Up Jumps the Devil
Set in North Carolina, this fourth Deborah Knott novel draws family secrets and a murder case into the judge’s everyday world.
Work Information
Behind the family conversation, the shape of the case slowly comes into view.
A novel that blends local atmosphere, family ties, and the overlap of courtroom life with the everyday.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Mysterious Press
- Published
- 1996-09-01
- Pages
- 288 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 15.88 x 2.22 x 23.5 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780892965687
- ISBN-10
- 0892965681
- Price
- 2799 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Mystery & Thrillers/Mystery/Women Sleuths
Murder usually begins at home, and Colleton County, North Carolina, proves no exception. When truck driver and childhood neighbor Dallas Stancil is shot and killed in his own backyard, Judge Deborah Knott figures she owes his memory at least the respectful ritual of taking his widow one of her Aunt Zell's best chicken casseroles. Mistake Number One. Dallas wasn't rich, but with development eating up the farms and forests of North Carolina his land is suddenly worth a fortune. His trashy, chain-smoking third wife and grown stepchildren are all too aware of its value. Opportunistsincluding one Deborah's own brothers - are coming out of the woodwork. And she knows big money makes people do bad things. Hardworking, redneck, and salt-of-the-earth, the Stancil men have lived side-by-side with Deborah's family. When the Stancils suffer another tragedy, a long-hidden skeleton rattles its bones and jumps out of what she thought was her long-dead past. She can run the culprit back out of town or maybe get him charged with murder, but ignoring him would be Mistake Number Two. All around the changing South, Deborah sees hunting dogs, rowdy funerals, backwoods moonshine stills, and long-bed pickups clashing with BMW-driving professionals and housing tracts. With one foot in the rural past and the other in today's high-tech present, she knows her personal world is changing too. This bootlegger's daughter sits on the judicial bench and sees both sides of the law. But she also feels the tug of her roots...and the pull of her heart.
Reviews
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Great Reading!
I am new to this series and I just don't know how I missed it. It is a wonderful book and series and I love how Ms. Maron brings all the characters together, gives each of them such personality, and still brings us a great mystery. I am now obtaining all the books in this series so I can read it from start to finish. I would recommend it to all.
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Up Jumps the Devil
North Carolina pacing of this novel. If you go with it, it's very laid back and a pleasure. It can be a challenge to track the sheer number of Deborah 's family members. While keeping them all in their right place.
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Another Excellent NC Mystery
I genuinely love Margaret Maron's works. Deborah Knott is perhaps her best character. She is so typical of the Southern women I have known. And Maron absolutely gets the culture of North Carolina. This book has the subtext of exploring the "gentrification" of rural North Carolina. What were once fields are now upscale housing developments. Mom-and-Pop stores get squeezed out in favor of the known quantity of big-box stores. Are we losing the joy of rural life to the lure of lots of money in hand? Of course, to really look at this, there must be a murder. And, of course, Deborah must investigate. While she does so, we learn more about her past, including her large family. The author did play fair with the reader in the reveal. This cozy mystery series should appeal to anyone who enjoys mysteries and to those who enjoy North Carolina fiction. Highly recommended!
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Great read
I love the Deborah Knott series. Up Jumps the Devil will not disappoit. THIS WAS A STORY THAT GRABED ME FROM THE BEGINNING UNTIL THE END.
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Four Stars
Great story.
Related Literary Awards
- Agatha Awards Edition 9 (1996) ・Winner