Uncommon Clay

The Nordan family has problems. The death of three of them in rather gruesome ways is the least of it. The head of the family Amos Nordan is a cave man in his thinking, about woman, and the government interfering with his business, and its causing the rest of the family nothing but trouble. Lucky for the readers there Judge Deborah Knott, with her easy and funny look on life, and of course the need to stick her noise into places it shouldn't be, but than what kind of Judge would she be if she didn't do thank. In the end all the string will be neatly tied, and of course the killer will get what's coming to um. Margaret Maron really writes a great mystery. The book is fun to read, and the killer isn't all that obvious. Her characters truly come to life within these pages. This is the first of her books I have read, but it will not be last. If you are fan of southern mysteries, with real woman characters, you'll love this book. I can also recommend this book highly to fans of Sharon McCrumb, another great southern mystery writer.

Except for Storm Track, I've read all of the Deborah Knott series. To me, Uncommon Clay is the best yet! The research and information that Margaret supplied about the NC pottery industry was a bonus to the solid mystery she always provides. I'll be going to Seagrove soon. Too bad I won't be able to find her fictious potteries - I'd love to meet these characters!

I delayed reading this book, because Killer Market was so bad.The other Deborah Knott books were good. As I live only 9 milesfrom Seagrove I wanted to see if the book was accurate and itwas to my knowledge, except for one little detail and that isDorothy and Walter Auman had a son and grandchildren, but theyare not in the pottery business, so this detail is not at allimportant. I'm forgetting Killer Market and am going to returnto reading all the Margaret Maron books, right after I go toSeagrove and buy some more pottery.

Continuing my love affair with the works of Margaret Maron, I returned to her Deborah Knott series and really enjoyed "Uncommon Clay", which is a quick read with an ending that surprised me.Deb is again on the road, visiting Asheboro this time, and the reader gets the treat of learning more about NC folk crafts...(prior novels have featured furniture), this time with the work of Carolina's folk pottery industry. Some interesting and colorful new characters and friends are added to the story line. The book also continues the saga of Deb's romances, and how badly they go sometimes. In this tale, Deb has two embarrassing scrapes with the down side of relationships. Maron also takes the time to insert a small tidbit about Oscar Nauman, a character from her Sigrid Harald series, in a way that makes the reference seem real and natural.With its interesting plots, spunky heroine, delightful descriptions of large southern families and friends, and its ability to educate the reader on the life and times of beautiful NC, the Knott series is a fast, entertaining, and well written group of books. Uncommon Clay still leaves me hungry for more!

After a quarter of a century of marriage in which the twosome argued and fought seemingly all the time, but produced incredible pottery, the Nordans are divorcing. Randolph County, North Carolina visiting Judge Deborah Knott must equitably and legally divide the property between James Lucas Nordan and Sandra Kay Hitchcock, but Her Honor realizes that this is an extremely complicated knot to untie. Before Deborah finishes her distribution, someone murders James. Deborah wonders if his homicide might be tied into his brother's suicide two years ago. Unable to remain on the sidelines, Deborah begins to investigate he recent tragedies of the Nordan family. UNCOMMON CLAY, the latest Judge Knott mystery (see STORM TRACK) is a taut regional thriller that combines down home wit and humor with a tense who-done-it. The story line never slackens for even a paragraph as readers are drawn into the Nordan family like Pooh Bear to honey (that simile is for Ashley Klausner who gracefully let me use it). The charcaters, especially the Judge, leave the reader touching the red clay of North Carolina. As usual marvelous Margaret Maron provides another wonderful tale that will thrill sub-genre fans.Harriet Klausner