Review of Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: November 21, 2011
Series: Deborah Knott Mystery #17
Buying Links: Amazon     The Book Depository

*May contain spoilers for earlier books*
 

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

Judge Deborah Knott and Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant are on a train to New York, finally on a honeymoon after a year of marriage. January in New York might not be the perfect time to visit, but they'll take it. The trip is a Christmas present from Dwight's sister-in-law, who arranged for them to stay in an Upper West Side apartment for one week. While in New York, Deborah has been asked to deliver a package to Lt. Sigrid Harald of the NYPD. Sigrid offers to swing by the apartment to pick up the box, but when they reach the apartment, they discover that it is missing and the doorman has been murdered. Despite their best efforts to enjoy a blissful getaway, Deborah and Dwight soon find that they've teamed up with Sigrid and her team to catch the killer before he strikes again.

Teaser:

I left the door on the latch and fetched a wet cloth from the kitchen to begin wiping surfaces that had been dusted for fingerprints, including the cat that Luna had forgotten to take. Dwight came down the hall from the second bathroom with a bath mat in his hand. "I'm going to put this over that bloodstain till we can get it cleaned," he said.

 The chenille mat had interlocking circles of blue and green and didn't exactly go with anything in the room, but yes, I was glad to have the blood covered.

My Thoughts:
*May contain spoilers for earlier books*


OK, first thing. Although the book is listed as being part of Maron's Deborah Knott series, it is a crossover between that series and her Sigrid Harald series. The focus is on Deborah and Dwight but Sigrid is a major character in the story. The first three chapters are told from Deborah's perspective, then after that the chapters alternate between Deborah and Sigrid, with a couple chapters from Dwight's perspective near the end of the book. I haven't read the Harald books, other than to skim a couple at the library. The Knott books, though, I read regularly and enjoy them. A co-worker introduced me to them several years ago and I'm glad she did.

Deb and Dwight have been married for a year but never took a honeymoon. They finally get a chance for one when Dwight's sister-in-law Kate, married to Dwight's brother Rob, arranges for them to stay at an apartment she owns, but doesn't use, in New York City.  At the same time, Deb is doing a favor, delivering a package, for a relative of Kate's, who is also a distant relative of Deb's. That relative, Mrs. Lattimore, happens to be the grandmother of Sigrid, making Deb and Sigrid distant cousins. Confused yet? :D The genealogy in the Knott books can be confusing and this one gave me a headache, trying to keep it all straight. There is a brief chart at the front of the book but it doesn't include Kate, Mrs Lattimore or Sigrid.

The package that Deb is delivering is for Sigrid's mother so when Deb and Dwight arrive in NY, Deb calls Sigrid to arrange a time to deliver the package. Before that happens, however, they attend a party given by a neighbor. During that party, a murder occurs and Sigrid is the detective on the scene. The story gets increasingly complicated and Deb, though out of her jurisdiction, can't help but get involved.


It's not the strongest story in the series but it's a good one and I enjoyed seeing both Deb and Dwight in a different setting. I really liked that Maron resisted the temptation to write them as fish out water, but instead as just two people playing tourist in a new environment. She also poked fun a bit at the perceptions that people have of Southerners. Sigrid was interesting but I still have no desire to read that series. Since I don't read those books, I don't know how good an introduction this book serves to that series but we do meet Sigrid's team and learn a bit about her and her background. For someone new to either series, or even both, Maron works in background on all of the major characters without doing the dreaded info dump.

"Three-Day Town" is a quick read, occasionally confusing, with attention to detail, interesting characters, and a decent mystery.

I  received a hardcover from the publisher for review.