Audiobook9 hours
Rituals of the Season
Written by Margaret Maron
Narrated by C.J. Critt
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Best-selling author Margaret Maron shows the form that has won her the Edgar and Agatha Awards, among many others, in this riveting mystery. Judge Deborah Knott and Deputy Sheriff Dwight Bryant are due to marry in a week. But all plans are put on hold when an assistant district attorney is killed, and the clues compel Judge Knott to investigate an earlier double murder that may be connected.
More audiobooks from Margaret Maron
Last Lessons of Summer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Rituals of the Season
Titles in the series (18)
Bootlegger's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Southern Discomfort Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shooting at Loons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storm Track Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slow Dollar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Up Jumps the Devil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killer Market Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uncommon Clay Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Home Fires Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5High Country Fall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winter's Child Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rituals of the Season Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Christmas Mourning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death's Half Acre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hard Row Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Buzzard Table Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sand Sharks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three-Day Town Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related audiobooks
Home Fires Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winter's Child Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uncommon Clay Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miami, It's Murder: A Britt Montero Mystery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5High Country Fall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slow Dollar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killer Market Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sand Sharks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storm Track Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Up Jumps the Devil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three-Day Town Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death's Half Acre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Christmas Mourning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shooting at Loons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Buzzard Table Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Southern Discomfort Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bootlegger's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowering Judas: A Gregor Demarkian Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHardware Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Malice in Maggody Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky Penny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lie Down with the Devil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coyote Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Paris Directive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Act of Darkness: A Gregor Demarkian Holiday Mysteries Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Maggody Militia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Snake Tattoo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5State Fair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brown Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Cold Case Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Mystery For You
And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Sherlock Holmes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hit and Run Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What Lies in the Woods: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The River We Remember: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Did I Kill You?: A Thriller Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silence of the Lambs: 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When No One Is Watching: A Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finlay Donovan Is Killing It: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Woman in the Library, The Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mother-Daughter Murder Night: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Extraordinary Impossible Crimes and Puzzling Deaths: The Best New Original Stories of the Genre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Listen for the Lie: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Heaven’s Crooked Finger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death on the Nile: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unexpected Guest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Altered Carbon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Tender Land Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tell No One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crooked House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fifth Suspect Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Word is Murder: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Rituals of the Season
Rating: 3.9194915796610172 out of 5 stars
4/5
118 ratings10 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Judge Deborah Knott (High Country Fall, 2004, etc.), who dated Mr. Wrongs for years while her daddy, 11 brothers and numerous sisters-in-law were convinced she’d never settle down, has opened her heart to Deputy Sheriff Dwight Bryant. Their big day is only a week or two off when the murder of ADA Tracy Johnson sends their plans off-kilter. Although Deborah and Dwight have a pact never to discuss cases that might come before her on the bench, Deborah can’t say no to two college kids who beseech her to look into the Martha Hurst case. They believe that Hurst, due to be executed in a month for the murder of her son-in-law and ex-lover, is innocent. If DA Doug Woodall is correct in saying that his case was airtight, why was Tracy asking to see the old case files before she died? While Deborah and the college kids wrestle with long-ago witnesses, Dwight worries about the surprises in Tracy’s autopsy and his suddenly missing deputy Don Whitley. There’ll be another death, hints of an irregular pregnancy or two and more police corruption in Colleton County before the DA redresses a wrong, Tracy is avenged and Deborah and Dwight celebrate their nuptials.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Christmas and a wedding are the cultural niches of rural North Carolina featured in this folksy but good mystery series. Deborah, a judge, is getting married to Major, nee Dwight, a law officer in her jurisdiction; therein lies the potential for conflict. Plainly speaking, how can the Major keep Deborah from being involved in the crime solving part of the Judicial System? Boundaries are established giving The Judge even more tightropes to walk.Solving the crime; the death of an ADA and her infant causes some of the luster of local law enforcement to dull as does Judge Deb'rah's look back into a past "done deal" solution of a domestic murder. The races to the finish, getting married and exonerating the person on death row provide thewoof and warp for another fine entry in this good series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I don't like spoilers, but this review will have some if you haven't read the preceding ten books in the Deborah Knott series. Just a bit of warning, followed by a sentence of stalling.Ironically while the last few books where the mystery took a back seat to the Deborah Knott relationships subplots here's the novel where Knott's supposed to get married (in the middle of the winter, really, people do that?) and yet the mystery takes up most of the book's time.An ADA gets murdered (As well as her child dying, which is a heart wrenching detail) and that sends both Major Dwight in his official capacity and Deborah in her capacity as the ADA's sorta friend trying to find out who would do such a horrendous thing. The motives vary, from a possible scorned lover, to a pissed off drug dealer, or someone trying to keep her from finding out if a woman on death row is really guilty or innocent.Again I think this is one of the best mysteries in the novels that Maron has written. It kept me guessing on motive as well as who the perpetrator was until near the very end. As well as having a great couple of subplots as usual. Awesome.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I continue to enjoy Margaret Maron's books, and this was another good one to listen to in the car. The North Carolina setting is so familiar, and I continue to enjoy the characters.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I just love the Deborah Knott books. I've been waiting for this one -- and anyone who follows the series knows why. This is the one where Deborah takes that big leap.
The mystery was a lot of fun as well. Deborah gets tangled up in one of Dwight's investigations (again), only this time a good friend is the victim.
Looking forward to the next in the series. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5love Margaret Maron’s character Judge Deborah Knott. This adventure continues her romance with Maj Dwight Bryant – finally planning a wedding. Of course, this being a Margaret Maron book, there is also a murder to solve – this time a good friend of Deborah’s, and a review of a murder case where the accused murderer keeps claiming she is innocent, and two young law students set out (with Deborah’s help of course) to prove her innocence.I really enjoy this series and find they work especially well in the audio format.I get a lot of exercise in because I don’t want to stop in the middle of a chapter when I’m jogging away in the pool.I haven’t read all eleven of the series, but don’t feel like I’m missing too much by jumping ahead.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is a first for me. It is an ebook and the first full length ebook I have ever read. I thought since I don't like reading a book on the computer, that ebooks would also be a pain. I lose the line at the end and can't move to the next one smoothly. Oddly the smaller screen space of the ebook reader prevents that from happening. I have an Ipod Touch and it runs the Kindle reader on it with an app. I loved the reading experience, and have since downloaded other books.I was home sick, had finished all the Maron books I had and was desperate for a fix, and to find out about Deborah and Dwight.This book, number 11 starts with a shocking murder. One of their own is killed (Colleton County justice system) and the investigation points to an inside job.The main attraction for me and the need to read it right away was to see what happened with Dwight and Deborah and if the wedding went off. I was very happy with the developments on that front.Another wonderful episode of the friends and family of Deborah Knott.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/511th in the Judge Deborah Knott series set in North Carolina.Not only reconciled but now eagerly anticipating her marriage to Dwight Bryant just before Christmas, Deborah is caught up not only in preparations for the wedding but for the season as well. But marring the festivities for everyone is the murder of a young, attractive assistant DA, Tracy Johnson, and the consequent death of her infant adopted daughter.Along with some fairly humorous and obviously nostalgic descriptions of preparing for a wedding and almost everything that can happen, Maron has written far more of a police procedural book than she has previously, something hard to do when her protagonist is not a police officer. But with this books, Maron brings Officer Mayleen Richards more to the fore, and through Mayleen and other officers in the Colleton Conty Sheriff’s Department, Maron can lean more towards the procedural side. However, it’s still no New York or Los Angeles type of case, and she stays utterly true to her regional slant on characters, dialogue, and behavior. The details of the preparations for the wedding are well done in that nothing is cloying; again, a major strength of the series is the very size of Deborah’s family and the fact that Maron has given more or less distinct voices to Deborah’s brothers and especially their wives.The plot is good and the intertwining of murder investigation and wedding preparations works because Maron is a skillful writer who has this material thoroughly in hand.Highly recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the midst of final preparations for their Christmas wedding, Judge Deborah Knott and deputy Dwight Bryant are saddened by the murder of one of their colleagues, assistant district attorney Tracy Johnson, and her infant daughter Mei. Dwight and his team of investigators must figure out if the murder is related to one of the cases Ms. Johnson was prosecuting, or if the motive was more personal. Shortly before her death, Tracy had been looking at trial transcripts of a death row convict scheduled for execution in January. Did she suspect that the woman might be innocent? Deborah can't resist looking into the matter herself.The wedding, rather than the murder investigation, is the central focus of the book. Regular series readers will share the happiness of Deborah, Dwight, and the large Knott clan. If you're new to the series, though, this wouldn't be the best place to pick it up. You need to first read earlier books in the series. Start at least as far back as Slow Dollar.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Judge Deborah Knott (Bootlegger's Daughter) and fiancé Dwight solve one murder/fake suicide and a long-cold case to free a wrongly convicted death-row inmate while coping with Christmas wedding festivities.