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The Cutting Season: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,291 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
“The Cutting Season is a rare murder mystery with heft, a historical novel that thrills, a page-turner that makes you think. Attica Locke is a dazzling writer with a conscience.”
—Dolen Perkins-Valdez, New York Times bestselling author of Wench
Attica Locke’s breathtaking debut novel, Black Water Rising, won resounding acclaim from major publications coast-to-coast and from respected crime fiction masters like James Ellroy and George Pelecanos, earning this exciting new author comparisons to Dennis Lehane, Scott Turow, and Walter Mosley. Locke returns with The Cutting Season, a second novel easily as gripping and powerful as her first—a heart-pounding thriller that interweaves two murder mysteries, one on Belle Vie, a historic landmark in the middle of Lousiana’s Sugar Cane country, and one involving a slave gone missing more than one hundred years earlier. Black Water Rising was nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, an Edgar® Award, and an NAACP Image Award, and was short-listed for the Orange Prize in the U.K. The Cutting Season has been selected by bestselling author Dennis Lehane as the first pick for his new line of books at HarperCollins.
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"This story is dark and thick like a swamp at night - very haunting and creepy! The characters have depth and the emotions portrayed the true conflicting attitudes present in the south regarding its tumultuous history. The ending contained a surprise that I didn't see coming! When a book starts off with a corpse in the first chapter it can either be really good or really bad. This was really good!"
— Jessica (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“The Cutting Season is a rare murder mystery with heft, a historical that thrills, a page-turner that makes you think. Attica is a dazzling writer with a conscience.”
— Dolan Perkins-Valdez, New York Times bestselling author -
“A resonant story about a seemingly modern woman who is forced to come to terms with the long-buried past…A leisurely and luxuriantly Southern book that is rich with detail.”
— New York Times -
“A novel rich in atmosphere, strong in story, but at its heart The Cutting Season hinges on human complexity. The tangled rope of some kind of history has a stranglehold on everyone at the heart of this book, and their relationships give it a texture that reminds us why we come to fiction rather than the historical account…It illuminates our present in the light of our past and explains us to ourselves.”
— Guardian (London) -
“Beautiful but dangerous…Locke’s insistence on grounding her story in a deeper history pays off because it invests the book with gravitas, a sense of place and consequence, that feels profound and real.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Stunning…Soaked in atmosphere, in the wet, drunk air of the south where ‘the cane, like cut grass and sweet milk, damp and terrestrial’ pervades everything, the past lies in layers upon layers in this story.”
— Observer (London) -
“A nuanced look at the South’s tragic past and one strong woman’s stand against ingrained cultural and economic oppression.”
— Booklist -
“Locke’s second novel is written with fluidity and elegance, evoking the uniqueness of her setting and the nuances in the relationships of her characters, complicated by race, class, and history.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“William Faulkner said, ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” This adage comes alive as the outstanding reading of this literary mystery brings to life the ironies, complexities, and parallels between the Antebellum past and current times…Quincy Tyler Bernstine’s accomplished stage presence lets listeners feel the protagonist’s fear as she approaches the restored slave quarters her ancestors inhabited, the love in her voice as she talks to her daughter, and the condescension in the voice of the plantation owner as he addresses her. The strong narration and breadth of the story combine for unique glimpses into the depth of the human condition.”
— AudioFile
Awards
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Winner of the 2013 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
The Cutting Season Listener Reviews
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" Unique way of reminding the reader of what plantation life was like, added to a good mystery, with complicated relationships! "
— Connie, 2/18/2014 -
" I listened to this book and thought Quincy Tyler Bernstine (female) did a nice job. There seem to be quite a few people on this site who thought the pace of the book was too slow. While the plot centers around a murder, it's not one of those action packed, bad ass main character books. I found it to be a solid story and well told, but not one of those books that I can't wait to recommend to a friend. So maybe this is more of a 2.5 star rating. "
— EMP, 2/4/2014 -
" Listened to this audio book and I loved it. The reader had the Louisana drawl down perfectly. I think I would have liked it just as well if I had read it. Authentic characters, believable heroine, suspenseful story line. Read it! "
— Linda, 2/3/2014 -
" Interesting book, a little slow at times. A surprise in the end. "
— Iris, 1/30/2014 -
" a good mystery - set in the Louisiana on a restored plantation. Has a historical mystery as well. "
— Claire, 1/7/2014 -
" I really enjoyed this book and I plan on recommending it to people who enjoy a good mystery. "
— Jillian, 12/31/2013 -
" Loved the history, atmosphere, the mystery in the past and the emotional impact "
— Robyn, 12/23/2013 -
" Never heard of the author or the book. My husband said it sounded like I might like it so I gave it a try. Loved it. "
— Mary, 12/23/2013 -
" Couldn't finish. Didn't grab me. "
— Meredith, 10/30/2013 -
" A New Orleans area plantation in modern times with dark secrets from it's slaves history. Karen is the manager/event planner and this book is about her life and her history at Belle Vie. The book held my interest but got corny towards the end, in my opinion. "
— Shelley, 10/1/2013 -
" Interesting setting. Fairly brisk plotting. I stuck with it to the end. "
— Julia, 7/31/2013 -
" Loved the historical aspect of this book. The mystery plot line was really lacking and I found the main character to be very inconsistent. "
— Shelly, 6/23/2013 -
" Enjoyed her first novel (Black Water Rising) well enough that I wanted to give this one a try, and wasn't disappointed. Set in Louisiana, it deals with historical preservation vs Big Agriculture and, well, a murder. "
— Vickie, 6/12/2013 -
" Well written mystery with a very appealing protagonist at its center set in an old plantation kept preserved as a historic landmark. I enjoyed the richness of detail and loved Caren Gray and the grounded believability of her life. "
— Suzanne, 5/21/2013 -
" So, my friend told me about this book on Thanksgiving and how good it was ... Meh! It was a quick read, with solid prose, a great setting, interesting characters, a double murder plot and it was still just "meh." I never connected to it like I wanted and it left me wanting. "
— Innerdiva1, 4/10/2013 -
" Literary mystery set in Louisiana. Loved the characters and the plot. "
— Laura, 3/20/2013 -
" Very good thriller. well written "
— Sonia, 3/18/2013 -
" Nice atmosphere, fast moving plot. "
— Kieran, 3/10/2013 -
" Really good book. A bit predictable, but still enjoyable. "
— Katie, 12/17/2012
About Attica Locke
Attica Locke is a New York Times bestselling author of five novels, including Bluebird, Bluebird, which won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. She is also a winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and she has been short listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and nominated for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize and an NAACP Image award for her work as a novelist. She is also a screenwriter and television producer.