[close] Brian Melville Kennedy was born in Renfrew,Ontario. He has taken a serpentine path from northern Canada to his present home on the north coast of Jamaica. Stops along the way include Grosse Pointe, Michigan; Barcelona, Spain; Lugano,Switzerland; Aurora, Ontario; East Lansing, michigan; and 26 years in Bay City, michigan. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Michigan State University before attending Wayne State University's law school to obtain his Juris Doctor in 1974. While attending law school at night he was a stock broker during the day. He bacame the Chief Trial Lawyer and head of the Career Offender Program in the Bay County Prosecutor's office. In the 4 years from 1974-1978 he tried in excess of 100 jury trials including multiple murder trials. The murder trials all ended in conviction. In 1978 he was the Republican candidate for State Senate and was featured on NBC for mounting a surprising challenge to the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The challenge, while surprising, was not successful. So, Kennedy began his private practice which spanned 1979 to 2001.

During that career Kennedy defended various persons accused of murder. None were convicted as charged and one was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. The reputation built from criminal practice brought increasing numbers of civil clients. Kennedy has won multiple million dollar jury verdicts as well as 7 figure settlements. He taught Evidence and Criminal Procedure at Delta college and was chosen as a lecturer by Michigan's Institute of Continuing Legal Education.

In 2001 following his father's death, Kennedy and his wife Shelley fulfilled a long held dream of living by the sea. Having purchased 4 acres of ocean front west of Ocho Rios, Jamaica many years earlier, they built their dream house, stonefield Cove, and are in the process of living happily ever after with their 2 Ridgebacks, Mr. MacGregor and Mr. Fitzroy, their Wemaraner, Phantom, their ferocious tiger cat, Fang, and their newest addition, a Bull Mastiff named Jasmine. Their daughter shannon works for alumni relations at Kennesaw State University in Georgia and was recently married in Jamaica.

Kennedy raises orchids, golfs, plays polo(badly), swims, and takes a regular hand of bridge. So why write a novel? "My opponents and judges after looking at my legal briefs have accused me of writing fiction for years. So I thought I'd give it a go." [close]