Shoveling Smoke contains twenty-two of Margaret Maron's best short stories, from her very first published mystery to her most recent tales. The book includes all of the short cases of Sigrid Harald and Deborah Knott, as well as other mysteries set in Knott's Colleton County. Some of the stories show how crime can emerge from ordinary situations; others recapture the Golden Age delight in twisty plotting with seemingly impossible crimes reminiscent of John Dickson Carr and dying messages harking back to Ellery Queen. But in all the stories, Maron's personal voice, her concern for people, is dominant.

Contents:

• The Death of Me
• A Very Special Talent
• The Beast Within
• When Daddy’s Gone
• Deadhead Coming Down
• Guys and Dolls
• Let No Man Put Asunder
• A City Full of Thieves
• Mrs. Howell and Criminal Justice 2.1
• On Windy Ridge
• Lieutenant Harald and the Treasure Island Treasure
• Out of Whole Cloth
• My Mother, My Daughter, Me
• Small Club Lead, Dummy Plays Low
• Deborah’s Judgment
• Fruitcake, Mercy, and Black-Eyed Peas
• Lieutenant Harald and the Impossible Gun
• Hangnail
• That Bells May Ring and Whistles Safely Blow
• What’s a Friend For? [with Susan Dunlap]
• With This Ring
• Prayer for Judgment