Christmas Mourning by Margaret Maron

Amateur Sleuth


Review Courtesy of Megan Ingegno

Main Character:  Deborah Knott

Series/Title:  A Deborah Knot Mystery

Setting: The story is set in present day, fictional Colleton County North Carolina.  Events occur over Christmas week, hence the “clever” title.  

Point of View: The author primarily tells the story from Deborah’s point of view.  As the mystery comes close to being solved, a few chapters are told from the perspective of Sheriff Deputy Dwight Bryant, Deborah’s husband. 

Style/Pacing: The story develops slowly, but is a quick read. 

Main Character Traits: Deborah Knot is a district court judge.  More importantly, she is recently married with a large extended family.  It can be confusing to keep all of the family members straight, but the author includes a Family Tree to at the beginning of the book.  Deborah’s family relationships are more important in the story than the mystery, which no one works very hard to solve. 

Language/Writing:  The mystery is loosely plotted, but characters and setting are well detailed.  A gentle read that centers on family and community relationships.

Emotional Impact/Degree of Violence:  Any less violence and there would not have been a murder to solve.

Humor?:  Some light humor.

Vulgarity/Sex?:  Characters do not swear, and sex is only implied.  

Issue Driven?:  The dangers of using cellphones while driving; jack-lighting deer.

Special Points: This is the 16th book in the Deborah Knott series.  However, the author fills in enough detail that you do not need to start at the beginning to follow along.