Rating: 
Summary: A Writerly Southern Mystery
Review: Although the rest of the series is more typically genre fiction, this book reads at least as much as a Southern novel of place and relationship as it is a murder mystery. I enjoyed Maron's skill in developing three-dimensional characters and evoking a setting so real I could smell the dogwood and barbecue sauce. I didn't mind the slow early pace because I enjoyed the likeable, complicated characters, the window into North Carolina culture and politics, and the plot that simmered enticingly until the heat poured on at the end. I think the Judge Deborah Knott series in general is readable but uneven. And, if you are looking for a fast-paced mystery thriller, this might not be the right choice. However, this book stands well on its own as an excellent novel, engaging, complex, and beautifully written. It's one of the few mystery novels I've read more than once.
Rating:
Summary: Great book! Fun to read, gives a good down-home feeling.
Review: As a North Carolina District Court Judge who grew up in the world in which this story is set, I found the book engaging and evocative of that "down-home" feeling one gets when holding court in our more rural counties. The relationships of people and the descritive passages left me feeling that I was visiting a place to which I had been been before. A great book for North Carolinians who grew up down on the farm, or just want to get the feeling of "how it used to be." John W. Smith, Wilmington, North Carolin
Rating: 
Summary: Great southern who-done-it.
Review: As a North Carolina native I enjoyed the spot on sense of place delivered in this page turner. Good use of humor without taking away from the intensity of the mystery. Excellent characterization as well.
Rating:
Summary: The Great South personified
Review: Being an avid reader, particularly of mysteries/detective stories, I was amazed when I accidentally discovered Margaret Maron, who has been right under my nose here in North Carolina all these years. I so thoroughly enjoyed Bootlegger's Daughter that I immediately ordered four more Maron books about Judge Deborah Knott! The book was the most "comfortable" read I've experienced in ages. North Carolinians and others from the South will easily identify with the characters, the lifestyle, and the attitudes expressed. It's just a natural fit. Maron's wit was utterly entertaining, though subtle. I can't wait to finish the entire Knott series.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book about the South!
Review: Being from the south, I love to read books by Southern authors. The North Carolina "small town" setting was wonderfully portrayed by Ms. Maron. The title character, Deborah Knott, is what us southern girls want to be - successful in a man's world. Wonderful book - reminded me of Sharyn McCrumb's books set in East Tennessee.
Rating: 
Summary: Transplanted English cosy,with Southern setting
Review: Crime novels set in the American South seem in general to have more in common with the traditional English "golden age"novel than with the grittier works of their Yankee counterparts and this is a good illustration
A gentle rather meandering read it is a pleasant rather than engrossing mystery in which Deborah Knott a local Carolina attorney is seeking a judgeship but finds her campaign rather sidelined by the necessity to investigate an ages old mystey,at the request of a young family member.The case uncovers family secrets best kept hidden,in the eyes of many Deborah is a likeable protagonist and there is a strong sense of the importance and value of close familial ties.The changing face of the South in which attitudes to homosexuality and race are being re-evaluated provide an undercurrent to the development of the plot I am more in favour of the hardboiled and street wise crime novel but Ms Maron has created an engaging and personable character and a series that is likely to prove to be a quiet pleasure Warmth is not a characteristic one finds regularly in the crime novel but it is present here in abundance,and for that reason alone I will stick with the series and urge lovers of the
"soft boiled"crime novel to give the Deborah Knott a try
Rating:
Summary: Transplanted English cosy,with Southern setting
Review: Crime novels set in the American South seem in general to have more in common with the traditional English "golden age"novel than with the grittier works of their Yankee counterparts and this is a good illustration
A gentle rather meandering read it is a pleasant rather than engrossing mystery in which Deborah Knott a local Carolina attorney is seeking a judgeship but finds her campaign rather sidelined by the necessity to investigate an ages old mystey,at the request of a young family member.The case uncovers family secrets best kept hidden,in the eyes of many Deborah is a likeable protagonist and there is a strong sense of the importance and value of close familial ties.The changing face of the South in which attitudes to homosexuality and race are being re-evaluated provide an undercurrent to the development of the plot I am more in favour of the hardboiled and street wise crime novel but Ms Maron has created an engaging and personable character and a series that is likely to prove to be a quiet pleasure Warmth is not a characteristic one finds regularly in the crime novel but it is present here in abundance,and for that reason alone I will stick with the series and urge lovers of the
"soft boiled"crime novel to give the Deborah Knott a try
Rating: 
Summary: Only so-so
Review: For all the accolades, the book was merely good. It was a big disappointment, though the cover art is attractive....
Rating:
Summary: Charming, Absolutly wonderful
Review: From a woman that has spent many years in North Carolina, she has the life style set just perfect. I in noway thought this novel was slow. I wish her novels were twice as long, as I am always saddened by the fact that they must end. So far, I have six of her novels, and love all of them.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: Great continuance of the author's southern writing style!
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