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Rating: 
Summary: A fine addition to a good series
Review: I dislike writers who cannot get their facts straight. For instance: "My DAD USED TO HAVE AN OLD 'FIFTY-TWO THUNDERBIRD," on page 37 indicates the writer is less than knowledgeable about cars. The first Thunderbird on the market was 1955. Further, she has so many realtives running around this story that her protagonist must write up a chart so that even she can keep them straight.
I rarely discard a novel mid way, but I almost did that with this one. I only hung in there to see if the writer was using the T-Bird blunder to try to catch the culprit in the last chapters.
When a writer is incorrect in one of her/his facts and I catch it I think that there must be many others that I am not aware of or am not smart enough to catch.
I feel cheated.
Rating: 
Summary: "WHICH ONE IS THE DEVIL???????"
Review: I think there was at least two or three devils that jumped up in this book. Allen Stancil was one as indicated on the fly page of the book. Then there was one named _______. Have to read to find out who did the murders. Not one but two. The book had its ups and downs. I agree with another reviewer, I get tired of all the brothers and sister in laws and their kids. I get them all mixed up. To many for me to keep straight. But then I guess I don't have to buy the book if I don't think I will like it. If you like down South folks and small town living where everybody knows everything about everybody else, then you will like this book. But for me to many people, I skipped several pages to read about the mystery part, rest was just filler.
Rating:
Summary: Still having fun with this series.
Review: In this fourth book of this series, we finally find out how many brothers Deborah has (11). Her large family of older brothers has been mentioned in previous books, but until now we were never told exactly how many. As for the mystery plot in this book, it is tenuous at best. If you are not paying close attention, you could be left with a lot of questions regarding motive. The main story with this book is that a developer is looking to get his hands on the property that Deborah, her father, and her brothers own (collectively approximately 2500 acres) as well as the surrounding properties owned by neighbors. One of Deborah's brothers (who lives in California) has lost his job and is condering selling his small parcel (3 acres) to the developer. The major difference with this book is that is doesn't have the 'light' humor that Maron has put into her previous books. Still, the author is maintaining a steady pace with the series.
Rating:
Summary: Still having fun with this series.
Review: In this fourth book of this series, we finally find out how many brothers Deborah has (11). Her large family of older brothers has been mentioned in previous books, but until now we were never told exactly how many. As for the mystery plot in this book, it is tenuous at best. If you are not paying close attention, you could be left with a lot of questions regarding motive. The main story with this book is that a developer is looking to get his hands on the property that Deborah, her father, and her brothers own (collectively approximately 2500 acres) as well as the surrounding properties owned by neighbors. One of Deborah's brothers (who lives in California) has lost his job and is condering selling his small parcel (3 acres) to the developer. The major difference with this book is that is doesn't have the 'light' humor that Maron has put into her previous books. Still, the author is maintaining a steady pace with the series.
Rating:
Summary: Agatha winner - entertaining tales but not much mystery
Review: The key to enjoying this, the fourth book in the Deborah Knott series, is come in with the right expectations. It won an Agatha so you're exepecting lots of sluething. Think again. The mystery component is, at best, about one-fourth of the book. And then, just to be really annoying, Maron never really tells you why or how the killer killed. Normally this would totally sour me on the book but I enjoyed the other three-fourths of the book enough to forgive her.What this book (and series) is really about is life in contemporary rural North Carolina as seen through the eyes of Deborah Knott. Deborah (don't even think of calling her Deb or Debbie) is the youngest of twelve children (you need a scorecard to keep the brothers straight) and is a district court judge. Between family and litigants, the book is filled with tales of small town life - paternity suit shananigans, stock car racing history, feuds over old family burial plots, and church goers who will gamble on any day but Sunday. Hunters wives (like me) will laugh out loud over the "buck fever" story towards the end of the book. This particular book dwells on the effect of growth on the community. Land prices are skyrocketing and tract homes are replacing fields. When an elderly landowner (and former stock car builder) is killed without direct descendents, the possible heirs are all looking to grab his land and make a killing. But did they kill to make a killing? One of the possible heirs is Deborah's ex-husband from a annulled marriage - just to make things interesting. Bottom-line: A good book for people who want to read a book in a southern setting that finds the middle ground between the angst of literary fiction and the buffoons of Jeff Foxworthy. Folks who need non-stop mystery action may want to look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Agatha winner - entertaining tales but not much mystery
Review: The key to enjoying this, the fourth book in the Deborah Knott series, is come in with the right expectations. It won an Agatha so you're exepecting lots of sluething. Think again. The mystery component is, at best, about one-fourth of the book. And then, just to be really annoying, Maron never really tells you why or how the killer killed. Normally this would totally sour me on the book but I enjoyed the other three-fourths of the book enough to forgive her. What this book (and series) is really about is life in contemporary rural North Carolina as seen through the eyes of Deborah Knott. Deborah (don't even think of calling her Deb or Debbie) is the youngest of twelve children (you need a scorecard to keep the brothers straight) and is a district court judge. Between family and litigants, the book is filled with tales of small town life - paternity suit shananigans, stock car racing history, feuds over old family burial plots, and church goers who will gamble on any day but Sunday. Hunters wives (like me) will laugh out loud over the "buck fever" story towards the end of the book. This particular book dwells on the effect of growth on the community. Land prices are skyrocketing and tract homes are replacing fields. When an elderly landowner (and former stock car builder) is killed without direct descendents, the possible heirs are all looking to grab his land and make a killing. But did they kill to make a killing? One of the possible heirs is Deborah's ex-husband from a annulled marriage - just to make things interesting. Bottom-line: A good book for people who want to read a book in a southern setting that finds the middle ground between the angst of literary fiction and the buffoons of Jeff Foxworthy. Folks who need non-stop mystery action may want to look elsewhere.
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