Margaret Maron

May, 2013

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Born in Greensboro, NC; Memberships: Mystery Writers of America (former member of board of directors; former president), America Crime Writers League, Sisters in Crime (former president), Carolina Crime Writers (member of steering committee). Addresses: Home: NC. Agent: Vicky Bijur Literary Agency, 333 W. End Ave., New York, NY 10023. E-mail: margaretmaron@nc.rr.com.

Deborah Knott mysteries

1. Bootlegger's daughter(May 1992)   

(First book in series) Deborah Knott, an attorney attempting to infiltrate the old boy network of tobacco country by running for district judge, is distracted from the race, and almost eliminated, when she finds new evidence to an old small-town murder.

2. Southern discomfort (Jun 1993)   

3. Shooting at loons (Jun 1994)  

4. Up jumps the Devil  (Sep 1996)  

5. Killer market  (Aug 1997)

6. Home fires  (Dec 1998)

7. Storm track  (Apr 2000)

8. Uncommon clay (May 2001)

9. Slow dollar (Aug 2006)

10. High country fall (Aug 2004)

11. Rituals of the season (Aug 2005)

12. Winter's child (Aug 2006)

13. Hard row (Aug 2007)

14. Death's half acre (Aug 2008)

15. Sand sharks (Aug 2009)

16. Christmas mourning (Nov 2010)

17. Three-day town (Nov 2011)

While in New York, Judge Deborah Knott has been asked to deliver a package to Lt. Sigrid Harald of the NYPD. Sigrid offers to swing by the apartment with her husband to pick up the box, but when they reach the apartment, they discover that the box is missing and the doorman has been murdered.

18. The buzzard table (Nov 2012)

• Sigrid Harald mysteries (Most Recent: Jun 1995)

1. One coffee with (Apr 1995; orig. pub. date 1982)

(First book in series) Detective Sigrid Harald finds herself involved with a variety of colorful and offbeat suspects as she investigates a murder in the art department of a prestigious university.

2. Death of a butterfly (Dec 1984)

3. Death in blue folders (Apr 1985)

4. The right jack (May 1995)

5. Baby doll games (Jun 1995)

6. Corpus Christmas (Oct 1989)

7. Past imperfect (May 1992)

8. Fugitive colors (Jun 1995)

Read-a-likes

Margaret Maron fills her mysteries with vivid though not complex characters. Although she appears to have discontinued her New York police procedurals featuring Sigrid Harald, she continues her leisurely paced investigative stories starring Judge Deborah Knott and set in North Carolina. Southern charm and old-fashioned storytelling, family relationships, introspective characters, and a small town setting characterize the Deborah Knott series. In recent novels especially, Maron adds details about North Carolina locales and traditions to emphazie the strong sense of place. Start with: Bootlegger's Daughter.

Bowen, Gail,

Though they are set in very different places, these cozy mysteries feature professional women drawn into sleuthing by unexpected circumstances. Each has a strong sense of place (Saskatchewan and North Carolina) and the characters draw on the support of family and friends. Each story also includes a thrilling bit of danger before a satisfying conclusion. -- Katherine Johnson

Casey, Donis

Small-town intrigue and deftly plotted storylines tie the 'Alafair Tucker mysteries' and the 'Deborah Knott mysteries' together. Strong settings - in Oklahoma and North Carolina, respectively - along with likable characters are qualities found in both of these series. -- Victoria Caplinger

Connor, Beverly

The Deborah Knott and Lindsay Chamberlain series are atmospheric mysteries set in small southern towns. The small town setting means that personal and professional lives intertwine, so the personal often influences the professional for both judge Knott and forensic anthropologist Chamberlain. -- Rebecca Sigmon

De Castrique, Mark

Readers who enjoy the domestic aspects of the 'Deborah Knott mysteries' may enjoy Mark DeCastrique's 'Barry Clayton mysteries', which are also set in small-town North Carolina. -- Victoria Caplinger

Hart, Carolyn G.

Readers who enjoy the southern setting of " Deborah Knott " will especially enjoy Carolyn G. Hart's "Death on Demand" Mysteries. Hart's traditionally crafted Mysteries featuring Annie Laurence Darling are rich in quirky characters and wonderful descriptions of the region. -- Krista Biggs

Neely, Barbara

Barbara Neely and Margaret Maron write cozy mysteries featuring intelligent, no-nonsense, successful professional women. Neely's series, set in the Boston area as well as North Carolina, and Maron's two, one set in New York City and the other in North Carolina, all offer social commentary on issues including race; their characters have involved relationships with family and friends, and well-plotted stories. -- Katherine Johnson

O'Shaughnessy, Perri

Like Margaret Maron, Perri O'Shaughnessy brings a small-town setting to life--making it integral to the story--though O'Shaughnessy's Lake Tahoe is far away from Maron's Colleton County, North Carolina. Also, interpersonal and familial relationships play into the plots of both authors, though O'Shaughnessy's legal thrillers move faster and feature more courtroom action than do Maron's mysteries. -- Shauna Griffin

Ross, Ann B. (Miss Julia series)

The female protagonist of both novels encounters a mystery that she must solve while also navigating tricky social waters in a small town. They share a similar southern flavor and language, and similar light humor keeps the mysteries light. -- Lauren Havens

Sprinkle, Patricia Houck (Thoroughly Southern mysteries)

In both series, the females protagonist set on solving a mystery isn't an actual detective but is instead a judge. The humor of small-town social situations and comic characters keep these mysteries light. They share similar southern details and language. -- Lauren Havens

http://www.margaretmaron.com/