Book Review: Rituals of the Season

Reviewed By: Carol - SLC - RAM

Rituals of the Season     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Margaret Maron
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Police Procedural   Legal Setting
Series: Deborah Knott # 11
Mysterious Press, Warner Books, 2005, $23.95 (hardcover)

This installment of the Deborah Knott series finds Judge Deborah Knott and Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant busily making final preparations for their upcoming wedding. The "down-home" feel of Deborah's family and friends taking part in the hustle and bustle adds warmth and charisma to the main characters. You like them. You really, really like them.

Deborah and Dwight had come to an agreement about how they could separate their private lives from their jobs, since their professional lives were often intertwined. That task became much more difficult when an assistant district attorney was murdered on her way to take her young child to the pediatrician. Was her murder sparked by a current case she was prosecuting or something else? It was sad to think that so many people worked with this woman on a daily basis and yet none of them seemed to know her very welll at all.

I loved the excerpts from The Ladies' Book of Etiquette by Florence Hartley that began each chapter. Those excerpts really set the tone for the reader.

I have NO idea how I have managed to miss this series entirely, but I plan to rectify that mistake by going back to the beginning of the series to bring myself up to speed. Ms. Maron's writing style is very descriptive. She has no problem pulling the reader right in. Reading this novel felt a lot like watching a movie - I had no trouble envisioning it all. This is a book not to be missed!

Carol - SLC - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carol - SLC - RAM