Uncivil Seasons: A Justin & Cuddy Novel [Paperback]

Michael Malone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

The polite Piedmont town of Hillston, North Carolina, wants to go on believing it is still too temperate to require homicide experts. But when the wife of a state senator is found beaten to death, the inner circle of Hillston's ruling families arranges to have the case assigned to Detective Justin Savile, the charming black sheep of the dynasty that founded the town.

Aided by his wise-cracking, working-class partner, Cuddy Magnum, and a young woman from the Carolina mountains whose strength and love rescues him from his own destructive impulses, Savile sets out to unravel the deceit hidden in Hillston's past. His obsessive pursuit of one of this own and his determination to save a petty thief from being railroaded for murder not only lead to other deaths, but bring the detective very near to losing his own life. With striking humor and a rich range of characters, Malone creates a landscape struggling the New South's high-tech lifestyles and the Old South's inherited codes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"- Vivid... compelling... beautifully rendered... excellent' - New York Times Book Review - 'Two of the most memorable police detectives to appear in mystery fiction' - Ed McBain - 'A stylish gift for language... tender and believable... the characters come alive' - Washington Post Book World --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Michael Malone is the literate and compassionate voice of the new American South. Critically acclaimed as one of the country's finest writers, his great gift for crafting remarkable and enduring comedies, as he did in Handling Sin, Dingley Falls and Foolscap, is matched only by his ability to deliver riveting suspense and mystery. Now, after a long absence, Michael Malone has returned to the scene of the crime. He has also come home to the South. He now lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina, with his wife, Maureen Quilligan, chair of the English department at Duke University.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570717559
• ISBN-13: 978-1570717550
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Uncivil Seasons " is Malone at his best...., November 27, 2002

By 

L. Quido "quidrock" (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Uncivil Seasons (Hardcover)

A great way to start enjoying the works of unheralded author Michael Malone is to read his North Carolina murder mystery, Uncivil Seasons. Malone's anti-hero is Justin Savile, born to a genteel southern family, as his name indicates. The plot is complex, and revolves around Joanna Cadmean, a local psychic, helping Justin to investigate the murder of a member of a prominent family. Both scenic passages and characterizations are compelling, and true to the south. The mystery remains a mystery, and you find yourself pulling for Justin and partner Cuddy Mangum.

There's a romance here, too, and it's played with just the right lightness of touch. It seems as though Malone can do it all, and I can't wait to read more of his works. I'll leave you with a favorite, opening line..."Two things don't happen very often in Hillston, North Carolina. We don't get much snow, and we hardly ever murder one another. Suicide is more our style..."

Enjoy!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cheers for Michael Malone's UNCIVIL SEASONS, October 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Uncivil Seasons: A Justin & Cuddy Novel (Paperback)

Michael Malone is one of America's most gifted and rewarding novelists. If you enjoyed his latest offering, FIRST LADY, be sure to read its predecessor, UNCIVIL SEASONS, in which many of the people and places in both books were first introduced. UNCIVIL SEASONS too is an absorbing mystery yarn, but its real pleasures lie in the richness and depth of its characterizations, its wit and humor, its sharp dialogue. Malone, who was raised in North Carolina, conveys a South often regretfully looking backwards as it looks forward, but he does so with no hint of "Poor us, how misunderstood we are."

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uncivil Seasons is the reason reading was invented., March 15, 1999

By 

Craig Brass (Plymouth, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uncivil Seasons (Paperback)

I am truly an unbashful fan of Michael Malone and finally found a copy of Uncivil Seasons. In Uncivil Seasons he takes a simple murder in Hillston, NC, and uses it to trigger a thoughtful and purposeful journey into the lives and souls of a cross section of the folks in this Peidmont town. Humorous with an effortless command of dialogue and language, if Uncivil Seasons is your first Malone book you'll be speedtyping through this website to find the rest. Unfortunately he hasn't had anything new published years (that I'm aware of). Perhaps biding his time as head writer on "One Life To Live," (as the inside cover indicates) until this country comes to it's senses and covets stories by authors like Malone instead of stories by White House interns. He's good enough to make you start watching soaps.