A Final Visit with the Knott Clan of Colleton County

LONG UPON THE LAND (Deborah Knott #20)
Margaret Maron
Grand Central Publishing
August 11, 2015

Long Upon the Land brings to an end the long running and multi-award winning Judge Deborah Knott series. As a native North Carolinian, the series has been a must-read for me. From the first in the series, Bootlegger's Daughter, the series has centered around the huge Knott clan. Deborah is one of twelve, the only daughter of Kezzie Knott and his second wife, Susan. Susan came from a upper-class family, the daughter of a prominent local attorney; Kezzie is a semi-literate farmer and a reformed (?) bootlegger. They don't come much more shrewd than Kezzie, however, and he was always a great father to his huge family. 

The final installment of the series revolves around the discovery of a dead body on Knott land by Kezzie himself. Kezzie says that he doesn't know the dead man, but  it turns out that there has been a history of conflict with him and his family. Kezzie and Deborah's older brothers have been at loggerheads with them over a long-ago land purchase. The local paper gets wind of it and publishes stories hinting that the Judge and her husband, Deputy Dwight Bryant of the Colleton County Police are somehow using their influence to cover things up. Meanwhile, Deborah is trying to solve the mystery of an engraved cigarette lighter that was always carried by her long-dead mother. 

I wish I could say I loved the final act of the Deborah Knott Series but to be truthful, I am glad that Maron has chosen to close it out here. I was happy to get more background on Kezzie and Susan through flashbacks to 1945 and their courtship. Knowing how rigid the social system in the South can be, I could never quite see how Susan could jump the divide. Maron has never shied away from the ugly parts of the South and I have always appreciated that. She also shows the flip side though the love and support that the Knotts have for each other. North Carolina has changed a lot since I grew up there. For instance, North Carolina was a very progressive state and I got a great education in the public schools. The fact that it is now number 48 of 50 in school funding levels is nothing short of a tragedy in my opinion. Hopefully, the pendulum will swing back and soon.

I will miss Deborah and family, but as I understand it, Maron is picking up her Sigrid Harald series based in New York City; that earlier series was always underrated. Since Sigrid has connections to Colleton County, we may see Deborah again in passing. Who knows? I recommend this final outing, but I liked, not loved it.

RATING- 3 Stars