Rituals of the Season (A Deborah Knott Mystery (11))

I always enjoy this books I think that I have read every one of the Debrah Knott series, I enjoy the friendships and trouble that she always seems to get into. The mysteries are always intriguing and keep you interested in whatever is going on, and your always trying to guess who do it.

Maron has turned out to be a truly gifted storyteller. On the one hand, each novel has become like a visit with a group of old friends, and it's hard to say good-by at the end. I love reading about Deborah's interactions with her eleven brothers and I loved the all-too-brief glimpse of Deborah's wedding. And I love the glimpses of Kezzie Knott, Deborah's rough-hewn, handsome bootlegger father. And the juxtaposition of Deborah's family with her professional identity. Questioned about marrying a man who didn't graduate from college, Deborah laughs: her dad was a bootlegger and most of her brothers are farmers and blue collar workers. But Maron serves up a well-crafted mystery, parallel to the festivities of Deborah's wedding. Tracy, a thirty-something district attorney, has been murdered and a deputy -- the woman's boyfriend -- soon gets identified. At the same time, two young law students investigate a woman on death row, accused of murdering her husband. Tracy had taken an interest in the case: was there a connection? Maron maintains suspense while gently weaving among these plot strands: Deborah's wedding (and pre-wedding relationship), the woman on death row and the murder of Tracy Johnson. It's deceptively simple. When I revisited the book to write this review, I realized how cleverly Maron had moved the plot along. Maron takes her novels in new directions here, with a gritty heart-stopping opening and a shift away from Deborah's first-person perspective in several scenes. It works. My only complaint: At least one more year before we get the next installment. I'm sure Maron's tired of writing about Knott, but this series is head and shoulders above her others. Hope she's started the next one already!

A dozen or so years ago, a friend said to me: "Have you ever read any of Margaret Maron's Judge Deborah Knott books?" I picked up "Bootlegger's Daughter," and I was hooked. At the risk of sounding loony, Deborah and her family and friends have become so real to me and I look forward to every book. Reading "Rituals" was one of the highlights of my summer. Thanks, Ms. Maron, for creating Judge Deborah's world, for making her so tart-tongued and funny, loyal and family loving, hypocrite despising and compassionate to the underdog -- for putting the preacher and the pragmatist in her head, and for making her a judge who isn't afraid to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. And thanks for giving her a mate like Dwight. I can't wait to see where their story goes next.

Margaret has done it again-I own all of her books and have throughly enjoyed each and everyone. Rituals of the Season offers great mystery and such comfort in visiting with the Knott family again. She certainly makes them "come alive" and each book makes you feel more and more like you are a member of their community and a friend. I recommend it highly.

Margaret Maron writes the greatest book of southern fiction of all time. They are written smoothly and read as easily. I love her stories. Deborah and Dwight are the sweetest couple.