"Sand Sharks" by Margaret Maron: Book Review

"Sand Sharks" by Margaret Maron
Grand Central, 291 pp., $24.99
Reviewed by David Marshall James


North Carolina author Margaret Maron's mystery novels have lately encompassed such subjects as the encroachment of suburban sprawl on farm land, as well as the influx of migrant labor in order to meet the increasing demands of agribusiness.

In this fifteenth entry in Maron's series featuring Deborah Knott-- a district-court judge in fictitious Colleton County, N.C., somewhere fifty miles east of Raleigh-- the protagonist spends the duration of the narrative in Wilmington, N.C., and nearby Wrightsville Beach.

All of the state's district-court judges assemble there every summer for a conference consisting of a variety of continuing-legal-education seminars.

As her husband of six months, Colleton County sheriff's deputy Dwight Bryant, is involved with a law-enforcement meeting of his own in Charlottesville, Virginia, Deborah departs several days early for Wrightsville Beach, the better to soak up some sun, sand, and surf.

She's having a grand old time, drinking margaritas and eating fried softshell crabs with other early arrivees, when the party turns as sour as the lime garnish in her cocktail. One of their fellow adjudicators washes up at the edge of the Cape Fear River, strangled.

Because the victim has been shockingly corrupt and otherwise irresponsible and offensive during his brief tenure on the bench, none of the conference participants is bolting for the Kleenex. However, many of Their Honors-- as well as some attorneys involved in another gathering-- become immediate suspects, given some substantial motives and ample opportunities.

Deborah discovers the body, so she's quickly in the thick of the investigation, unofficially assisting the lead detective. Meanwhile, all sorts of mayhem is multiplying back at the beachfront resort hotel, much of it extramarital (enhanced by the Jacuzzis and mirrored walls in every room). Several of Deborah's lovers emeriti are unavoidably present, furthering the conundrums on her docket.

Maron captures the seaside atmosphere, as well as the attractions of Wilmington, with her usual aplomb. The R&R ambience casts an inviting net over the proceedings. The lengthy roster of characters is expertly detailed, with the judges' personal histories and court records hovering over the action.

The reader probably won't solve this mystery until close to the end, although the clues are well-placed and the outcome is sensible.

It's refreshing to once again find Deborah away from the courtroom, away from her enormous family, her newly acquired husband, and her nine-year-old stepson. "Sand Sharks" and Maron's previous "Death's Half Acre" prove exceptionally good mysteries, as they offer traditional whodunits within carefully developed settings. They are polished presentations of place, people, and plot.

In the vein of "Sand Sharks," it would be nice to see Deborah get away from Colleton County more often-- perhaps to the judges' fall conference in the mountains, or to a temporary assignment on the bench in a locale as captivating as the one the author delineates here.

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