With sass and wit, Deborah Knott, formerly a defense attorney in North Carolina's Colleton County, is putting herself firmly on the seat of power—a district judgeship. She's also making good on a campaign promise: helping to build houses for battered women. Here Deborah expects muscle aches, not the near-rape of a young woman and the murder of her attacker. And Deborah certainly never expects that her hammer—complete with her fingerprints—will become a murder weapon. No one expects the judge for a minute, but Deborah does have reason to believe that some else in her sprawling, brawling family may have defended South womanhood all too well—and that the twisted trail of a killer may lead all the way home.

The Deborah Knott series debuted with Bootlegger's Daughter, a mystery that won the Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards for 1992—a virtual sweep of mystery awards for that year. Southern Discomfort is the second book in the series.