Southern Latitudes

by Stephen J. Clark

Burnt-out reporter Nelson Ingram knows that in Litchfield, Alabama, not everything is as it seems-even an apparent Klan lynching. But it will take more than Nelson's renewed sense of purpose to uncover the buried secrets of the deep South.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425186377
• ISBN13: 9780425186374
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 261 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Southern Latitudes

This was a great book. Very good mystery book! The story was well written. Check it out sometime!

Terrific debut effort.

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.

Action Central, 'bama-Style

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.

Action Central, 'bama style

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!

fast-paced and exciting

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