Hard Row-by Margaret Maron

Margaret Maron's "Hard Row" opens with a chart outlining the family tree of District Court Judge Deborah Knotts. Deborah is the youngest of twelve children and the only female; her family is so extensive that it is hopeless to keep track of everyone's name. It is easier and more productive to focus on Deborah's loving husband, Major Dwight Bryant of the Colleton County Sheriff's Department, and her eight-year-old stepson, Cal, who is still grieving over the recent loss of his mother, Jonna. Deborah is walking on eggshells with Cal for the time being, since the boy has had to cope with a great deal of trauma at a very young age.Deborah's busy courtroom is a lively place. On a given day, she hears a wide variety of cases, ranging from wife beating to reckless driving. She also helps in the equitable division of marital assets for divorcing couples. Meanwhile, Deborah's husband is struggling with an extremely grisly case; the body parts of an unidentified male have been found in different locations around the area. Although no one knows the name of the deceased as yet, it is clear that he was mercilessly tortured and hacked to death in a blind rage.Maron explores the ugly racial bias that many Caucasians feel towards the Mexican migrant workers who pick their crops and care for their homes. Marriages crumble as spouses try to cope with money problems, infidelity, alcoholism, and domestic abuse. The author also points out the special problems that beset farmers whose way of life is endangered by America's changing economic circumstances and demographics.Deborah and Dwight each do their share to solve the novel's gruesome mystery. Members of the underclass struggle to break out of a living under unhealthful conditions, with little to look forward to, but backbreaking labor and an endless struggle to be accepted by an often prejudiced society.

Submitted by:
Martha Kovacik
Puskarich Public Library