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dollycas's review against another edition
5.0
Maron's two series' collide again just like they did in Three-Day Town, the last book in this series. This time New York police detective Sigrid Harald travels to Cotton Grove with her award-winning photographer mother, Anne Lattimore Harald, to visit Sigrid’s ailing grandmother. They get together with Judge Deborah Knot and her husband, Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant for dinner at Mrs. Lattimore's Victorian home. This is where they meet Mrs. Lattimore's long lost nephew, Martin Crawford, an ornithologist researching a book on Southern vultures. Anne is charmed by her newly found cousin but something makes her believe they have met before.
When a string of suspicious murders hit the county Deborah, Dwight, and Sigrid once again work together to catch a killer, uncovering long-buried family secrets along the way.
Dollycas's Thoughts
I am a long time fan of Margaret Maron. She plots a mystery masterfully. She keeps the reader engaged from the first word until the last. I love the way she has blended both of her protagonists in these last two stories.
These characters are still fresh and evolving even as we finish this 18th book. Dwight has some things in his past that he has not shared with Deborah that will see the light of day in future editions and in this story had him facing some tough decisions. Deborah's relationship with Cal took a turn that made this reader actually shed a tear. Sigrid's connection to Colleton County gives her reason to visit and help Dwight and Deborah in the future now that her series has ended. Cameo or surprised appearances are always nice.
The buzzard theme was a little strange at first and I probably learned much more about turkey vultures than I ever wanted to, but true to Maron's style she brings it all together in a way her readers will love.
This book could be read as a stand alone but this series is best when you start at the beginning. Deborah has a huge family and without the background from previous novels it can be hard to keep them all straight. You will also see the way family is really the tie that binds all of these wonderful books together.
When a string of suspicious murders hit the county Deborah, Dwight, and Sigrid once again work together to catch a killer, uncovering long-buried family secrets along the way.
Dollycas's Thoughts
I am a long time fan of Margaret Maron. She plots a mystery masterfully. She keeps the reader engaged from the first word until the last. I love the way she has blended both of her protagonists in these last two stories.
These characters are still fresh and evolving even as we finish this 18th book. Dwight has some things in his past that he has not shared with Deborah that will see the light of day in future editions and in this story had him facing some tough decisions. Deborah's relationship with Cal took a turn that made this reader actually shed a tear. Sigrid's connection to Colleton County gives her reason to visit and help Dwight and Deborah in the future now that her series has ended. Cameo or surprised appearances are always nice.
The buzzard theme was a little strange at first and I probably learned much more about turkey vultures than I ever wanted to, but true to Maron's style she brings it all together in a way her readers will love.
This book could be read as a stand alone but this series is best when you start at the beginning. Deborah has a huge family and without the background from previous novels it can be hard to keep them all straight. You will also see the way family is really the tie that binds all of these wonderful books together.
nicklesticks's review against another edition
3.0
This was an enjoyable read, especially after I decided I probably wouldn't be able to keep track of all the many characters. Nothing super exciting, but a nice, easy mystery.
archytas's review against another edition
3.0
Halfway through this book, I remembered that I decided not to read any more of these. Having said that, I was reasonably glad I changed my mind. A quick and entertaining read, Maron's characters are good people to spend time with, and the relatively dense plotting kept me engaged. I picked this up during a period of illness, where concentrating on anything was difficult, and yet I needed to be engaged enough to distract me. It worked, which is all I could ask, really.
northstar's review
3.0
I've been a Margaret Maron fan for two decades and I always enjoy a visit with Deborah Knott. This is a solid entry into the series and I enjoyed it, but continuity editors are a good thing. Do people call Wes Todd "Wes" or "Todd?" The brother was killed in Iraq, no Afghanistan, no Iraq. Gah! If I am noticing these things, the editors must have been half-asleep. In the same vein, some of the plot makes no sense at the end. This was an entertaining couple of hours but if I had paid for this book, I'd be a little ticked off.
julieputty's review
3.0
It's fine, though I didn't really understand the point of all of it and a few people seemed to act out of character.
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