Slow Dollar (Deborah Knott Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Margaret Maron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003 | Series: Deborah Knott Mysteries

A moonlit autumn night brings out half the county to fill the Tilt-O-Whirl with squealing riders and the dirt around Polly's Pitch Plate with losers' quarters. But in an air nostalgically sweet with caramel apple and spun sugar, one crooked game ends with a brutal death ... and Judge Deborah Knott will discover more than a body. For beneath the carnival's razzle-dazzle surface swirl dark secrets that Deborah has kept hidden for almost twenty years. Now as family loyalties war with the demands of the law, she must struggle to win a carny's trust-before the killer pins a bull's-eye on yet another victim.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

You can almost smell the cotton candy and hear the barkers inviting you to try your skill at a game of chance in this lively new mystery starring Colleton County, North Carolina, Judge Deborah Knott. Knott's stunned to discover that Brazos Hartley, murdered on the midway at the Harvest Festival carnival, was a member of her family; his mother, Tally Ames, is Deborah's first cousin, born of a shotgun marriage and abandoned as a child by her father, Deborah's brother. Naturally, when there's a second carnival murder, Deborah can't help getting involved in the investigation, even if it means uncovering secrets some of her relatives would just as soon keep confidential. The huge Knott clan, with Deborah at its center, gives Maron a wealth of material (the judge herself is one of 12 siblings!), which she makes the most of with wonderfully drawn characters and a beautifully evoked setting. The next best thing to a summer night at a country carnival, Slow Dollar is a standout in a series that just keeps getting better. --Jane Adams --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Step right up! Play a game and win your girl a prize! The carnival's in town and Maron brings to this ninth Judge Deborah Knott mystery (after 2001s Uncommon Clay) the vigor and verve that have served her so well to date. Larceny, both grand and small, as well as death hover over the Ames Amusement Corporations show on its arrival in Colleton County, N.C. Deborah, her irrepressible siblings (she's one of 12, the youngest and the only female) and some newfound kinfolk gather to mourn her great-nephew and carnival worker Brazos Hartley, after the young man is stomped to death, his mouth stuffed with quarters. The rural North Carolina dialogue and "carny" talk are perfect, especially descriptions of food, fashion and enchanting scenery of Indian summer in the South. The author draws family relationships so clearly you feel you could melt right into the crowd for barbecue, biscuits, slaw and cobbler. Before Maron is done, there's a bizarre theft of some tacky paintings, a second murder and a steamy romance. Is Judge Knott finally going to settle down and marry? Maron is one of the most seamless Southern authors since Margaret Mitchell, yet she beautifully writes a series about a New York police detective, Lieut. Sigrid Harald, with equal authority. A Knott family tree and a glossary of carny terms round out a novel that Nero Wolfe would describe as most satisfactory!
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reissue edition (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446612979
• ISBN-13: 978-0446612975
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #568,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better and Better, January 20, 2004

By 

Louis M. Perdue (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slow Dollar (Deborah Knott Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of the few mystery series going today that, even with this, the 9th entry, just keeps getting better. There has been only one book (Killer Market) in this series that I found to be even a bit lacking and that is quite unusual in a series that has gone on this long. In this episode, Judge Deborah Knott goes to the local carnival with her friends and discovers a dead body. As she works to solve the murder with her friend Dwight, we are exposed to more of her large family, but it really never gets confusing. Maron manages to make it clear who belongs to whom, even with the added relatives that this tale brings into the picture. The mystery is interesting and hard to solve and, just as importantly, there is progress in Deborah's personal life that is very satisfying to read. I know that Maron's next book is a stand-alone (neither a Knott nor a Harald book...will she ever write more Sigrid Harald books?) but I will definitely buy it. I just hope she returns to North Carolina soon.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable modern cozy, January 5, 2007

By 

Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slow Dollar (Deborah Knott Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Cozy mysteries are really of two types: Novels in the traditional cozy style whose main emphasis is a mystery and its resolution (e.g., Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers) and novels in the more modern cozy format, whose main emphasis is on social interactions (primarily between family, friends, and coworkers) with the mystery being a smaller component of the exposition. This is definitely a cozy in the latter form. Remove the additional social interactions, and this mystery could be presented in a novella or even a short story, although not as interestingly.

If you find modern cozies appealing, you will certainly find this an interesting book. Here, self-assured Judge Deborah Knott finds a dead worker while visiting the annual Harvest Festival Carnival. The reason for this death and the identity of the killer is the primary mystery. The preface provides a family tree of the Knott family, which is absolutely needed, as the Knotts are a large family, many of whom are presented in this novel. Readers will find themselves frequently referencing this chart to keep track of Knott family members. Fortunately, the number of carnival workers and additional characters is relatively small, but it may still pay to keep some brief notes of who they are as you read. There is also an informative addendum with a glossary of carnival terms, e.g., "cutting up jackpots", "plush", "rake `em and scrape `em" that are used in the novel.

I felt the story started somewhat slowly, but it quickly caught my interest, and as events unfolded it became harder to put down. Although the story is told in the first person, in terms that will probably appeal mostly to female readers, e.g., there are probably more descriptions of Judge Knott's clothing choices than would interest male readers, this novel should none-the-less appeal to both sexes.

The novel reads quickly and easily, and provides a very enjoyable way to relax.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great one of the Knott Series, May 1, 2008

By 

Kel "acountkel" (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slow Dollar (Deborah Knott Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

#9 of the Deborah Knott series- The "carny" comes to town and with it a murder. Deborah is the one to find the victim. A long lost relative appears in this one as well. This book is a turning point for Deborah and the series. A surprise to the reader! I am starting to really enjoy this series. It took several of them to get there but I am glad I did not give up. The most notable aspect of this series is the author's way of highlighting something distinct about North Carolina in every book and weaving a mystery along with it.