Storm Track

He nodded and poked the fire again. Another burst of bright sparks gushed upward in swirls of red and gold against the night sky.

Through the ravaged trees to the north, an answering glow suddenly appeared, a brilliant whiteness against the treetops.

It was the floodlights of a power crew working its way into the dark countryside.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As always, I am indebted to many for their help and technical advice, in particular: District Court Judges Shelly S. Holt, John W. Smith, and Rebecca W. Blackmore of the 5th Judicial District Court (New Hanover and Pender Counties, NC).

Belated thanks to Gail Harrell, Regional Library Supervisor of the Southeast Regional Library, who let me plug my laptop into her office socket when Hurricane Fran took away my electricity for a week.

Thanks also to Irv Coats, the generous and knowledgeable proprietor of The Reader’s Corner, who always hands me the perfect source book.

AN OUTPOURING OF PRAISE FOR STORM TRACK

“An enchanting regional series. . . . Deborah is the voice of sanity and the soul of wit.”

—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

“Down-home setting and racy plot combine to make it a very tasty whodunit . . . in this entertaining regional mystery series.”

—USA Today

“This series is like sweet iced tea on an August day in North Carolina—near impossible to resist.”

—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Maron turns in an entertaining and perfectly creditable performance. . . . It works.”

—Washington Post Book World

“Her characters spring to life. . . . [This book is] a very nice surprise.”

—Boston Globe

“Stellar . . . the best of a good series.”

—Toronto Globe and Mail“Compelling . . . Maron has an unfailing ear for dialogue.”

—Tennessean

“An absorbing, fast-paced tale. . . . The plot is devious, with both the true motive and means concealed until the end.”

—Greensboro News & Record (NC)

“Engrossing. . . . Maron is a mistress of the mood—setting a tone that captures readers like a lure on a hook.”

—Salisbury Post

“Seventh in a series, STORM TRACK is yet another look at how the Old South is changing into a sometimes unrecognizable New South. Maron’s light touch creates vivid characters, and she never forgets the puzzle.”

—Dallas Morning News

“A rousing combination of natural disaster and narrative creativity . . . is highly recommended.”

—Library Journal

“Maron’s finely crafted novels about an ever-urbanizing North Carolina are like gathering around one of those legendary storytellers of the South as they spin story after story. . . . In Maron’s case, she lets her heroine, Judge Deborah Knott, weave tales about her expansive family in novels that are as personal as they are engrossing.”

—Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

“I know of no writer who is better at conveying a sense of place than Maron. North Carolina has never been more vibrant than in STORM TRACK. . . . Maron won an Edgar for her first Deborah Knott novel; this one is even better.”

—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Maron can be counted on to deliver a nicely wrapped story full of people you love and love to hate.”

—Southern Pines Pilot (NC)

“Wonderfully drawn, full human beings who may be eccentric, and occasionally dangerous, but never