Margaret Maron

Margaret Maron

Margaret Maron is most well known for her Deborah Knott Mysteries. She grew up in rural Greensboro, North Carolina, but for many years lived in Brooklyn, New York and also lived for a time in Italy. When she and her artist husband returned to the farm that had been in her family for a hundred years, she began writing the Deborah Knott series based on her own background.

Her first Deborah Knott novel, Bootlegger’s Daughter, featuring the district court judge in North Carolina, roared to success becoming a bestseller and winning the Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards for Best Novel. The book is listed among the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century as selected by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.
Maron’s writing often reflected her Southern roots but she was equally at home writing in other settings; her Sigrid Harald series sets her detective in New York City.

In 2008, Maron received the North Carolina Award for Literature, the highest civilian honour the state bestows on its authors. And in 2013, she was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. She was also a past president of Sisters in Crime and of the American Crime Writers’ League, and was a director on the national board for Mystery Writers of America.

Maron passed away in 2021.

Recommendations For Margaret Maron

Recommended by Brooklyn Cook

I love every book of Margaret Maron’s Deborah Knott series. This is a favorite series of mine. I liv

Recommended by Autumn Rivera

Love the Sigrid Harald series by Margaret Maron! The series is shorter than the Deborah Knott series

Recommended by Aaliyah Nguyen

I really enjoy Margaret Maron’s Deborah Knott series about a lawyer in North Carolina. Definitely re

Recommended by Josephine Murphy

While we wait for the next Gamache, I want to recommend the late Margaret Maron’s wonderful Deborah

Share Your Recommendations

Books By Margaret Maron

Deborah's Judgment: A Deborah Knott Short Story

With This Ring: A Deborah Knott Short Story

Five Christmas Gifts: A Holiday Short Story Collection

Tips and Resources From Your Margaret Maron Book Club Friends:

The mix of intriguing mysteries and engaging characters make Margaret Maron’s books must-reads for lovers of the crime genre. Margaret Maron had an exceptional talent for writing multi-dimensional characters, nuanced descriptions of settings, and a deft hand at suspense. Her most celebrated character, Judge Deborah Knott resides in the fictional Colleton County, North Carolina. The books combine a wonderful cast of characters with elements of mystery and legal drama. In contrast, police detective Sigrid Harald solves crimes in the bustling metropolis of New York City. The two series have different flavours but both provide plenty of thrills. What sets Maron’s two series apart for you? Do you prefer the Southern charm found in Colleton County or the gritty whodunit murders Harald investigates?

the order of the Books and all Related Books Available

All Margaret Maron’s Book Series in Order of Publication

Find the right order of the books in the series.

Sigrid Harald Mysteries Books In Order

Deborah Knott Mysteries Books In Order

Recommendations From Margaret’s Fans

Kim Michele Richardson

Recommended by Athena Bailey

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson is one of my very favorite books. This

Amy Stewart

Recommended by Goldie Phillips

I’m so glad the Kopp Sisters was recommended. I am loving every one of the books and wish there were

Patrick Taylor

Recommended by Janet Bailey

For me, visiting Ballybuckleboo in Patrick Taylor’s Irish Country Doctor books is just like visiting

Jan Karon

Recommended by Ellen Scott

I started reading, and for some reason, did not enjoy. THEN, a few years later, I started again and

Sue Grafton

Recommended by Frances King

If you haven’t read the Alphabet mysteries by Sue Grafton you are in for such a treat. They are just

Deborah Crombie

Recommended by Elizabeth Martin

I REALLY enjoy Deborah Crombie. The plot twists are great, and the character development is excellen

Share Your Recommendations

Recommended Books From Margaret Maron Fans

Under the Streets of Nice: The Bank Heist of the Century

Bruno and the Carol Singers: A Christmas Mystery of the French Countryside

Blood Moon: A Kate Burkholder Short Mystery

The Witches' Tree: An Agatha Raisin Mystery

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel

Borrower of the Night: A Vicky Bliss Novel of Suspense

Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death

Heartbreak Hotel: An Alex Delaware Novel

Survival of the Fittest: An Alex Delaware Novel

Disappeared: A Kate Burkholder Short Mystery

The King Arthur Case: A Brittany Mystery

At the Reunion Buffet: An Isabel Dalhousie Story

Precious Cargo: A Story from Birds of Prey

Revenge in a Cold River: A William Monk Novel

Seeds of Deception: A Kate Burkholder Short Story

Another Man's Moccasins: A Longmire Mystery

Agatha's First Case: An Agatha Raisin Mystery

“Every time we start thinking we’re the center of the universe, the universe turns around and says with a slightly distracted air, ‘I’m sorry. What’d you say your name was again?”

Margaret Maron, Bootlegger’s Daughter

Karen Smith-Johnson

“Margaret Maron is an excellent writer. I always enjoy books that take me to a place I’ve never been to before and Maron does this with the way she describes places and people in her Deborah Knott books. You can tell Maron really knows what it’s like to live in a small rural town in North Carolina. I often enjoy reading about Knott and her family more than the mysteries themselves.”

How can I share my favourite quotes?

See More From Book Club Friends

Sign up and log in to post, comment and join the conversation.