Rituals of the Season

Starred review from June 27, 2005
At the start of Maron's first-rate 11th Deborah Knott mystery (after 2004's High Country Fall
), the judge and her fiancé, sheriff deputy Dwight Bryant, are distracted from their impending nuptials by a fatal car crash involving assistant D.A. Tracy Johnson. When it turns out that someone shot Johnson as she was driving, Deborah and Dwight become involved in a murder investigation that will uncover a web of crime and corruption in Colleton County, N.C. Meanwhile, members of Deborah's large, extended family, among other warm Southern characters, hurry to complete the renovations on Deborah's old farmhouse and to prepare, celebrate and sometimes complicate the upcoming wedding. When two young students approach Deborah about a death-row prisoner who they think is innocent, she can't resist helping. In contrast to the image of the ideal woman described in the quotes from the Victorian etiquette book that head each chapter, the realistic, contemporary Deborah, an expert at multitasking, handles all challenges with wit, intelligence and sensitivity. Agent, Vicky Bijur.

Starred review from July 15, 2005
Maron is in top form here, as Judge Deborah Knott ("High Country Fall") and Chief Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant finally tie the knot, overcoming obstacles that would severely try almost anyone else. Fewer than two weeks before their wedding, with Deborah's house torn up (for an addition that's a gift from her brothers) and holidays looming, assistant distract attorney Tracy Johnson is shot in her car, with her adopted baby daughter also dying from injuries sustained in the subsequent crash. Further investigation by the couple finds that Tracy was pregnant (and most recently dating one of Dwight's deputies, who's suddenly missing) and poking into an old murder case, which has also caught the attention of local law students. And then there's the fire at the country club, intended site of the wedding reception. But Knott and Bryant are nothing if not resourceful; crimes are solved, vows are exchanged, and readers may be forgiven a tear of happiness by the final pages. Essential for mystery collections. Maron lives in North Carolina. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 4/1/05.] -Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2005
Maron's Judge Deborah Knott series is one of those cozy-procedural combos whose fans relish being part of the daily lives of the characters. This eleventh installment in the series will be treasured by those devotees with the same fervor that soap fans feel for a pivotal episode. It's Christmas, which means plenty of -family-friendly celebrating among Judge Knott's enormous clan in Colleton County, North Carolina, but more than that, the long-awaited marriage between Deborah and Deputy Sheriff Dwight Bryant is about to happen. Amid the myriad domestic details, there is also murder: the shooting of an assistant DA leads back to an earlier murder trial and the possibility that a soon-to-be-executed woman may be innocent. Readers new to this series may find the domesticity a bit overwhelming--a full page on the question of whether the wedding rice bags should be filled with birdseed?--but Deborah's fans will want to hear it all. And give Maron credit: her ability to evoke the camaraderie shared by small-town friends and family is almost enticing enough to make Woody Allen consider moving to North Carolina.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)