The Sons of Jude

By Brandt Dodson

Saint Jude is the patron saint of lost causes - and police officers. When Chicago detectives Frank Campello and Andy Polanski are assigned to investigate the murder of Trina Martinez it seems like an ordinary homicide. An unfortunate young girl in the wrong place at the wrong time has been brutally murdered. But their investigation is halted by a wall of silence, a wall formed by powerful interests that will render their inquiry a lost cause. Then they enlist the support of reporter Christy Lee - and come under immediate fire. Polanski is arrested. Campello threatened. Christy is attacked. It's the case that every cop gets. The one that changes his life. The one where justice is elusive and the hunter becomes the hunted. Frank Campello and Andy Polanski are The Sons of Jude. First in a series of gritty, fast-paced crime thrillers with an ethical twist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Monarch Books
• Release date: Jul 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9780857213464

Brandt Dodson

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.

Reviews for The Sons of Jude

[alekee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First I need to state that I received this book as a Christian read, but it really wasn't the case. Andy Polanski, is a believer, but we don't find that out until a third of the way through the book.The book itself is very good, and unfortunately all to believable. That in itself makes it sad, as the book is about corrupt Government and especially the Police of Chicago.When an illegal, a young woman, is found murdered in a trash can on the pier, it begins a road to justice. You'll wonder right to the end of this book who is good and who is on the take. Really makes you feel unsafe and sick at the same time.There is another book in this series Chicago Knights, and I hope it goes more to cleaning up this city.Will Frank and Christy end up together, will Andy get out of the mess he is in? I should say that once you pick this book up you won't be able to put it down. Enjoy!I received this book through Kregel Publications, and was not required to give a positive review.

[rjmoren · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good police story. This author is new to me and I will enjoy reading more of his stuff. This is considered Christian fiction but was not overbearing in its message at all. Set in Chicago, about a good cop ratting on some bad cops and what happens when he is moved from one precinct to another. His character convinces his new partner that there really are some bad cops that need to be dealt with and that the corruption may go deeper than they think.

[celticlady53 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

They say to never judge a book by its cover. And I don’t. But the cover of the book has to make sense in relation to the story. The cover of Sons of Jude by Brandt Dodson features a young female cop, but there is no young female cop in the story. The story’s main characters are two male cops and a young female reporter. While reading the book, I kept expecting to see a young female cop appear, but it never happened. While the cover doesn’t make sense to the story, the story itself was good. Amazon features this description:“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.”The story itself features interesting characters, all of whom are flawed, which is important to any story. Without exciting and flawed characters, the words on the page can fall flat. The chapters are short, which makes for an easy read, but the book is only 256 pages long and I found the story didn’t really start picking up until halfway through the book. Campbello and Polanski are at odds with each other, but for a main character, Polanski seemingly disappeared halfway through the book, with only a few mentions here and there. Although it’s integral to the story why he stopped appearing on the pages, it still didn’t make sense because his character is integral to the plot of the story.Sons of Jude is a decent read, if you are a fan of Chicago and police fiction. There’s no question that Brandt Dodson is a former police officer himself. The best part about the story is the accuracy regarding police operations. There was less suspense than I was expecting, and by the end of the book I wasn’t surprised at the outcome, which was a tad disappointing because I like to be surprised and caught off guard when I read crime thrillers or mysteries. I expect a twist that I didn’t see coming, or some great revelation about a character that came from left field. Overall, for a police crime thriller, the book is a good read and should be recommended to fans of crime genres.

[lisabee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a pretty fun book. Like others, I was a bit surprised by the fact that this was put out by a Christian publisher, so I approached it cautiously. However, I was quickly drawn in, and ended up enjoying the read.

[jsharpmd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Story of 2 Police Precincts in which there is found a number of bad cops. Andy Polanski has "ratted" on 2 of the cops in Precinct 31 that has resulted in riots in the city. Polanski is transferred to the 28th precinct where he becomes partner with Frank Capello who has recently lost his partner to a shooting.The bad guys Peter Green who owns a saloon and other businesses and his father Alderman Aaron Green, Aaron has been "owned" by the mafia type boss Vincent Paulie and his enforcer Tony Delgado.I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. It had some unexpected twists and turns.

[leesalogic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a fast-paced, thrilling story about good cops, bad cops, the mob, and the people caught between. In this story there's a lot of ethical questions raised on just where the line is that makes a cop good (upholding the law) or bad (on the take or behaving above the law). Frank Campello and Andy Polanski have to learn first to trust each other then everyone else on the squad, and with the corruption in Chicago, it's not an easy task. Fortunately, Christy Lee, a reporter, joins in solving a murder when it becomes clear that the investigation is being thwarted from all sides.Outside of Dodson's expertise with law enforcement and his believable well-crafted story, what also helps make this story a great read are the refreshingly short chapters, between 2-5 pages each. This technique really made the story flow at a quick pace, almost like watching a movie. I look forward to reading more in the series. I'm depending on Campello, Polanski, and Lee to clean up Chicago!

[jkj94 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First in a series of suspenseful police thrillers that will grab your attention from the start. Officer Frank Campello loses his longtime partner Rand, Frank is assigned a new partner Andy Polanski not long after his friend, and partner was killed in a shootout. Frank’s district commander Julio Lopez tells Frank more or less that he does not have a choice in the matter; he is to keep an eye on this Polanski character.

Campello does not trust Polanski, which made it hard to be assigned to investigate the murder of Trina Martinez with his new partner. Campello has his hands full watching Polanski is every move and trying to investigate a homicide.

Very fast-paced book full of police corruption thrills and chills. I enjoyed the mystery, suspense, and realism that Dodson has written in this book. A former cop himself having an insider’s view of what it is like to work in law enforcement makes this book that much more exciting, and sit on the edge of your seat crime thriller you won’t want to put down.

[2wildravens · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Police/crime drama set in Chicago with a message - the religious message was quietly presented & did not take away from the story. I will watch for the next book in this series. I ,too, found some resemblance to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. Entertaining without excess violence or foul language. Thanks to the author for the work & thanks to Kregel for the free copy. These opinions are solely mine.

[tammy7ford7cuevas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Chicago PD is in trouble. Andy Polanski has done the unthinkable; he accused two other members of the department of planting evidence on a suspect. Now, no one wants to work with him. Frank Campello is assigned to partner with him against his will, but when they begin to work together to find a young woman's murderer, they discover just how deep the conspiracy goes.For everyone who ever read and loved Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, good news! Brandt Dodson is the successor to McBain. Set in Chicago, this is a gritty, realistic police thriller with, as the back cover so eloquently puts it, "an ethical twist". It's good. It isn't "bang 'em over the heads with a Bible" religious, but it is clean enough that your teenagers can read it. But don't start reading this on a night when you need to go to bed; you won't be able to put it down until the end. Seriously.5 stars *Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Kregel Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Kregel Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

[jjking_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm so sorry its taken so long to review this book.I've have other books from the library that had to be read in 7day.Put this one on the back burners,but so glad I never lost this one.It's so worth the time to read.This is one of the best new authors I've read in a long time.Hope this is not his last one,,,plan to keep reading his books in the future.

[bumpersmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Author has written a typical police procedural, as a retired CPD officer, I was looking forward to reading this and making the comparisons to what I knew from my own experiences. Unfortunately, the characters and locations weren't even close. I did enjoy the book, and look forward to the sequel. This is the beginning of a series, and hopefully the characters will be more filled out as it progresses.

[tomray_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was unsure if I would like the book because of it being published by a Christian publisher by found it to be a great police story.Just goes to show a book can be enjoyable without sex and swearing.

[tiinaj1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book and found it to be a very interesting read. Sons of Jude is about an officer who's partner has been killed in action and opens with Frank returning to work after time off recovering from it - only to find out he has been teamed up with a "traitor" to the force.You have a lot of suspense, action, surprises all the way through the book and the climax to the story was a surprise for me (as well as Frank himself). The book is labeled as "Christian" suspense but other than mentioning that Polanski is a believer not much else is mentioned and there are no scripturally based sections in the book - personally I would say it's been labeled that way. That being said there are no bedroom scenes and the nearest to swearing is "_____ swore under his breath" or "he cussed" and that isn't our lead characters in the book but the criminal element doing any of that. There is some drinking in the book but it's mostly Frank having a beer.I'm really looking forward to reading book two. I'd love to know more about Frank and Christi (a reporter) and I'd like to see what else happens within the Police Department - did they adequately clean it up? This will be a series of books - all police based and if you know someone (guys or gals) who loves a great political, gritty type of thriller it would make a GREAT book for Christmas, Secret Santa, Birthday - or Just Because!I was given a copy of Sons of Jude by Kregel Publishing to read and review on GivingNSharing. I was not required to write a positive review and no money exchanged hands. This is my opinion only and not someone elses.

[shoopettesbookreview · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For a cop drama, this book was pretty good. The two main characters were Andy Polanski, a straight laced by-the-book kind of cop, and Frank Campello, who recently lost his partner and is not happy about Andy turning on his “brothers in blue”. Andy is the Christian in this book and does what he does to honor Christ, but Frank is angry at Andy for being a traitor. The two characters were well written and interesting to get to know.I enjoyed watching the relationship between Andy and Frank grow. As a reader, you know that Andy is doing what he is doing for Christ. You know he is doing the right thing and you end up pulling for him. At the same time, the author gives a very compelling view of the other officers involved in the story. They just see someone who betrayed their own; something which is just not done, no matter if you thought your were doing the right thing or not. You know that Andy is a good detective and want him to succeed, but you also feel for the other detectives who just can’t trust him. An author being able to pull off both sides of a very polarizing subject and make the reader feel sympathy for both sides is something you don’t see often, and I was very impressed.However, the book was mainly told from Frank’s perspective, which sometimes made Andy come across as a naïve sap who is hiding behind his Bible and doesn’t care what that means to his family, friends, and coworkers. Now, I do agree that Christians should live their lives based on what Christ did for us and should not compromise. But Andy sometimes came across as just barreling through life not caring about the consequences of his actions and not explaining to people why he was doing what he was doing. Of course you should stand up for what you believe in, but sometimes there is a compassionate balance at play as well.The only other problem I had with this story was that the murder mystery ended up being a bit too convoluted. The characters (good and bad) each had back story which somehow ended up being tied into the main story. This probably wouldn’t have been a problem if we could have learned about their back stories in a previous book instead of snippets throughout this one. By the end of the book, I was just glad that the murder part was over. I wanted to focus on the characters again. I really enjoyed the way the author showed the growth of the relationship between the two main characters. I finished the book wanting to know more about the two and where their friendship and partnership is going to go. And, as far as murder mysteries go, though this one was complicated, it was still good. I enjoyed this book despite a few issues.

[organicshoes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Detective Frank Campello has just lost his partner and to his disappointment has been given Andy Polanski from another district as his new partner. Polanski has been deemed a traitor, for not sticking by the police family and Campello has no desire to work with a traitor. With the latest case bringing the two into situations they never would have believed Campello must decide if he can trust Polanski and possibly understand why he did what he did at his previous district.The Sons of Jude is the first book of the series and Dodson does not disappoint, captivating your attention from the very first page. Not only does Dodson write a story that will pull you in he writes in a way that does not speed through the story but allows you to really sink into what is happening. Dodson has an amazing use of description and with his experience in the FBI and knowledge of the Chicago area he really brings this story to life. I cannot wait to see the next book in the series.I received this book complimentary from Kregel Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[anniemod · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When a good cop exposes bad cops, you would expect that he will be the hero. Well - yes, he is. But not for the other cops. And not for a cop that just lost his partner. This is how the book opens. And what you follow is what you would expect - noone is what they look, corruption is in places one least expect, people start turning up dead and somewhere along the lines there is love, new partnerships and a lot of action and backstabbing. A lot of the cliches of the genre are there but then you almost cannot write this kind of story otherwise. I wish people stop setting these stories in Chicago though. And then Dodson remembered that he is actually writing a Christian book - and threw in something about it. Almost like a patch. And an afterthought. It did not change anything and if the parts were removed, the book will not loose anything in any way or form. Which suits me fine - I almost passed on this book because of the publisher and the expectation.

[draak_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One cop loses his partner in a shooting and another cop is labeled a traitor and is transferred. Frank Campello and Andy Polanski are thrown together as partners and at first it is anything but friendly. I didn't really know what to expect when I first received this book. But I have to say from the first page to the last it had me. The characters were well written and I loved them. I want to know more about Andy Polanski and his family, Frank Campello and Christy Lee are great together. This book is labeled a Christian book, but that being said Andy Polanski mentions briefly about his belief in God and thats about it. Don't let that put you off or you will miss out on one heck of a good book. I won this from LibraryThing Early Review and I recommend this book.