ISBN: 0-7887-2944-6 Order from: Recorded Books
Interesting characters and well-moving plot keep the reader's interest in this Southern mystery, despite the first-person protagonist's lecturing tone.
Reviewed by David on November 29, 2002
Genre: Mystery (Amateur Sleuth)
Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of Killer Market. Deborah Knott, a District Judge in North Carolina, visits the center of the state's huge furniture industry to substitute for an absent colleague. Deborah does not expect the sleepy little town to be overflowing with visitors, with all hotels full and snarled traffic.
Deborah lands right in the middle of a semi-annual convention of furniture producers and buyers—the Market. Among the throngs of visitors, the visiting judge finds old acquitances, and makes some new ones.
The situation is full of stress and excitement—the excitement that turns to consternation when one of the new ones disappears, and an old one is found dead.
Soon, Deborah is investigating a suspicious death, both to aid her friends, and to clear her name as one of the suspects.
Full Review: As in the previous novels, the protagonist—and the narrator—seem to like lecturing on subjects, particularly the "local color" of each book, in this case the furniture industry. There is enough action, however, and enough enteresting and flawed characters in this novel to engage and keep a reader's attention. The investigation is full of twists, and the resolution, although expected, has enough details and detours on the way to avoid most of the problems with predictability.
Overall, the mystery is entertaining and interesting, despite the main character being occasionally overbearing.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6; Originality: 5;
Copyright date 1997, Recorded Books, 1999, Audio cassette, 6 cassettes
ISBN: 0-7887-2944-6 Order from: Recorded Books