When another body is found, these newlyweds will discover dark truths that threaten to permanently alter the serenity of their rural surroundings and their new life together.
As Judge Deborah Knott presides over a case involving a barroom brawl, it becomes clear that deep resentments over race, class, and illegal immigration are simmering just below the surface in the countryside. An early spring sun has begun to shine like a blessing...

Margaret Maron—winner of the most prestigious awards in mystery fiction—returns with another novel featuring her critically acclaimed sleuth Deborah Knott.
Unchecked urbanization has begun to eclipse the North Carolina countryside. As farms give way to shoddy mansions, farmers struggle to slow the rampant growth. In the shadows, corrupt county commissioners use their political leverage to make profitable deals with new developers....

In the chilling twelfth installment of this award-winning series, Judge Deborah Knott’s new marriage will be tested as she and her new husband are drawn into an emotional hunt for his missing ex-wife and son.
It’s one month after their wedding, and the future looks bright for Judge Deborah Knott and Sheriff Deputy Dwight Bryant––until a disturbing call from Dwight’s 8-year-old son Cal calls him back to Virginia....

With friends and family over-reacting to her announcement that she plans to marry Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant, Judge Deborah Knott gratefully seizes the opportunity to put a five-hour drive between herself and Colleton County when the Chief District Court Judge offers her a week on the bench in Cedar Gap. It is early autumn, leaves are turning, and summer residents are preparing to close up their mountain "cabins" (palatial houses perched atop...

New York Times bestselling author Margaret Maron returns with a thrilling new Deborah Knott mystery where Deborah, Dwight, and Sigrid once again work together to catch a killer, uncovering long-buried family secrets along the way.
Judge Deborah Knott and her husband, Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant, are back home in Colleton County amid family and old friends. But the winter winds have blown in several new faces as well....

Best-selling author Margaret Maron is a winner of the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, Macavity, and American Mystery Awards. Her captivating mysteries feature quick-witted Deborah Knott, a lawyer, district judge, and devout North Carolinian. At the annual Harvest Festival carnival, while everyone else is playing games and having fun, someone commits murder. As Deborah investigates, she must struggle to win a carny's confidence while a dark web of dangerous...

Margaret Maron's best-selling Deborah Knott mystery series won instant acclaim upon its debut in 1993. In this 16th entry in the series, the judge is faced with a horrifying holiday murder case. After a beautiful young cheerleader is found dead in a car wreck, Judge Knott's husband Deputy Dwight Bryant discovers evidence that the death was anything but an accident. Now Knott and Bryant are on a desperate search for a killer before he or she strikes...

Best-selling author Margaret Maron's colorful Deborah Knott mysteries crackle with sassy Southern dialogue and rural wisdom. In Up Jumps the Devil, fast-moving progress is threatening to forever destroy the leisurely, heart-warming pace of Colleton County, North Carolina. District court judge Deborah Knott sees trouble brewing when plans for a new interstate highway start pushing up property values. As her own relatives battle lifelong neighbors over...

Violent storms often hit Colleton County, North Carolina, but when a local attorney's promiscuous wife is killed, the murder blows the lids off more homes than last year's hurricane. As the victim's numerous lovers--including a handsome cousin of Judge Deborah Knott--scurry for cover stories, the judge begins her own investigation. What she finds is a tangled web of extramarital affairs and secrets linking half the county . . . while a massive hurricane...

The governor of North Carolina has appointed Deborah to a judicial seat in the District Court Division. On her weekends, the fledgling judge has been helping an all-woman building crew complete a home for a needy single mother. Her attempts to gain positive P.R. go awry when her niece is found battered and half-naked in the partially completed home, with Deborah's own bloody hammer lying nearby.