Sun 8 Nov 2015
A Review by Barry Gardner: MARGARET MARON – Bootlegger’s Daughter.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[7] Comments
MARGARET MARON – Bootlegger’s Daughter. Deborah Knott #1, Mysterious Press, hardcover, 1992; paperback, June 1993.
Margaret Maron is the author of seven novels featuring Sigrid Harald, as well as one non-series mystery. I understand that we’ve seen the last of Harald for a while, and that Maron will concentrate on Deborah Knott.
Fine with me; I liked the Harald stories well enough to read and acquire them, but I think Bootlegger’s Daughter clearly represents a move up in the craft.
Deborah Knott is a 34 year old attorney who has entered the Democratic Primary for the position of District Judge. Her father is (was?) the best known bootlegger in that part of North Carolina, and they are currently somewhat estranged due to his opposition to her political ambitions.
Just prior to election day, an old (unrequited) love comes to her for help The story of course deals with her journey into the past in search of answers, but it is much more than just a mystery to be solved. It is the story of a woman trying to enter a man’s world in the old south, and indeed an evocative depiction of the people and culture of a piece of that part of our country.
I know North Carolina only slightly, but know the rural south well, and found the milieu to be finely and accurately drawn. Deborah herself is an appealing character, a strong and determined woman who I believe will find favor with most readers. I look forward to meeting her again. A very good book, recommended highly.
A final note: on the back of the dust jacket are no less than seven favorable and well deserved advance comments by fellow mystery writers, and I was struck by the fact that they were all by female authors. Hmmm. One isn’t quite sure what to infer. Do Maron/Mysterious Press consider this primarily a “woman’s” book? Surely not, though that’s the most obvious implication. I would think it almost has to be a marketing decision of some kind. Oh, well.
The Deborah Knott Series —
Bootlegger’s Daughter, 1992
Southern Discomfort, 1993
Shooting at Loons, 1994
Up Jumps the Devil, 1996
Killer Market, 1997
Home Fires, 1998
Storm Track, 2000
Uncommon Clay, 2001
Slow Dollar, 2002
High Country Fall, 2004
Rituals of the Season, 2005
Winter’s Child, 2006
Hard Row, 2007
Death’s Half-Acre, 2008
Sand Sharks, 2009
Christmas Mourning, 2010
Three-Day Town, 2011 (cross-over with Sigrid Harald)
The Buzzard Table, 2012
Designated Daughters, 2014
Long Upon the Land, 2015
Note: Sigrid Harald made two additional appearances after the Deborak Knott series began: Fugitive Colors (1995) and the crossover novel noted above. Bootlegger’s Daughter won the 1992 Agatha and the Anthony, Edgar and Macavity awards for “Best Novel” the following year.
November 9th, 2015 at 2:44 pm
I was like Barry in wondering why Maron seemed to be labeled a ‘woman’s writer’ when she was writing such fine prose and such good novels, but Margaret Millar. Elizabeth Saxanay Holding, and Dorothy Salibury Davis suffered the same problem.
I did not follow through on Maron, much beyond this book, the Southern milieu was too familiar to me and one I easily tire of, but she is a fine writer by any standard.
November 9th, 2015 at 3:46 pm
I probably might have added that Sigrid Harald was a detective for the NYPD. I read most of those, but when Judge Knott came along, I didn’t think the name was serious, and I didn’t read this one. Nor any of the others, for that matter. I also was not interested in the Southern setting. I have many of the books in the series, though, so it’s not too late for me to plunge in somewhere. (If I wait till I find the box this one’s in, it may be a while.)
November 10th, 2015 at 6:48 am
I too might be guilty of considering her a “women’s writer” and passing on her work. The book sounds interesting and I will probably try starting the series. Description reminds me a little bit of Julia Keller’s Bell Elkins stories set in West Virginia, and I have really enjoyed those stories.
November 10th, 2015 at 8:31 am
Steve, you really should read these. I’ve read them all. I don’t like Harald at all but the Knott series is excellent. That said, the first book is the obvious place to start as well as the best in the series, though the second is about as good.
November 10th, 2015 at 1:18 pm
Reading the first one first sounds like a good idea, Jeff. Next time I come across it, I will, and from what David P., says, I won’t be the only one. I’m even more convinced now that running these old reviews is a good idea.
November 10th, 2015 at 5:36 pm
The Buzzard’s Table is also a cross-over with Sigrid Harald. I’ve been following Maron since 1993. She is about my most admired writer. It’s part of my background: farming and extended families. I love how she deals with it. I never thought of her as a “woman’s” writer.
November 13th, 2015 at 4:01 pm
Geographically, Maron is out my way. I must look her up. Thanks for the intro.