Mysteries, North Carolina style

    I occasionally review books for the monthly magazine, Our State: North Carolina. As most of my blog readers aren't North Carolina residents, I thought it might be worth re-printing a couple of recent reviews--as it happens, both are mysteries set in North Carolina and both convey a strong sense of place.
    The first review, reprinted here, is is an appreciation of Margaret Maron's latest novel. Maron captures the sense of the Piedmont region, both the fast-disappearing rural areas and urban/suburban sprawl. Her mysteries are wonderful entertainments that also address social issues.
    The next review will focus on the Western part of the state and Vicki Lane's evocative stories of mayhem in the mountains.
    Both reviews are reprinted with permission.

The Buzzard Table

By Margaret Maron

The opening scene in Margaret Maron’s latest mystery may startle fans expecting a North Carolina setting. The preface of The Buzzard Table describes a tense scene in a Somali hut where two journalists are held hostage. Not to worry — by the first chapter, we’re back in Colleton County, North Carolina, home to Judge Deborah Knott and her family. Part of the pleasure of this novel is discovering the links between the Middle Eastern adventure and Deborah’s domestic life.

Multiple plots emerge and tantalize the reader. An ornithologist shows up, claiming to be a relative of a local grand dame. A real estate agent is murdered, and a young boy is shot. An airfield may be the site for rendition flights carrying prisoners out of Guantánamo Bay.

Helping untangle these mysteries is Deborah’s husband, Deputy Sheriff Dwight Bryant, and her cousin, detective Lt. Sigrid Harald. Dwight and Deborah met Sigrid during their honeymoon in Maron’s previous book Three-Day Town. Now their relationship deepens as Sigrid returns to Colleton County to visit her ailing grandmother.

Family and community always figure in Maron’s stories. In The Buzzard Table, Deborah’s relationship with her stepson, Cal, takes center stage as she and Dwight explore whether she should officially adopt him. Will that cement his place in the family? Or is it premature?

Maron is at the top of her form, engaging readers with wit, complex plots, social commentary, and moving depictions of family ties.

--Katie Baer

"Our State magazine, April 2013, reprinted with permission."