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HIGH COUNTRY FALL by Margaret Maron Mysterious Press, August 2004 320 pages $24.00 ISBN: 0892968087 Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Those of us in the States who are familiar with the beauty of autumn leaves probably think of Vermont, New Hampshire, you know, New England. So who among us knew that there are 'leafers' in North Carolina? And while I'm not a fan of many stories set in the American South, I really admire the work of Margaret Maron who, like Charlaine Harris, creator of Lily Bard, writes real people with lives, and histories, and short-comings and dimension; no one is offered up as some sort of amusing eccentric, they don't stand out as exceptional because they're southern. They're real people. I like that.

This quality series featuring Deborah Knott, a canny, independent, wise but not stuffy judge, continues with HIGH COUNTRY FALL. Deborah loves her state, likes her job and enjoys the company of Dwight Bryant, whom she's decided to marry. She's given up on the perfect match and thinks it's time to settle down with an old friend.

In the midst of what might be wedding mania, she's asked to fill in for a judge in another part of the state, a five-hour drive to the mountains where the tourists have gathered. She even has a place to stay, a family apartment which is currently housing her twin nieces (OK, May and June, a bit cute but there's a reason for the names), who seem to be up to something. And things get more complicated when someone flat-out disappears from a party the judge is attending.

I admit to enjoying seeing the names of friends 'appearing' as characters and a dedication to the late wonderful Sara Ann Freed. There was a plot point in this book that bothered me, but I wasn't sure if it was me and not the premise. I was willing to suspend disbelief until I learned later that I was right -- and I saw that yes, it could have been used the way it was (sorry to be so obscure, but it's a giveaway of a major story line.) It's a relatively minor gripe in a compelling and well-told tale by one of the major talents in mystery fiction.

Reviewed by Andi Shechter, August 2004

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