Rating: 3.5 stars

An unusual story with equally odd characters, I enjoyed it for the most part. Judge Evers Wheeling breaks the mold with legal professionals; drinking, pot smoking and pontification the basis. But this is the South there's no middle ground. Using dark comedy, plot twists and emotionally corrupt personalities, Martin Clark's storytelling stands alone. Engaging for the most part, its nothing like I expected; and that's a good thing since surprises are what life's about. This was the second book I've read from this author, and will research others. That said, for anyone who's stuck at home like I am, stories like these are welcome..I have to find a tablet now since libraries are closed and look forward to eBooks! Enjoy! ( )

I'm not going to say much about this dreadful book. I first read Clark's latest book, The Substitution Order, and was taken with the its style and substance. This book has the style, but the worldview sucks. It really lost me when the hero (?) and his buddy, a corrupt sheriff, take his estranged wife, naked, out to a road sign in the country in the middle of the night and tie her to it. They add a note that says that no-one should untie her, no matter what she says, because she's taking part in a sorority initiation. She lives through that, but later the (hero (?)'s brother kills her. This is all retaliation for her affair with another man.These derelicts are worse than the Taliban. And there's no punishment for them. They live happily ever after. I'm afraid that I'll avoid this guy in future. ( )

Martin Clark has created a cast of characters who come alive and are oddly believable in their actions during the course of this novel. The inhabitants of this story generally don't conform to standard behavior and tend to do what is necessary to enjoy the moment and disregard the future.

Judge Evers Wheeling, a pot smoker from Norton, North Carolina, is on his way to work when a well dressed, attractive woman asks for a moment of his time.

What transpires next could be a scene from the Andy Griffith TV show. The woman, Ruth Esther, insists on privacy and she and the judge end up in a vacant restroom in a local business.

Evers thinks he's being set-up and Ruth asks him to be lenient on her brother when he comes before the bench. She adds that she helped steal $100,000. Her father was the mastermind but he died, her brother was caught and she needs him for his part of the puzzle to find the money. She tells Wheeling that she'll split her share if he'll help her.

Wheeling has a brother, Pascal, who lives in a mobile home and is often high on pot. When Evers did well with his family inheritance, Pascal squandered his and now enjoys life and doesn't have a care.

The story relates the attempt to recover the money and the surprises that await them as they go along.

We also follow the divorce attempt of Wheeling after he and the sheriff catch Ever's wife and a farmer at a motel.

Filled with amusing moments this novel certainly entertained. The book is for those who enjoy seeing unusual characters doing improbable things and enjoying their lives. ( )

This was a fun, wild ride with unusual characters who I think of southern gothic. A mix of too much money, no direction, a unique moral code and lots of pot and alcohol among the men, Pascal and Judge Evers Wheeling and their assorted comrades, makes for a crazy slice of life. The female characters, Ruth Esther, Paulette and Jo Miller are also unique - all in all, they're quite a group - it would be an adventure to spend some with them. I would love to meet the author, himself a judge. This author was recommended to me by an older, mild mannered female library patron - not at all what i expected but I had a great time with it. ( )

A wild ride of a book. Judge Wheeling is in a rut, drinking too much, smoking too much pot, living away from his wife and their deteriorating relationship when he meets Ruth Esther English and everything changes. The judge finds himself on a symbolic and actual road trip that has so many twists and turns the reader will be as surprised as the judge and his fellow travelers! This book was a lot of fun to read and surprisingly thought provoking. ( )