Slow Dollar (Deborah Knott Mysteries) [Unabridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Margaret Maron (Author), C. J. Critt (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2003

For Judge Knott, the case before her seems to be an ordinary misdemeanor -- except that the personal property that's been destroyed is an inflatable carnival ride. When the carnival comes to her own town a few weeks later, Deborah soon discovers there's nothing ordinary about this rag-tag collection of rides and games. Why does the ride owner's charm bracelet awaken half-forgotten memories? And what is her connection to Deborah's own family? When one of the concessionaires is found dead, his mouth stuffed with quarters from his game of chance, Deborah soon learns that he was also chancing a little blackmail on the side -- blackmail that may threaten one of her brothers. In carnie lingo, "A fast dime is better than a slow dollar." Torn between judicial ethics and family love, Deborah must decide who gets which before more lives are ruined and the carnival moves on.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Recorded Books; Unabridged edition (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402518218
• ISBN-13: 978-1402518218
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,674,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A welcome return to greatness in the Knott series, May 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Slow Dollar (Deborah Knott Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I thought the last several books in the Deborah Knott series were pretty poor. Mechanical plots, dull characters, uninteresting and implausible mystery solutions. In one of them, I intuited the murdered from the beginning because s/he was given too much "air time" when s/he was introduced - a common giveaway for untalented mystery writers. I feared that Maron had run out of ideas and was just churning out books for the money.

Happily, "Slow Dollar" more than restores my faith. As is typical with Maron, the point is less the mystery than the characters. As others have indicated, the new characters in "Slow Dollar" are delightfully drawn and wonderfully real. They add more depth to the incredibly complex relationships within Deborah's family.

And I absolutely, positively LOVED the new relationship with Dwight. Yes, I consider myself to be on a first-name basis with these people; they are that real to me.

Thank you, Margaret Maron, from this grateful reader. You're back on track.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Judge Knott discovers a long lost relative and murder, August 19, 2002

By 

Moe811 (New York USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Slow Dollar (Deborah Knott Mysteries) (Hardcover)

When the carnival comes to Dobbs, Deborah has already met the owner. Two drunken fools damaged one of her rides and Deborah was the judge to hear the case. More trouble occurs in Dobbs. The eldest son of the owner is found dead, by Deborah, at the Dozer with a mouth full of quarters. While investigating the case, she finds that Tallahassee Ames, the part owner of the carnival is really, her niece, Olivia. She hasn't seen Olivia since she was a small child, but promised her late mother to always treat her as family. Too bad Olivia's father doesn't feel the same way, since it was his grandson that was murdered. Deborah is also changing her relationship with Dwight Bryant.

This is one of the best novels of the series. Ms. Maron is always at her best when she involves Deborah's huge family and its different characters in the story. A new family member is always welcome and Tally and her family add color to an already colorful brood. Deborah's new relationship with Dwight makes me wonder why nothing ever happened before. I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Judge this one a winner!, November 1, 2002

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Slow Dollar (Deborah Knott Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Deborah Knott, youngest of twelve children and only daughter of ex-bootlegger Kezzie Knott, is a circuit judge in rural North Carolina. On the bench, she's compassionate but firm; off the bench, she manages to avoid both marriage and speeding tickets -- barely.
A carnival comes to Deborah's own Colleton, County, North Carolina. Deborah and assorted cousins are enjoying the rides when the carnival owner's elder son is found murdered.
Deborah's personal and professional lives are intertwined as she helps her old friend, Sheriff Dwight Bryant, investigate the crime. The mystery is not a whodunit and many readers won't care when the villain is revealed. The strength of the book comes from strong writing, three-dimensional characters and the North Carolina rural setting.

As usual, Deborah's young cousins teeter on the edge of the law while her assorted brothers and sisters-in-law carry on family traditions of southern hospitality. And as Deborah faces re-election, she regrets her checkered history of relationships and considers a surprising proposition from someone close to her.
Slow Dollar evokes an unsentimental but loving picture of the Old South. Like the author, Deborah grew up in North Carolina, lived "up north" and returned home. She respects the heritage of the south while defying its traditions in her own life.

And the series is as warm and delicious as a southern baked biscuit with melted butter -- after you've consumed one, you're eager for the next. The Knott family might try Deborah's patience but they manage to be warm and supportive without degenerating into sentimental syrup. If you're new to the series, read a few of the earlier volumes first -- you'll enjoy this one even more.