North Carolina district court judge Deborah Knott unintentionally "crashes" several manufacturer's receptions at the internationally known Southeastern Furniture Market in High Point, where she becomes involved in murder. Initially befriended by a mysterious and elusive woman with bogus name tags, series protagonist Knott soon runs into an old woman friend from law school as well as a hunky ex-beau now in the furniture business. When Deborah later discovers the man dead, she and police begin investigating. Maron (Up Jumps the Devil, LJ 8/96) continues her usual warm-hearted, family-oriented approach, tempered with observant detail, infectious enthusiasm, and light humor. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In this fifth entry in the widely praised, increasingly popular Deborah Knott series (following Up Jumps the Devil ), the judge must travel to High Point, North Carolina, to fill in for a vacationing colleague. Unbeknownst to her, the usually sleepy, little town is playing host to the International Home Furnishings Market, attracting companies from all over the world, and Deborah is practically laughed out of every hotel in town when she shows up without reservations. After losing her purse in one of a dozen cocktail-party feeding frenzies, Deborah finally finds a place to stay with an old law-school chum. When her purse is found at the scene of a murder--cutthroat furniture-company executive Chan Nolan is found dead in a pricey wicker porch swing--Deborah is brought in for questioning. Attempting to solve the case by tracking the whereabouts of Nolan's legion of enemies (and also shop for some bedroom furniture), Deborah comes into contact with some real characters, including a onetime legendary designer who has gone off her meds; a pesky, persistent free-lance reporter; and a southern belle with a homicidal streak. All the furniture shoptalk will keep decorating aficionados happy; the rest of us will be more than willing to settle for Deborah's feisty humor and sharp deductive skills. Joanne Wilkinson

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great detail, Jan 23 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Killer Market (Mass Market Paperback)

Maron's Southern mysteries are just terrific; from the accurate descriptions of the courtroom scenes, the "hearty" Southern food, the family, and the country, it is obvious that Maron has either lived through these experiences or has done some really good research. I started the series with this book and have gone back and forth in the series until I finished them all. This one was possibly my favorite, in that Maron posed so many possible suspects with so many possible motives that it really was hard to tell who the murderer was (although some of my friends claim that they spotted the murderer right off the bat). In any event, Maron does keep you guessing. My only complaints, and they are gentle ones, is that the chapter headings seem to have no bearing on the story itself and simply serve to bog the reader down. Additionally, it seems as though the later books in the series presuppose that the reader has read the previous ones; some characters and relationships just "appear" and are not explained in enough detail to determine their relevance to the story or to Deborah. Otherwise, an excellent book and an excellent series.

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2.0 out of 5 stars It Was Okay, Aug 26 2001

By	Rosa "Bookworm" (Detroit,MichiganUSA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer Market (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to be truthful I wasn't in love with this character. But parts of the book was okay. But the story drag on for too long. But the ending more than made up for the plot. This was not her best series. the ending was superb.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, Oct 21 2000

By	Helen (Highgate, South Australia, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killer Market (Mass Market Paperback)

This author is remarkably easy to read and her Deborah Knott series always extremely entertaining. Usually Deborah's adventures are set in her home town among her large family. This homespun feel adds a lot to the attractiveness of the series. This was necessarily missing in this installment as Deborah travels to another town to help out a fellow judge for a week. Also, the author chose to centre the plot around an international furniture market being held in the same town that week. While the change of settings added novelty, the furniture market setting was a bit distracting and confusing. Nevertheless, as with all books by this author, it is very highly recommended.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Love Deb'rh, just not this book
Dunno why but this installment of the the Judge Deborah Knott series left me cold. I did not find the High Point setting to be interesting, or terribly realistic. Read more

Published on Aug 3 2000 by J. Brynda

4.0 out of 5 stars Great addition to the Maron series...good plot and character
I have read all of the Maron's and I enjoyed this one...it was a fun and rather wicked look at the furniture/decorating world and a good plot that was not overly contrived.

Published on Jan 12 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Killer Market was a great read!!!
Killer Market, by Margaret Maron, continues the crime solving adventures of Judge Deborah Knott. As usual, Ms. Maron, captures the essense of the South. Read more

Published on Jun 6 1998