MARGARET MARON

CHARACTER:	SIGRID HARALD
CATEGORY:	POLICEWOMEN

If NYPD detective Sigrid Harald is viewed by her colleagues as remote and unapproachable, it doesn't bother her. She feels a certain amount of detachment is necessary for her work, and a certain distance is required by professionalism. She loosens up as she becomes more involved with Oscar Naumann, her artist lover. But Maron never sacrifices the character's integrity to simple likability. These are traditional police procedurals, written by an excellent storyteller.

One Coffee With
Death Of A Butterfly
Death In Blue Folders
The Right Jack
Baby Doll Games
Corpus Christmas
Past Imperfect
Fugitive Colors

If you enjoyed Margaret Maron's Sigrid Harald, try Barbara Paul's Marian Larch series.

CHARACTER :	DEBORAH KNOTT
CATEGORY :	JUDGE

Deborah Knott's father is a wealthy old man who never quite repented his days as a bootlegger. Her father, and indeed, her whole extended family, still plays a large role in Knott's life, both personal and professional. The sense of place in these books is quite exact, a strong evocation of Maron's own North Carolina. The cast of characters is varied, without relying on the usual Southern stereotypes.

Bootlegger's Daughter
Southern Discomfort
Shooting At Loons
Up Jumps The Devil
Killer Market

Short Story Collection:

Shoveling Smoke, a recently released short story collection by Margaret Maron, includes several stories featuring Sigrid Harald and Deborah Knott, including "Deborah's Judgement," the story that introduced Knott.