When urban vice principal, Doctor Jamison Brown, learns that police have designated the murder of student Roderick Davis as "Gang Related" he knows right then, the killers will probably never be caught. The police rarely investigated gang related murders thoroughly. They were probably relieved to have one less gang banger to deal with. The real shame was that everyone who knew the Roderick was absolutely sure that the popular high school junior would never be involved with any gang. This suspenseful tale intersperses shocking violence, wit, romance, humor, deceit, and deviant sexual behavior with reflections on human nature. The protagonist represents the secret alter ego of many middle-aged professional men approaching retirement. Professionally the veteran vice principal has reached the height from which he can see ahead to the end of his career path. He has also finally managed to swallow the bitter pill of disappointment that accompanies not quite hitting one's career goals. The resulting Dr. Jamison Brown is a mature man who is comfortable in his own skin and well respected within the confines of a inner-city high school. The story unfolds amid the myriad of dramas that comprise the backdrop of urban high school administration. The important characters are studies in the interplay of role playing that nearly everyone engages in on a daily basis. They illustrate the lengths to which people go to project the right image. They reveal the dishonesty dictated by the need to be politically correct in today's society. Jamison's crafted conservative appearance and no-nonsense demeanor effectively mask his tired physique, warped sense of humor and lustful musings. The matronly department chair shows her flip side as a modern day Annie Oakley. The unobtainable vixen reveals herself as a sexual predator. The unnoticed bureaucrat surfaces as a deviant and homicidal sociopath.
About the Author: Baby boomer Grady Jones Jr. was born in Detroit Michigan in 1953 and is a product of Detroit Public Schools. He developed a love for reading at the feet of his entrepreneurial mother before entering the first grade. While in the second grade, young Grady scored five or six years beyond his grade level in vocabulary and comprehension changing the path of his education. He spent the next five years reading nearly the entire library of Pattengill Elementary School under the watchful and nurturing guidance of school librarian - Mrs. Redd. From there he went on the graduate from the top magnet high school in the city, one that still has a national reputation for excellence. After high school he earned degrees from the Colleges of Education of both Wayne and Michigan State Universities. During the last three decades, Grady Jones, Jr. has enjoyed successful and rewarding experiences as a mathematics and computer science teacher, dean of students, assistant principal, principal, and finally director of one his home district's central departments. He possesses intimate knowledge of life in urban education. Throughout that time period he wrote in fits and starts. The most common scenario was that longer projects started during the leisure times, such as summer break, were left incomplete once school reopened in the fall. His work ethic mandated that providing for his spouse and son trump those expressions of his creative spirit. Recently retired, he now has the freedom to dedicate himself to his first love - writing. His first completed full-length work Apparently Gang Related is the one of, hopefully. many tales he has to share.