Uncivil Liberties - by Bernie Lambek (Paperback)

About the Book

The book explores hate speech and free speech, cyberbullying and privacy, religious and sexual freedom, and a community's many faces of love and loss.

Book Synopsis

Forward INDIES Winner-Honorable Mention, Mystery

After a high school student is found dead at the bottom of a rock ledge on the outskirts of Montpelier, Vermont, the community confronts its conflicting beliefs and values and the truths below the surface. The book explores hate speech and free speech, cyberbullying and privacy, religious and sexual freedom, and a community's many faces of love and loss. The novel is imbued with a deep respect for the law, as well as for the passionate and irrational human beings who live within, and sometimes beyond, its constraints.

Review Quotes

"...especially for addicts of courtroom drama with quite a few interesting contrasts between New England and Old England. In a Vermont town where everybody seems to know everyone else's business, people are forced to confront some of the most taboo moral issues of the day...an intriguing book. Be prepared for shocks."

Simon Mawer, Man Booker Prize Shortlist, author The Glass Room and Tightrope

... a splendid legal mystery. By roiling up subterfuge and bad behavior, Lambek subverts conventional notions of pastoral New England. ... This is the edgy, noirish B-side of "Moonlight in Vermont." Howard Norman, author My Darling Detective and The Bird Artist

...should be required reading in any law school curriculum, by any book group that prizes good literature, by anyone who enjoys whodunits, and by those who value common decency and friendship.

James Morse, retired Vermont Supreme Court Justice

...an engrossing story about lawyers grappling with complex legal, professional, and personal issues. Set in Vermont, Lambek's entertaining narrative follows an episodic path to an unpredictable conclusion.

Stephen Wizner, William O. Douglas Clinical Professor of Law at Yale Law School

...a thoroughly engaging portrayal of Vermont's pot-holed road towards a more civil society. Its characters entertain us, even as its narrative educates us. Bill Schubart, author Lila & Theron