This entire series of Judge Deborah Knott by Margaret Maron is an absolutely joy to read.
The characters are well thought out and explained and continued throughout the series.
The locations and situations are wonderful too - even with the 'journalistic license' taken.
One feels you know the places, folks, taste the food, experience the wonderful place that is
North Carolina. I simply just loved it and could not wait to read on and on.
Maron's ( Past Imperfect ) series launch introduces attorney Deborah Knott, the daughter of an infamous North Carolina bootlegger, in an atmospheric adventure mixing Southern politics and a mysterious killing'unsolved murder' in next sentence . While Deb campaigns for a district court judgeship, 18-year-old Gayle Whitehead asks her to investigate the unsolved murder of her mother, Janie, which took place when Gayle was an infant. The girl wants Deb, who knows the locals of Cotton Grove, to ask around and see if she can find clues the police might have missed. Deb visits Michael Vickery, the gay son of Cotton Grove's retired doctor and owner of the property where Janie's body was found. She discovers long-kept secrets, learning that Janie had a roving eye and that a lesbian friend and her lover had made overtures to Janie a week before the murder.sentence ok?see my revisions yes, fine But not until another death occurs does Deb begin to close in on the truth. Filled with good-ole-boy patter and detailed local color, the story flows smoothly, and if it lacks suspense, Maron's appealing characterizations and her knowing eye for family relationships more than compensate. Mystery Guild alternate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW

Emily E. (
emily-e) wrote on 1/15/2006...
Cover picture is different, but it is the same ISBN and is a paperback.

Allison W. (
sealady) wrote on 1/5/2006...
Unconventional and unmarried at 34, North Carolina attorney Deborah Knott has become a judge on old-boy-ruled Colleton County. She gets involved in an unsolved 18-year old murder of Janie Whitehead.
Good mystery with a lot of Southern flavor. Not what I would call a "cozy" though.
This first novel in Maron's Imperfect series, which won the Edgar Award for best mystery novel in 1993, introduces heroine Deborah Knott, an attorney and the daughter of an infamous North Carolina bootlegger. Known for her knowledge of the region's past and popular with the locals, Deb is asked by 18-year-old Gayle Whitehead to investigate the unsolved murder of her mother Janie, who died when Gayle was an infant. While visiting the owner of the property where Janie's body was found, Deb learns of Janie's more-than-promiscuous past. Piecing together lost clues and buried secrets Deb is introduced to Janie's darker side, but it's not until another murder occurs that she uncovers the truth.

Jane J. (
cranbery) wrote on 7/23/2005...
Wonderful book........a must read!