First Lady

Rating:
Summary: Finally
Review: No, not finally did Malone write another book. Finally, I found another top notch, first rate mystery writer. They are few and hard to come by. Take everything good that has been said about this author and the Justin/Cuddy series and multiply it a few times. Start with the first book. Sadly, there are only three.

Rating:
Summary: A Gratifying Welcome-Home
Review: Three-and-a-half stars. Contemporary American fiction has hurt for the lack of Michael Malone's talent these past ten years. First Lady marks the triumphant and long overdue return of one of America's greatest (if highly underrated) writers. Malone has an eye for character that is unparalleled among his literary contemporaries (his level of ingenuity is certainly unheard of among today's rank-and-file "mystery writers"); and indeed, it is the strength of his characterizations that makes First Lady worth reading. Keeping that in mind, it is not Malone's best work. Justin Savile is simply not as entertaining a first-person narrator as Cuddy Mangum (the narrator of "Time's Witness"); and Malone seems so intent on the murder-mystery aspect of his novel that he misses some key opportunities to add depth to the plot (he could have provided some really fresh and hilarious insights into the "New South," but barely glances on the topic). Also, the denouement of the story is somewhat dissatisfying and a bit too "pat." Still, Malone clearly retains his gift for humor and his idiosyncratic and memorable prose. I hope his next book is not a mystery novel ("Dingley Falls" and "Handling Sin" are, to my mind, his best novels); but if it is, I hope it is Cuddy Mangum, and not Justin, who does the narrating.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back, Michael Malone!!!
Review: We've missed this remarkable voice of the South with his wry wit and tremendously warm heart. First Lady is the great return of a suberb novelist who many consider among the greatest novelists of his generation. You'll love the book and then go back are read his previous Justin and Cuddy novels (Uncivil Seasons and Time's Witness)!