SAND SHARKS GIVEAWAY AND MY REVIEW

GIVEAWAY ENDED
SAND SHARKS
BY MARGARET MARON

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When Judge Deborah Knott travels to Wrightsville Beach for a summer conference for North Carolina District Court Judges, she stumbles upon the body of one of her colleagues. Meanwhile, Deborah's husband, Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant, is in Virginia with his son, tying up loose ends left by the death of his first wife. When another judge is found murdered at the conference, it soon becomes evident that Deborah may be the killer's next target. Her relaxing trip to the seaside soon transforms into a harrowing experience, and she must summon all of her strength and investigative expertise to track down the culprit before she becomes the next victim.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Margaret Maron grew up on a farm near Raleigh, North Carolina, but for many years lived in Brooklyn, New York. When she returned to her North Carolina roots with her artist-husband, Joe, she began thinking about a series based on her own background and went on to write Bootlegger's Daughter, a Washington Post bestseller and winner of the major mystery awards for 1993. Her next Deborah Knott novel, Southern Discomfort, was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Novel; Shooting at Loons, which followed, received Agatha and Anthony Award nominations; and Up Jumps the Devil won the Agatha for Best Novel of 1996. Home Fires is her sixth Deborah Knott mystery.

Home Fires, 1998

MY REVIEW OF SAND SHARKS

Where have I been? This is the first Margaret Maron book I have read and obviously, the first in the Deborah Knott Series and yet, there are I believe 14 books before this one going all the way back to 1992! At least, knowing that, let me assure you that if you are in the same boat as I am, you will still understand and be able to read SAND SHARKS as a stand-alone novel. Would it be easier to have read at least some of the others for more background on the main characters? I am sure... and so I will now go back and do that when time allows (+14 more on TBR/Wish List)!

SAND SHARKS does start with Judge Deborah Knott on a business trip to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina (and I always wind up in Jacksonville or Orlando....why?). She is attending a conference as she is a District Court Judge, and thus she is taken away from her usual stomping grounds of Colleton County, North Carolina. She is there on her own as her husband, Dwight Bryant, is with his son, Cal, in Virginia. Dwight is a Sheriff's Deputy and has traveled to Virginia to take care of things after his first wife died. So to say that Deborah is happier to be at her conference, would be an understatement. However, that feeling might come into question when early on, Deborah unfortunately finds, quite by accident, the body of Judge Pete Jeffreys. As the story goes, Jeffreys was not the most honest of judges, so could his death be a result of someone who had something personal against him? That is what is the first thought when the death is analyzed.

Unlike the conferences I go to, the break out session and coffee break were not the norm here as soon another judge is found murdered. Suddenly what looked to be a relaxing time at the beach with friends in her field of work, becomes a dangerous experience. Could Judge Knott be next? Suddenly being with her new husband and step-son Cal doesn't seem like such a bad idea!

Maron does a wonderful job of character studies in this book as the plot to me seemed secondary in comparison. In the first part of the book, you meet many characters and almost need a score card but soon the important ones are drawn out and given depth and catch your attention. I found Deborah Knott to be a fascinating and fun character to read about. The book was an enjoyable, easy read and although I thought the ending was a little predictable, it didn't matter as the richness of the characters carried the story for me. Knott herself seems more feminine than I thought she would be and from I have read about the series is more so in this book. Don't get me wrong when I say "feminine" I just mean I didn't find her to be a hard-nosed business only woman but rather one who I learned about her as a woman--wife and mother--as well as a judge and "detective".

I was happy I read Margaret Maron's book and met this new character and still can't believe I had not read her work before. I recommend this as a fast read that keeps your attention and the writing draws the reader well into the setting and the plot line. Thanks to Ms. Maron and to Miriam at Hachette for introducing me to a new friend in Judge Knott!

Audio and Video

GIVEAWAY

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