sscs's review against another edition
3.0
I so want to declare one of my favorite mystery writers "back," but she's just not quite there yet. This is her best effort in years, though, since "Winter's Child" at least. While it is inevitable that the main character of a long series gets a little dull, it has been painful to watch Deborah get less interested in solving mysteries and more so in raising her stepson and what she's making for dinner. In this book the decline continues. To my thinking, here she only shines in the scenes that are in her courtroom. Taking her place as the main detectives in this book are Sigrid Harald* from Maron's other series and Deborah's husband Dwight.
Deborah's decline as a main character sucks, but this book is at least partially redeemed in my eyes by the mystery which is, thank goodness, well-written and fair play. This is Maron's first book in years that felt like it was written by an Agatha winner and is a huge climb in storytelling from the nadir that was "Sand Sharks." It's not the most difficult mystery Maron has ever written, but it is hard enough to be fun without the solution at all feeling out of the blue.
"The Buzzard Table" is a long way from Maron's best work, but it is enough to keep a diehard fan reading.
Oh, almost forgot. Got this one on audio. The lady reading it, C.J. Critt, seriously needs to dial the theatrics down a bit.
*For Sigrid Harald fans from back in the day, getting Grandmother Lattimore's perspective on Sigrid and to some degree getting her side of the story is awesome, no lie. It took literally 30 years for the Lattimore side of the family to get character development, but it happened. If Grandmother Lattimore gets her own book, I will read it.
Deborah's decline as a main character sucks, but this book is at least partially redeemed in my eyes by the mystery which is, thank goodness, well-written and fair play. This is Maron's first book in years that felt like it was written by an Agatha winner and is a huge climb in storytelling from the nadir that was "Sand Sharks." It's not the most difficult mystery Maron has ever written, but it is hard enough to be fun without the solution at all feeling out of the blue.
"The Buzzard Table" is a long way from Maron's best work, but it is enough to keep a diehard fan reading.
Oh, almost forgot. Got this one on audio. The lady reading it, C.J. Critt, seriously needs to dial the theatrics down a bit.
*For Sigrid Harald fans from back in the day, getting Grandmother Lattimore's perspective on Sigrid and to some degree getting her side of the story is awesome, no lie. It took literally 30 years for the Lattimore side of the family to get character development, but it happened. If Grandmother Lattimore gets her own book, I will read it.
ncrabb's review against another edition
2.0
At six chapters in, I had to ask whether this series is running out of gas. I hope not. I’ve enjoyed it so much, and I have lots of books in the series I’ve not yet read.
Sadly, it appears to be a rather loosely plotted book wherein Deborah Knott-Bryant has little to do but fret about when and how to adopt her stepson and cook spinach lasagna. Ok, I’ve over simplified that a bit, but not by much.
It seems a female real estate agent with a dying marriage got in the unfortunate habit of showing more than houses. They found her murdered in a secluded place.
There’s a Brit who claims to be an ornithologist studying the habits of buzzards or turkey vultures. He is also a photographer, and a super-distant relative of Deborah Knott’s. He didn’t kill little Miss I’ll-Show-You-the-House-and-So-Much-More, but he’s clearly up to some bad stuff, as a friend of the Bryant family, Sigrid Harald, who stars in her own Margaret Maron series apparently, determines.
I’ll go back and fill in other books in the series I’ve missed, but not for a while, and perhaps with a bit less enthusiasm than I’ve approached this series in the past.
Sadly, it appears to be a rather loosely plotted book wherein Deborah Knott-Bryant has little to do but fret about when and how to adopt her stepson and cook spinach lasagna. Ok, I’ve over simplified that a bit, but not by much.
It seems a female real estate agent with a dying marriage got in the unfortunate habit of showing more than houses. They found her murdered in a secluded place.
There’s a Brit who claims to be an ornithologist studying the habits of buzzards or turkey vultures. He is also a photographer, and a super-distant relative of Deborah Knott’s. He didn’t kill little Miss I’ll-Show-You-the-House-and-So-Much-More, but he’s clearly up to some bad stuff, as a friend of the Bryant family, Sigrid Harald, who stars in her own Margaret Maron series apparently, determines.
I’ll go back and fill in other books in the series I’ve missed, but not for a while, and perhaps with a bit less enthusiasm than I’ve approached this series in the past.
nonna7's review against another edition
4.0
always look forward to the newest Judge Deborah Knott novel by Margaret Maron. They combine an interesting story with a touch of romance and insight into southern culture that we generally don't see portrayed in the media. This book deals with a local murder as well a local airstrip that is being used for refueling by CIA planes taking prisoners to foreign countries for "questioning" - knowing that they will be beaten and tortured until they confess. Buzzards set the theme for the book - birds that eat fresh kill. Mrs. Lattimore, one of the last of the grand dames, is dying. Her days are numbered so her daughter, Anne, a now retired well known photo journalist, and granddaughter, Sigrid Haralson, an NYPD police detective (and Maron's first character before she switched to Judge Deborah Knott) come to visit with her for a while. A surprise guest is Martin Crawford, an ornithologist who is staying at an old farmhouse studying buzzards. He is also a nephew of Mrs. Lattimore and, of course, Anne's cousin although she has never met him before. He DOES look familiar though! His mother was Mrs. Lattimore's sister who married a British citizen and moved to England. She estranged herself from her family after her first fiance dumped her for her sister, now Mrs. Lattimore. She died when Martin was young, and he was raised by his stepmother who was from Pakistan. So he learned Pashtun and Arabic and a number of other languages besides. The story had a lot of twists and turns, with a second murder and the near death of a teenage boy. It's a quick read and very entertaining.
tsmom1219's review against another edition
4.0
I always enjoy a visit with the Knotts and the Bryants of Colleton County.
nutti72's review against another edition
5.0
Quite possibly my favorite Margaret Maron & that's saying a lot.
rainweaver13's review against another edition
3.0
Not the best in the Deborah Knott series, but a satisfying read. More predictable than most.
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.