywhere, and Raymond's lethargic ambivalence slows down the action without deepening its resonance. The deft final twist is the best part of this competent but disappointing sequel to Brandon's Edgar-nominated Fade the Heat (1990). -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
In the Monday morning bustle of the courtroom, Raymond Boudro sat at ease. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
In the Monday morning bustle of the courtroom, Raymond Boudro sat at ease. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Characters Lift a Courtroom Drama Above the Pack,
By
This review is from: Rules of Evidence (Mass Market Paperback)
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 whose affection for the old neighborhood is expressed in terms only a vigilante would understand. Raymond Boudro is the Black lawyer with a client list packed with drug pushers and convenience store robbers. Mike Stennett is the White narcotics cop who doesn't shy from bashing heads and breaking ribs when he can't make a case stick in court. When Stennett is accused of beating a Black man to death, he comes to Boudro to defend him. Boudro deplores this renegade cop's methods but wants to know the truth; taking the case is the only way he'll ever know. The crucible in which these two characters 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's the finely wrought human side of the two characters that sets this book apart.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Characters Lift a Courtroom Drama Above the Pack,
By James W. Christian "scripophilist" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Rules of Evidence (Mass Market Paperback)
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 whose affection for the old neighborhood is expressed in terms only a vigilante would understand. Raymond Boudro is the Black lawyer with a client list packed with drug pushers and convenience store robbers. Mike Stennett is the White narcotics cop who doesn't shy from bashing heads and breaking ribs when he can't make a case stick in court. When Stennett is accused of beating a Black man to death, he comes to Boudro to defend him. Boudro deplores this renegade cop's methods but wants to know the truth; taking the case is the only way he'll ever know. The crucible in which these two characters 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's the finely wrought human side of the two characters that sets this book apart.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just OK,
By Donna J. Runnels - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Rules of Evidence (Mass Market Paperback)
Having worked in both law enforcement and a district attorney's office, I have pretty high standards when it comes to books involving cops and lawyers. This book didn't make a big impression on me. However, the characters were interesting and depicted well. I was hoping for a blockbuster ending, but I didn't get one.
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