Southern Latitudes

Rating:
Summary: Action Central, 'bama-Style
Review: I was able to forget that Nelson the protagonist is a liberal activist. Nobody's perfect--and it's that very imperfection that makes a nosey newspaper reporter a catalyst for good-ol'-boy reform. This is a real gripper from front to back. Wish as I might that this do-gooder reporter would get his just desserts at the hands of his exposé victims, damned if he doesn't escalate the action to a new level. I couldn't put it down and I'll be waiting for the next SJC novel.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific debut effort.
Review: It is easy to see why Stephen J. Clark�s �Southern Latitudes� is nominated for a Best First Novel Edgar. It is a most compelling novel that I finished in less than a day.

Ne�er do well burn out Nelson Ingram returns to his small-town Alabama home, finding work at the local paper covering rotary meetings and the like.

The autopsy of an apparent KKK lynching shows the vic was shot in the head at close range, leading Nelson on a quest to find out why the entire town is looking the other way. Three related murders are uncovered and by putting the pieces together, Nelson�s life is endangered.

Finally finding something he cares about, Nelson exposes the true villains and gains his redemption in the Southern Gothic tradition�where not everyone lives happily ever after.

First class writing and major league plotting in this spellbinding debut. Hope it is the start of a series.

Rating:
Summary: fast-paced and exciting
Review: Litchfield, Alabama is a quiet town with little business to support the townsfolk. There have been Ingrams residing in Litchfield since the town was founded but Nelson graduated college with the sole intention of seeing the world and never returning to his hometown again. Lost jobs, failed opportunities and broken relationships bring Nelson back home where he becomes a reporter for the Litchfield Ledger.

He thinks he has a big story when a black man is found hanging from a tree. His first thought is KKK or a clone but when an autopsy reveals the victim was shot in the head at close range, Nelson believes something big is about to break. An investigation reveals that other locals were recently killed. The manager of a mob-connected nightclub is murdered soon after the "hanging". After years of coasting through life, Nelson intends to take a stand by finding out the identity of the killers and bringing them to justice, or die trying.

SOUTHERN LATITUDES is a perfect depiction of a town in the Deep South. Customs, attitudes and beliefs enforce the uniqueness of the region. The story line is fast-paced and exciting but it is the protagonist who steals the spotlight. He is a hedonistic wastrel who finally finds the cause that worth fighting for, making him a lot like most people.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Home, It's Not
Review: Litchfield, Alabama is depressed, which is nothing new. It's been that way since the Civil War, and it isn't likely to change. The townsfolk don't expect much, which is a very good thing, because they are not going to get it. Nominated for the Edgar First Novel prize, Stephen Clark's light ironic tone and fine writing make him a worthy candidate.

Nelson Ingram, a local boy of an old Litchfield family, has come home to work on the local paper. His résumé is sketchy, full of holes and fits and starts, and truth be known, his motivation is lackluster. When a local black man is apparently lynched, Ingram is fired up to take on the KKK. Then he learns the victim was shot before he was strung up and the local KKK has been defunct for ten years after being bankrupted by civil suits. No one seems particularly interested in solving the crime, but Ingram is fired up looking for the Big Story. He gets further and further away from the Klan and closer and closer to possible Mob activity. But why in the world would the Mob be interested in Litchfield? Everyone is too poor to do drugs and they are not even on a big enough river to float a casino. Ingram cannot figure out if he is being confronted with apathy or conspiracy.

"Southern Latitudes" has a good pace, and Mr. Clark is deft, humorous and sometimes sardonic. Speaking of a total pork barrel construction of a waterway, "The whole thing finally opened up in 1985 to a great fanfare and all stood back and waited for the Silent Hand of the Market to transform it into a throbbing liquid highway of commerce." When the hulking villain comes up behind him, Clark says he is "looming, like bad weather." I'm looking forward to further stories from Mr. Clark and recommend this fine debut novel.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Home, It's Not
Review: Litchfield, Alabama is depressed, which is nothing new. It's been that way since the Civil War, and it isn't likely to change. The townsfolk don't expect much, which is a very good thing, because they are not going to get it. Nominated for the Edgar First Novel prize, Stephen Clark's light ironic tone and fine writing make him a worthy candidate.

Nelson Ingram, a local boy of an old Litchfield family, has come home to work on the local paper. His résumé is sketchy, full of holes and fits and starts, and truth be known, his motivation is lackluster. When a local black man is apparently lynched, Ingram is fired up to take on the KKK. Then he learns the victim was shot before he was strung up and the local KKK has been defunct for ten years after being bankrupted by civil suits. No one seems particularly interested in solving the crime, but Ingram is fired up looking for the Big Story. He gets further and further away from the Klan and closer and closer to possible Mob activity. But why in the world would the Mob be interested in Litchfield? Everyone is too poor to do drugs and they are not even on a big enough river to float a casino. Ingram cannot figure out if he is being confronted with apathy or conspiracy.

"Southern Latitudes" has a good pace, and Mr. Clark is deft, humorous and sometimes sardonic. Speaking of a total pork barrel construction of a waterway, "The whole thing finally opened up in 1985 to a great fanfare and all stood back and waited for the Silent Hand of the Market to transform it into a throbbing liquid highway of commerce." When the hulking villain comes up behind him, Clark says he is "looming, like bad weather." I'm looking forward to further stories from Mr. Clark and recommend this fine debut novel.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: A powerful work and an admirable debut
Review: Nelson Ingram is a reporter for a local paper in the sleepy southern town of Litchfield, Alabama. Nobody takes much notice when a young black man is lynched and found dead one night. A bullet wound is found in the back of the victim's head. Ingram looks into the case and discovers several recent murders in the surrounding area not typical for this region. Of course, the danger escalates as the truth becomes unraveled.
Stephen J. Clark is a fine writer capable of such atmospheric writing as:
"Litchfield still appeared to be the epitome of the sleepy southern town. The white-pillared Courthouse stood like a diminutive Roman temple at the head of the square. Across the square sat the squat, workmanlike Town Hall . In the center of the square stood the inevitable memorial for those lost in The War for Southern Independance-- in Litchfield's case a marble statue of a confederate foot soldier, his uniform tattered, but his undercarriage unvanquished, his gaze fixed on the horizon, aloof and proud."
Impressive is his ability to evoke the region and people it with remarkably deep and realistic portrayals. The story is well paced and the length just right for the tightly constructed plot. A weakness is the stereotypic depictions of the mob villains we eventually encounter, as well as, the inevitably predictable conclusion. Yet, this remains a powerful work and an admirable debut.

Rating:
Summary: Action Central, 'bama style
Review: The author uses cheap tricks like a lean style and a fast pace to hold your attention from start to finish. Nothing is left out: there's the mandatory good ol' boy network, unsolved crime and a nosy newspaper guy who promotes high tension and liberal politics on the wrong side of the Mason-Dixon line.
If Mississippi is burning, Alabama is smokin'. Truly a first-rate thriller!

Rating:
Summary: Southern Latitudes
Review: This was a great book. Very good mystery book! The story was well written. Check it out sometime!