Good Sons [Hardcover]

K. C. Constantine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1996

It's been months since Mario Balzic retired, and the position of Rocksburg's police chief has been open ever since. To the dismay of Detective Sergeant Rugs Carlucci, Mayor Angelo Bellotti is holding his cards close to his chest. A career underachiever with some surprising inner strengths, Rugs isn't even sure of his own ambitions. Carlucci's aging, incessantly demanding mother is already complaining about her son's hefty overtime duty, unwilling to understand that without it he couldn't afford the care she needs. And Rugs knows the job itself would be more pain than prestige, with a department out of money and dirt-low on staff. Now Rugs faces a grisly, unexpected test of his suddenly elevated status. A woman has been found horribly raped and mortally battered.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While last year's Cranks and Shadows saw the retirement of Mario Balzic, Rocksburg, Pennsylvania's top cop, Constantine here passes the series baton to Detective Sergeant Ruggiero "Rugs" Carlucci. Balzic's still hanging around, dispensing advice from the sanctuary of his uneasy retirement, but this is Rugs's book. First in line for Balzic's old job, he has to deal with his own self-doubt, the duplicitous mayor and a very difficult mother. He's also first on the scene when a half-dead rape victim calls 911 from the office of a stoneworks. While the victim turns out to be the widow of the company founder, the actual case isn't what makes this effort so good. After 12 works, Constantine is a grand master of expositional dialogue. Rugs has a deceptively simple gift for understatement and staggered, yet logical, expression. He has learned well from the wily Balzic, but he's definitely his own man, as all concerned-not least himself-discover. Imagine a fully functioning mystery placed inside the complex structure of a novel by the likes of Richard Russo, and you begin to get some idea of the depth Constantine routinely brings to his mysteries.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Rocksburg, Pennsylvania, may be as familiar to mystery fans as Winesburg, Ohio, is to American lit majors. It's home to police chief Mario Balzic and a memorable population of working-class ethnics who lived and died in 11 first-rate novels. When the author "retired" Balzic, this reviewer was one of many fans who went into mourning. So Good Sons is a true joy. Rocksburg endures, and Detective Sergeant Ruggiero "Rugs" Carlucci, Mario's self-deprecating protege, must persevere. He's investigating a brutal rape that becomes murder, being a good son to his demented mother--she's writing threatening letters to Jeopardy's Alex Trebek--and alternately hoping and fearing that he'll be selected to replace Mario. (Rugs' investigation turns up a stupid scam gone murderously wrong. It also demonstrates to those around him, if not to Rugs himself, that he's a talented, tenacious, and caring cop and human being.) Constantine is in top form here. Good Sons is filled with fascinating characters, wonderful dialogue, and a subtle but knowing indictment of the loss of an economic safety net for the working poor. And best of all, somewhere 30 miles from Pittsburgh, and halfway between apathy and anarchy, Rocksburg endures. Thomas Gaughan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press; Ex-library edition (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892965444
• ISBN-13: 978-0892965441
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,590,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Ever!, November 26, 1998

By 

puffinswan "puffinswan" (Brigadoon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Sons (Rocksburg Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

No one writes like Constantine! I thought I would miss Mario but his new focus is as good if not better. This series is still going strong!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent., August 11, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Sons (Hardcover)

Balzic's gone but Constantine's back better than ever. If you were disappointed by K.C.'s last few, don't despair--this one is is great. Vivid characters, great story. But K.C. will hate me because I checked it out at the library

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much dialogue, March 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Sons (Rocksburg Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

Oh my God, if people really talked like the main character, every listener would die of boredom. This plot was OK, but slogging through the tons of stupid dialogue was incredibly miserable. I'm surprised the author didn't try and put pictures of facial expressions in, too!