The Sons of Jude by Brandt Dodon - REVIEWED

About the Book: (from the publisher)
The body of a young woman is found in a dumpster in Chicago and detectives Andy Polanski and Frank Campello are charged with finding the killer. The two are polar opposites. Polanski is the son of a disgraced Chicago police officer and is fastidious about his reputation. He has also recently been transferred from another district having blown the whistle on some corrupt cops. Campello, however, takes a live and let live approach to his life and job. It soon becomes clear, as another young woman – a potential witness – is murdered, that a sex-trafficking operation in Chicago is preying on illegal aliens. As the ill-matched pair dig deeper, an influential alderman and his son are implicated. Then Polanski is framed for a narcotics offense, devastating the cases against the corrupt officers and the alderman. Only when Campello is challenged by a local minister, whom he meets when visiting Polanski, does he find the motivation to seek justice.

My Thoughts:

“…better the devil you know that the devil you don’t.”  (p 313)

“The police will never win, and they will never lose.  It’s a war that is fought one battle at a time.”  (also on p. 313)

These two phrases capture the essence of Brandt Dodson’s novel, The Sons of Jude. I didn’t know who was dancing with the devil from one minute to the next!  Seriously!  There were times I was sure that I had figured out this very tangle web of deceit only to find out I didn’t have a CLUE what was really going on!  Time and time again, I found myself holding my breath – hoping against hope that Campello, Polanski and Christy would survive to the end of the novel!

This is a very well-written, well-paced story, and you can tell that the author is intimately familiar with every aspect of the life of a policeman – even the dark parts of the force. It’s kind of scary to think of the scope of deceit that exists in law enforcement, but it exists everywhere.  I only hope that I can be as brutally honest and tenaciously dedicated to the truth as some of the characters in the novel!  You really have to think on your feet in this story! Don’t let your guard down for a minute!!  Enjoy!!

About the Author:

Brandt Dodson comes from a long line of police officers dating back more than seventy years on both sides of his family. In addition, he was employed with the Indianapolis office of the FBI. He has lived in Chicago and travels to the city annually.