Hard Row

Just finished reading the latest Deborah Knott mystery by Margaret Maron, Hard Row.   These mysteries are set in North Carolina and based somewhat on the life of Margaret Maron, who grew up on a farm near Raleigh.  My brother, sister-in-law, and niece live in the country outside Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  We visited them this summer, and I found myself being reminded of that countryside as I read.  In addition to clever plotting of the mystery, the book updates us on the continuing relationship between Judge Deborah, her still-new husband Sheriff Dwight Bryant, and his 8-year-old son Cal; the extended Knott family and their struggles with what crops to plant as they phase out tobacco farming; Mexican immigrants, prejudice, and labor abuses; abusive ex-husbands and the difficulties protecting the women they stalk; and ice hockey.