Sometime
last spring I went back to reading Margaret Maron’s Judge Deborah Knott series
all over. I’d read the first six or seven when she started publishing them and
loved them from the beginning. When I started going to Malice nine years ago, I
received a bag of books they give to all participants, and also bought books by
new authors I discovered while attending. So my piles and piles of books kept
multiplying as well as my interest in new authors I was reading; Louise Penny,
Rhys Bowen, and many others. Added to that, I joined two book clubs after I
retired so there were two additional books I felt compelled to read each month.
Fortunately, I enjoyed most of them and was glad to not only read those, but to
be introduced to other new authors.
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| Some of my Margaret Maron books |
As
much as I love to read, I don’t have time to read for hours each day, and not
because I’m a big TV watcher or Facebook fan. Like most people, I lead a very
busy life, and my reading also includes the daily newspaper and Time Magazine.
However, Margaret Maron’s books were still on my shelf and becoming more
plentiful since I’d pick up new ones whenever I came across them or they
appeared in the Mystery Guild Book Club I belong to. Since I wasn’t exactly
sure where I’d left off, it seemed only reasonable to start at the beginning as
I only remembered a few things, which didn’t include the plot, the murder or
who done it with the earlier ones. Also, since I like to start a series at the
beginning, I started with the Bootlegger’s
Daughter, and fell in love with her writing all over again. I continued
reading her books always with a few other books in between; book club choices, new
authors to start, or other mystery authors like Elizabeth George, whose books
have grown longer and longer with each new one she writes. Then there were the
gift books I got for my birthday or books by authors interviewed on WWK. I just
finished my 15th Judge Deborah Knott book this week. While I was waiting to
fill in the gaps of books I didn’t have, I read the first three Sigrid Harold
books that were Margaret Maron’s first series. I liked those, too.
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| Front: Linda, Ann, Carol. Back: Sue, Jean, Me |
When
my Third Thursday book club met at my house before Christmas to go over the
books we were going to choose for the following year. One of the three I
suggested was Bootlegger’s Daughter.
We chose it for January’s meeting which was last Thursday. Before we got
started discussing the book, I asked them to write their opinion of the book
and what they liked or didn’t like. As a group the only thing they didn’t like
was the cover because they thought it didn’t relate to the book. Following are their comments:
I’m
all about characters. Maron introduces us to small town, believable folks
complete with warts and beauty marks. I love that all the ends are tied up into
a smooth strand, not a last minute knot. Best part – I guessed “who done it!”
Linda Bailey
The
setting and characters of this small town are refreshing and true to life. I
could envision all of it. The interactions were truly representative of how
people’s conduct is in a small town. Ann Cicero
Deborah
is such a strong practical woman. Many or most of the characters seem to like
and trust her allowing her to solve the secret of Janie’s death, as well as
that of Michael’s and Denn’s. I was so glad that Deborah and her father seemed
to be finding a kind of peace. Sue Johnson
The
“cover” issue was a concern to me, because I often return to it as I’m reading
the book to picture the scenes presented throughout. It only seemed to fit
somewhat in the beginning. Otherwise it wasn’t related. It bothered me less
than a third of the way through, but then Maron had me wanting to know what
happens next, and what happened way before. I especially appreciated how well
she acquaints the reader to the people and to the places. It reminded me of our
little town, especially the specialness of so many of the people I met there
and in our town. Even the description of the Dobb’s Ledger and the importance
of the death and life of each person. The obits in the paper were not written
as a list, but more as a person’s life story just like a home paper. I can
hardly wait to get back and find out where she’s taking me. Jean Morningstar
While
I realized that this is an older cover, I’m glad I didn’t have to judge the
book by its cover. This older version seems to fit only the beginning of the
book, not the spirit of it. I enjoyed the characters and their relationships.
Another wonderful part was the vividness of the description of the photograph
of Deborah’s parents. As a reader, I could see it as clearly as if it was in
front of me. Carol Baker
Our
group is not a large one, and we were missing a few at this past meeting
because of weather or sickness, and another member goes to Florida for the
winter. However, over the past nine plus years, with some members leaving and a
few added, we have become a very tight group. We meet right before lunch at a
restaurant to discuss the book, and then talk and laugh about a large variety
of other topics. Some stay for lunch and others have to leave for appointments.
We’re all retired and at least four of us were teachers and one is a retired
librarian. Almost all the members,
except for me and one other, live in the small town we meet in. They in
particular thought the small town characters were very believable. It’s rather
rare that the comments about any book we choose are all positive. We have some
members who almost always find something to criticize about a book, but for
this book it was only the cover which few authors have a choice in the matter
anyway.
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| Her latest book |
What’s my opinion of the book? Well I wouldn’t have read it for the
third time before we got together to discuss it if I didn’t love it. There
isn’t much I could add to their comments, except that while continuing the
series, more and more I feel I know the people and the area where Deborah Knott
lives. A common comment writers hear is to write what you know. Because Maron has lived in the area she writes
about much of her life is one of the reasons it seems so real. I only hope
Margaret Maron keeps on writing her Deborah Knott series because I’m not ready
to quit reading them.
Have
you read Margaret Maron’s Deborah Knott series?
What
other series have you been hooked on?
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