[.ca] First Lady (ISBN 1841196487)

From Amazon.com:
Penzler Pick, July 2001: One of the greatest disappointments for a mystery aficionado is to find an author or a series detective that you absolutely adore, only to have the author disappear or the character be killed off. Conan Doyle tried to do it to Sherlock Holmes, throwing him off the edge of the Reichenbach Falls (happily to resurrect him some years later), and Nicholas Freeling did it to Inspector Van Der Valk, permanently alienating his readers. Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo planned 10 books about Martin Beck, and within days of completing the 10th adventure of the Swedish policeman, Wahloo died, ensuring no further books in the series. Not quite so dramatically, Michael Malone apparently fell off the face of the earth. (He became a highly successful television writer, which is almost the same thing.) Today, even some sophisticated readers of mystery fiction have forgotten Malone, who wrote two masterpieces involving a pair of detectives in a small town in North Carolina, Justin Savile and Cuddy Mangum: Uncivil Seasons, one of the few nearly perfect novels in the history of detective fiction, published in 1983; and Time's Witness, in 1989. Unlike too many cops portrayed in detective fiction as stupid, corrupt, or both, Justin and Cuddy are fully developed as intelligent, honest cops who try to do their jobs as well as possible, even though they have their human flaws. Cuddy is arrogant and impatient; Justin drinks too much and likes the ladies a bit more than he should, seeing how he's married (just barely now, as his wife has moved out of the house). First Lady is the first volume about these terrific characters in more than decade. Thankfully, Malone's publisher is also releasing the first two books in trade paperback editions, which I can recommend as strongly as anything I've praised in Amazon.com's pages. Very little is as it seems in this poetically written mystery novel. A serial killer seems to be on the loose, but is he really a serial killer? Justin discovers a pattern that seems brilliantly thought out and then, as in E.C. Bentley's Trent's Last Case, holes are punched through the theory by various members of the law enforcement community (including, in this case, two women from the FBI). First Lady is utterly contemporary, with some gruesomely described violence and a healthy dose of (very discreet) sex, but it's also a wonderfully constructed old-fashioned puzzler, with a cornucopia of clever clues, a near-surplus of suspicious suspects, and a boatful of red herrings guaranteed to fool the most assiduous armchair detective. Welcome back, Mr. Malone. And don't make us wait another dozen years for the next Justin and Cuddy novel! --Otto Penzler

Riveting mystery:
Malone's "Handling Sin" is one of my all-time favorites, so I was delighted to see "First Lady." It was fascinating--very complex plot--although I sometimes got restless with Justin's insistence at wallowing in misery. Cuddy was great, though, and the deductive processes were excellent. I had my suspicions, but wasn't sure about the killer's identity until the very end. Great job! I'm going back to read the other two in the series now, and have already recommended "First Lady" to two other readers. And if you haven't read "Handling Sin," try it!

Not "Time's Witness":
Okay, so I figured out whodunit about 100 pages before the cops did; so it's not as intricate and absorbing as "Time's Witness" (which I consider to be not only one of the finest mysteries, but one of the finest novels ever written); so Michael Malone writing in Justin Saville's voice is less successful than he is when writing in Cuddy Mangum's voice (you need to have read the previous books to know what I'm talking about -- is it just me or is Justin a bit of a drip?) -- all that taken into consideration, this is still a fabulous read. Malone, in whomever's voice he's writing in, is still head and shoulders above 90% of every other mystery/humor writer out there. His gift for dialogue is immense, his plotting extroardinary. All three of the Justin/Cuddy books are literate, twisty, witty -- just plain wonderful. Start with the first ("Uncivil Seasons") because there are characters and history there that will make "Time's Witness" (wow, what a book!!) and "First Lady" resonate all the more for you, but by all means read Michael Malone. Why he isn't as successful as Grisham is beyond me. He's only 1000 times better.

International Rock Star & Small Town Politics:
This story kept me quessing until the end! That's what makes this such a good book. Lots of clues but no give away information. This is the first book I've read by this author but it won't be my last, that's for sure. There's small town politics threaded through the whole story. It gives the book a touch of humor without turning the story into a silly whimsy......far from it! Very serious "who-done-it" situations. A story showing how some politicians can play a game with innocent people and how rock stars can mesmerize their fans. Who is this sick serial killer? Is there a connection between the super Rock Star, the murderer, and the philandering mayor? The character developement is terrific. The story is one that is interesting right up to the last pages and is FULL of surprises! Add this to your list of "must read" books. A story you will remember for a long time.

Finally:
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.

Disappointing and not as great as Time's Witness:
This is Malone's long-awaited sequel to Time's Witness (which was fantastic). Cuddy, Justin and Alice are all back again struggling for justice and equality in the New South. I was disappointed, however, to see that Malone has had Cuddy continue to be in love with Lee Haver (a woman who does not deserve him and who I had hoped Cuddy had dumped forever). The plot itself is good and, as always, Malone's characters carry the day. But while Time's Witness is brilliant, First Lady is simply ordinary.