Time's Witness

Justin and Cuddy #2

by Michael Malone

Street-smart and straightforward police chief Cuddy Mangum and his refined homicide detective Justin Savile V are determined to keep their town's cultural, political and racial divisions stable…even peaceful. But when a young black activist is murdered while in the process of fighting for his brother's freedom from death row, the lines keeping Hillston, North Carolina, in balance start to crumble. Thrust into a dirty political campaign and torn between his morals and his love for the wealthy and beautiful wife of an up-and-coming politician, Cuddy must uncover the secrets that lie in his own backyard. From high-powered and elegant country club ballrooms to dark and dangerous bar room corners, Malone weaves a mystery of plot and place where the difference between good and evil and right and wrong sometimes become indistinct.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Procedural, Southern, Crime, Novels

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Michael Malone was the author of ten novels, a collection of short stories, and two works of nonfiction. Educated at Carolina and at Harvard, he was a professor in Theater Studies at Duke University. Among his prizes are the Edgar, the O. Henry, the Writers Guild Award, and the Emmy. He lived in Hillsborough, North Carolina, with his wife.

Reviews

[David Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exhausting read, completed for a Let's Talk About It conversation to occur in New Bern on September 12, 2011. There is a 250-page novel somewhere inside these 500+ pages, and it is a sorry thing that Malone did not cut the excess, the smartass dialogue, the Southern flamboyance, and the multiple characters whose contributions to the narrative are negligible clutter. The redemption comes from the women, the fine court scenes, and the persistent (but too often obscured) theme of conscience throughout the book. For a book about race, too small a voice is given to African-American characters; for a book about capital punishment, too little attention is given to the deep roots of injustice; and in a book about the conventions of racism, the swampland of vile politics is not drained. Having both brains and spine, the main character does not need the lip. Malone, however, is beguiling to readers of New South fiction, a brand I have unfortunately found to have both light charm and even lighter consequence. Still, I think we will have a good conversation, with enthusiastic readers, in whom I take constant delight.

[Charles Ellenbogen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always worry about the pace of a long mystery (541 pages) and this one reinforced that concern. A Southern story, so race is involved, the characters are largely cartoons, and everyone is wittier than sitcom characters. I know part of the point was that everyone in this small town had a past with everyone else, but that made the characters hard to track.

[C.M. Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a selection chosen by my book club, although I'd originally read it when it was first published in the late 1980s. Although there was a huge cast of characters, the author made each character distinct.

Without being pedantic or doctrinaire, the author uses the story line to show, rather than tell, his philosophy: that the super-rich use racism to keep poor and working-class whites and African-Americans divided. This is a singularly significant premise at this time, as we note the way in which women's rights, religious bigotry, and other issues have been added to the arsenal.

I don't want to leave the impression that this is a grim tale. The author has a unique sense of humor, and at times, his characters are almost too witty, as if they'd stepped into the pages of the novel from a stage where they'd been doing improv. I enjoy this style of humor, but others may not.

Overall, this is a big, richly dramatic, and greatly satisfying book.

[Lavande · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always liked Michael Malone because his writing is tamely eccentric and amusing. This is a departure from his usual madcap adventures. It's a well-written murder mystery with sharp descriptions and even pacing. Michael Malone knows what he's doing. However (not to sound cynical or anything) I've gotten just a little tired of reading another murder mystery about racial inequality that is solved, yet again, by a heroic white guy who battles the odds to bring justice to light. Still, a good effort by Malone.

[Jim Leckband · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Time's Witness" was written in 1989, but for some sad reason it is still relevant today. A man has been seven years on death row for the shooting of a out of uniform cop after a brawl. However, the cop was white, the man was black, the state was North Carolina and this was no brawl. I know, ancient history right?

I have no idea why Malone's work has not been filmed. Not that these books need the validation of Hollywood, they exist perfectly well without Tinseltown. But geez, with the right director/casting this book in particular would be a joy to see as a movie or a TV mini-series.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Not what I expected; I think I had the author confused with someone else, and I was not expecting a police drama. But the story centers around a Black man who has been convicted of murder and is scheduled for execution when, at the very last minute, the governor delays his execution. The next day, the convicted man's younger brother is murdered, and all kinds of connections and coverups and backroom dealings begin to be discovered.

Fast paced, well written, and a happy ending. It would be good beach reading if we could go to the beach!!

[Jbsfaculty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of Michael Malone's mystery novels - not as funny as Handling Sin (an all time favorite), but good nonetheless

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book draws you in slowly, but you can't stop reading it. I love the humor and good story writing that is mixed together. I just discovered this author thanks to People magazine.

[Chris Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one, not just because it was set in Hillsborough (ok, it was "Hillston", but still....). Good story all around - mystery, race issues, southern traditions, a little romance.

[Dan Beneke]

I'm leaving the rating blank, as I think this is probably an enjoyable read for someone who likes a slow, leisurely read with a lot of scene-setting. This is not to say that I don't, but I felt like I was waiting for the actual story to move forward, which seemed to take forever. I gave up. So it's a "me issue", not a complaint about the book. I read the long, early chapter where the protagonist was at a cocktail party or similar event, and when I finished, I found myself asking "what did I just read? What in that chapter do I need to consider?".
I realized I had a similar issue with one of Malone's other works. It was a good, fun story, but I would have preferred that it had been told using fewer pages. It's a me issue.

[Ed Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've previously read the 1st of the Justin and Cuddy books, I enjoyed this one as much as 'Uncivil Seasons'. I like the story as well as the author's talent at writing dialogue. An enjoyable whodunit.

Time's Witness is more a Cuddy focused book and like 'Uncivil Seasons' it takes a bit for the boiler to heat up before the steam really pours out. There's a lot of steam.

I look forward to reading 'First Lady'...I think have a pretty fair notion of who 'First Lady' might be.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good writing Is Timeless

Second in this series of three books, book two is narrated by Cuddy who had become the chief of Police in Hillison NC. Wonderful characters live their lives woven around the attempt to free an unjustly convicted black man on death row. Justices stumbles and bumbles its impure route to victory. A revisited read for me, it’s still a wonderful read.

[Bayneeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuddy's the police chief in a small city in North Carolina. A romance with his high school girlfriend is rekindled. His old mentor, a lawyer, takes on a case of a man on death row. The legal scenes were especially interesting to me. This is a long book, and book #2 in the series.

[Ron Wade · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[SEF · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the series. However, characters and wit are spot on again.

[Ensiform · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sequel to Uncivil Seasons. This time, it is Cuddy Mangum, now police chief in Hillston, who is the narrator, and the eccentric scion of North Carolina aristocracy Justin Savile, now married and an expectant father, is relegated to a minor role. In this novel, George Hall, a black man on Death Row for the murder seven years previously of an off-duty white cop in a bar in the black side of town, is given an unexpected reprieve by the governor. The governor is running for reelection against war hero Andrew Brookside, whose heiress wife, Lee, just happens to be an old flame of Cuddy’s and whom he still loves desperately. When Hall’s brother, a vocal activist, is shot and killed, Cuddy starts to uncover a vast web of conspiracy and crime, from gun smuggling out of a rich paper magnate’s factory, to political intrigues by white power militia yahoos, to attempted blackmail of the philandering Brookside, to underhanded brinksmanship by the governor. After Cuddy’s friend, larger-than-life attorney Isaac Rosethorn, gets George Hall a new trial, some of these secrets threaten to come into the light, and Cuddy is targeted by the now-fugitive rogue cops.

Over 535 pages with a cast of dozens, this opus evokes not just the south, or the American justice system, but all of life’s rich pageant: the tattered glory of very old, very rich families who believe their money grants them superiority; the casual racism of the populace; the institutionalized racism of the death penalty, especially in the south; the dizzying highs and crushing lows of love won and lost. There are no “good guys,” and characters who come into conflict with Cuddy are not straw men but fully realized characters who have their own ideals and morals. Characters get married, have children, die; Cuddy tries to maintain his equilibrium as he walks a fine line between his affair with Lee, providing protection to Brookside, who has been getting death threats, and uncovering possible malfeasance in his lover’s husband’s campaign. Malone is a fine writer, capable of pathos, Wodehousian wit (“Fattie’s whole body, of which there was an unbridled glut, relaxed with a shiver…”), action, suspense, romance, and deep perspicacity. Malone doesn’t shy away from any issues; the novel culminates in a searing courtroom speech at Hall’s retrial, then quietly notes that about a month after this sensationalist event, another black man was executed without fanfare. This may not be the Great American Novel, but it’s a contender for the Great American Novel About Justice.

[Charles Kerns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plain and simple, -Time’s Witness- is a romance. Not a bodice ripper romance, more of a politico-smalltown ripper. A liberal southern (cast against type) police chief plays more than footsie with the soon-to-be governor’s wife; his head detective has reeled in an ex-firebrand red, helping her become a comfortable middle class state legislator (but fighting for leftie causes); one cop courts another and they do the baby first marriage; and the next door neighbor has the woohoos for the police chief whenever possible. That’s a romance, even though the book’s first half plays with being a police procedural and the second, a courtroom drama
The supporting cast: racism, Klan, militias, the power elite, politics, and blacks in North Carolina. The stereotypes: the Jewish smart lawyer, the ambitious prosecutor, the black pimp, the killer on death row trying for a last minute reprieve, the schoolboy-looking priest. But even with all this, the book moves along smartly through its 500 plus pages. You can see why Malone was such a hit writing soap operas. This could be one hot miniseries.

[Mary Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the best of Malone's books, and this is one of them. I find them engrossing and enjoyable. Some readers, who read mysteries only for plot, will dislike this book for the complexity of the human interactions that surround the plot, but for me, any book without richly imagined characters who change and grow is a bit of a letdown. Malone is known for writing novels,and his mysteries are fully formed novels as well. I have read this book more than once, and I continue to enjoy it upon rereading.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of the book has a quote from Booklist comparing this novel to "To Kill A Mockingbird." I think that's a fair comparison although this will not have the stature of the classic. It's full of richly drawn Southern characters and has a great courtroom drama along with wonderful writing. I've said it before and will say it again that I think that Michael Malone deserves to be better known.

[Lanaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A follow-up to "Uncivil Seasons," this is another book worth the read! Told from his partner's perspective, the character is well developed (although sometimes his motives are not so clear). It can be a little cumbersome to keep track of all of the characters--not a book you can set down for a few days without having to remind yourself who's who.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Love it for the glimpses of North Carolina small-town life that it gives, as well as the Big Themes it addresses-- Malone (who lives in Hillsborough) manages to keep the story and characters intimate while addresses topics of racism, classism, and the death penalty, among others.

A page-turner and definitely worth a read.

[Marlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

George Hall, a black man is scheduled to be executed. A story that weaves the prejudices of the south with crrupt police and politicians. Caddy Mangum, the police chief is left t untangle the mess. Iassac Rosethorn defends George "brilliantly" in his new trial. The book is about 250 pages too long. The last 300 pages read more easily and were more enjoyable.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

i found Cuddy Mangum a very likable main character. This is a good mystery about a young, black, activist who is murdered and Cuddy's struggle to not only find the murderer, but sort out the obstacles thrown in his path. This is one I wouldn't mind reading again.

[Stephane Nakib · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of the three in this series. A great read---Michael Malone is the perfect "beach" read for people who like good writing. He's an amazing southern story teller, really very funny, and you end up just flying through his books.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malone has created some great characters in Police Chief Cuddy Mangum and Detective Justin Savile. I can't wait to read the other 2 books featuring them. Lots of plot twists and turns, unique characterizations and great writing in this one.

[Ann A · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a random library pick, but I plan to read more by this author. The book slogged along in places, and the characters were a little hard to keep track of, but they were clever and the dialogue was witty. Great courtroom scenes near the end.

[Stephanie Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best of Malone's southern crime trilogy. It's the second in the series. The writing is very good, the characters richly drawn, and issues of social as well as criminal justice are thoughtfully engaged. Well done.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malone is a recent find for me, and he's an amazing storyteller. The characters are vivid, and the setting is brought to life. Beautiful.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read from Michael Malone.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Malone writes great characters - never a dull moment no matter what the emotion is that he is writing.
The Justin and Cuddy novels are the best of his.