"Designated Daughters"

Margaret Maron grew up on a farm near Raleigh and lived in Brooklyn for many years. Returning to her North Carolina roots prompted Maron to write a series based on her own background, the first of which, Bootlegger's Daughter, was a Washington Post bestseller and swept the major mystery awards for 1993.

Maron applied the Page 69 Test to Designated Daughters, the nineteenth book in the acclaimed Deborah Knott series, and reported the following:

In Designated Daughters, Judge Deborah Knott's aunt has been smothered on her deathbed, so the question is why kill a dying woman? The DDs of the title are a support group of caregivers with all that this implies, but the book has flashes of humor, too. On page 69, Deborah's husband Dwight, a sheriff's deputy, has asked Deborah's cousin Sally to come over and watch a DVD they've put together of the many people who were in and out of the room right before the murder. Sally and Buzz own a nearby campground on a lake.

"Mr. Kezzie and Miss Sister are coming over to our house tomorrow to watch with us. Why don't y'all come, too? Around 2 o'clock?"

"That'll work for [my brother] and me, but Buzz can't come. He's giving a waterskiing class then."

"Still a little chilly for that, isn't it?" Dwight asked.

"Oh, you know Buzz. He's well insulated and we've got wet suits if someone wants them."

Like [my brother] Haywood, Buzz must weigh close to two-seventy, so yes, he's very well insulated. I spent a moment trying to imagine him on water skis in a Speedo and then I spent another few minutes trying to get that image out of my head.

Learn more about the book and author at Margaret Maron's website.

My Book, The Movie: Designated Daughters.

--Marshal Zeringue