Take Out

By: Margaret Maron

Narrated by: Courtney Patterson

Sigrid is still reeling from the untimely death of her lover, acclaimed painter Oscar Nauman, when she is called to investigate the deaths of two homeless men in the West Village. The police at first assume an overdose, until they realize that one of the men shows no signs of drug use. Then when containers of poisoned takeout food are found nearby, Sigrid's case is suddenly much more complicated.

As Sigrid investigates, she uncovers an intriguing neighborhood history: a haughty mafia widow and her disgraced godson, a retired opera star with dark secrets, an unsolved hit-and-run, and the possible discovery of a long-missing painting that will rock the art world. Soon the case is fraught with myriad suspects and motives. Who killed the two homeless men, and why? And which one was the intended victim? Or was the poisoned food meant for someone else entirely?

Throwing herself into the murder investigation to distract herself from her personal grief, Sigrid still can't stop wondering what led Nauman across the country to the winding mountain road that took his life. Until she meets a man who may hold the answers she seeks.

©2017 Margaret Maron (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Great return of a favorite character!

I have to admit I gave this book five stars because I was thrilled to see a new book featuring Sigrid Harald. She was a great character but author Margaret Maron switched to another heroine in her Bootleggers Daughter series and I thought we'd seen the last Sigrid Harald book. This was like a great reunion with an old friend. The story may be more enjoyable for readers who are familiar with past Sigrid Harald books but it's an unusual mystery with an ending that wasn't obvious to me. I hope there will be more Harald books to come.

Marin needs to go back South

I loved Marin’s original books about the judge. They felt authentic and had some nice plots. This felt padded and a bit silly.

Sigrid is the best.

Don’t listen to reviewers that don’t spell the author’s name correctly! Margaret Maron is a genius plotter and Sigrid Harold is a compelling character: complex, gritty, anxious, and clever. Comparing Maron's two series undervalues both. Stop reading if you can't change gears and see each set of stories as independent of the other. Sigrid deserves to be judged on her own merit, not on whether she is the Knott of the north.

Good at End but Long Journey to Get There

The ending is the best part of this book. It had one surprise twist that really took me by surprise, which I usually enjoy.
I bought this book because I loved the Deborah Knott series until the author started reading the books herself. After C.J. Critt's honeyed voice, Margaret Maron's voice grates on me. Critt IS Judge Knott. I thought I'd try this book in the Sigrid Harald series because somebody besides Maron reads them. Reader was OK but I don't like the main character, Sigrid. She seems aimless and devoid of any personality. Boring.
The first difficulty of solving the double murder of two homeless men on a park bench via "kindly" donations of two takeout cartons is figuring out who was the intended victim. There were a lot of interviews. The book seemed plodding. A side thread concerns a museum director's looking for a way to keep her museum solvent; though tiny, this was more interesting than the murders but... maybe I dozed off because I don't see what this piece had to do with the main story (other than that a researcher is now dead -- Was he murdered too??!!! How long was I asleep????!!!) The greedy researcher was keeping his find to himself, so the museum director needs to rediscover it to save her museum -- much more positive and interesting character than Sigrid. Another thread (that seemed gratuitous) was Sigrid's possible need to share the fortune she inherited (she's cheap despite being filthy rich) with the hitherto unsuspected son of Sigrid's deceased lover. Ho-hum.
I doubt I'll ever read another book in this series. Deborah Knott is endearing, practical, clumsy, flawed, and interesting. Sigrid is a cold fish I find totally unappealing. #boring #NotKnott #Snooze

Maybe too realistic

You don't get to know the main character. You know the adage "show don't tell"? This book is the opposite. The main character is passive and just goes to one character to the next to interview them. Possibly similar to real police work but a snooze nonetheless.