This is my first McCone book, and my first impression is it is very similar in style to Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone, without quite as much of a hard edge. The writing style is simpler and faster to read than Grafton's, and the mystery was not too terribly hard to solve, given the abundance of bad characters (all of which being guilty of something). I was expecting McCone's houseguest to be the scapegoat, which never really happened. The interplay between McCone and the police was not very realistic. All in all, it was a fun read, but not extremely exciting. The story had the potential to be much more interesting.

In this second installment of the series, Investigator Sharon McCone has taken in her friend Linnea, who has just gone through a traumatic divorce. Added to this, one of Sharon's favorite neighbors, Molly Antonio, has been found murdered. Sharon is asked to investigate the murder, and she finds a group of suspects including a neighborhood grocer, a neighborhood fortune-teller and her husband, and the people who live in a nearby center for the blind. As always, Muller sketches out her characters and plot in an efficient manner and writes an interesting and coherant mystery.

"Ask the Cards a Question" is the second of the Sharon McCone novels by Marcia Muller following the groundbreaking "Edwin of the Iron Shoes" which introduced McCone as the first hard-boiled female private investigator. Molly Antonio, a tenant in Sharon's building is found dead by her husband, Gus. She had been strangled. With things slow at the All Soul's Legal Cooperative where Sharon works, she is able to work on the case. She finds quite a few suspects along the way. The ending is sure to surprise. "Ask the Cards a Question" is a fine addition to this long-running series.

I have read all the Sharon McCone mysteries in the order they were written and am a big Marcia Muller fan. "A Wild and Lonely Place" was the most disappointing book in the series so far. Most of the suspects/new characters were dull, I figured out the mystery WAY too readily, and the writing was surprisingly cliched.

I hope that this book does not mark a downward spiral for Muller. But.. if it does, she's had a great run. (15 books in the series prior to this one.) If you don't know her work, start with the first McCone mystery, "Edwin of the Iron Shoes" and go forward from there. Don't let this one turn you off.

Private Investigator Sharon McCone continues to evolve as this series progresses. The reader is privy to many more of McCone's inner thoughts than in the earlier books, and we come to know what makes her tick. In this installment, Sharon is asked to pursue the so-called Diplobomber, who targets embassies of oil-rich nations. The bomber has toyed with officials, giving a warning before he strikes, but still eluding their efforts to capture him. During the course of her investigation, Sharon learns of the daily life inside the Azadi consulate which is dysfunctional, to say the least. She continues her very open relationship with Hy Ripinsky, becomes very attached to a little girl who is a part of the investigation, and takes some impromptu flying lessons. The action is often tense, and the conclusion is slowly but surely arrived at by McCone. This is one of the best books of this series.

This book was one of the best Marcia Muller books I have read to date. It takes a newer set of characters and basically combines them with the All Souls gang. The Sharon McCone series has been getting better and better with every book. Marcia Muller's writing has come so far since "Edwin of the Iron Shoes" I have read many mystery series and this is one of the best. I am looking forward to reading the rest of her books!

Investigator Sharon McCone has been asked to do an assignment in which she'll work with Willie Whelan, a man who sells goods at flea markets. Willie is concerned because a man is stalking him and he wants Sharon to find out why. As she begins the investigation, the stalker is killed and Willie is the chief suspect. Sharon begins to uncover some strange occurrences in connection with the murdered man, and before it's all over her own life is put in jeopardy. This is a good mystery which Marcia Muller fans will want to read and it has some romance thrown in for good measure.

Sharon McCone has a difficult assignment. Why is a man in a suit and a yarmulke following Willie - flea market entrepanuer extradinaire? What unfolds is a short (152 pages) but tightly woven tale of torahs, player pianos, Vietnam PTSD, cabins in the Santa Cruz mountains and Sharon's ability to see the connections. It's a solid (not stellar) book in the series. As a native of the Bay Area, I enjoy her musings about the locale as much as the story and she goes some pretty interesting places in this episode. Also, Don the DJ from Games to Keep the Dark Away is back so we have a little romance for Sharon.

"Leave a Message for Willie" is the fifth novel in the Sharon McCone series by Marcia Muller. Willie Whelan is a vendor, who is also a fence, at the Saltflats Flea Market. He hires McCone to check on a man wearing a yarmulke who has been hanging around Willie's stall. The man, Jerry Levin, claims he is working for a group that recovers stolen Torahs. Later that day Levin is found dead in Whelan's garage. Willie becomes the major suspect in this murder, and Sharon McCone must find the real killer. All the Sharon McCone mysteries are well-plotted, and the characters, especially McCone, make them a pleasure to read. "Leave a Message for Willie" is a very good novel.

Private Investigator Sharon McCone joins her friend Anne-Marie from the All Souls' Legal Cooperative to find out what is going on at Tufa Lake, California. There is a tug of war between a company that wishes to resume mining operations at the lake, and the local environmentalists. It is thought by the latter group that commercial mining would destroy the ecology of the area. As a result of the disagreemnt, there are break-ins, and eventually a murder. McCone investigates the people connected with both sides, and has a hard time differentiating the good guys from the bad guys. This book rambles a bit and is not as tightly written as most of Muller's books. Still, the descriptions are wonderful and Sharon's lovelife evolves as a result of her acquaintance with a new man she meets during her investigation.

This is not one of Ms. Mullers' best stories. I've actually been through the Mono Lake area and Bridgeport. I even visited Bodie once. Muller has a good feel for the locale. On the other hand, the plot here is a bit straightforward, and the evil Transpacific Corp. is trite. I found the "explosive" ending rather unsatisfying, as well. Again, this isn't a bad book. I have enjoyed all of the Sharon McCone mysteries that I've read so far. But this one is not quite as good as some of the others. My average rating for these stories is 4 stars. Within that context I put this one at 4-. A bit below average but still worth the time. Fans will appreciate the update on the lives of several familiar characters.

It was interesting to see where Hy Ripinski came in. The descriptions of the area are fantastic. It's also nice to see all her side characters remain. The ending is explosive. You find yourself wanting to meet the characters. The references to the past couple of books make you want to go backwards and read them all. One of her best.

Muller has created a wonderfully human character in Joanna Stark and she deserves to live on in future stories! In Dark Star, Muller creates a masterful who-done-it that keeps you guessing to the end, and then wraps up all of the loose ends in one neat package. Too neat, as it seems this may be our last look at Stark. If Muller tires of Sharon McCone, we only hope she returns to Stark and Elena Oliverez (another great character who disappeared after only three stories).

While hard to obtain (it's out of print) Witches' Brew is an smorgasbord of female horror fiction. Check out Charlotte Perkins Gillman's The Yellow Wallpaper, a literary classic about women's oppression during the victorian age. Jane Rice's Idol of the Flies offers a chilling impression of the horrors of childhood. My favorite, Where Their Fire Is Not Quenched, is a stark tale of values and sins of the flesh.

We tried previously one of the early Marcia Muller stories (#4) about her San Fran-based private eye Sharon McCone. Having found that 1984 offering a little lackluster, we jumped ahead to Wolf, #14 of 22, written in 1993. To us, a reasonably entertaining plot was spoiled by maneuvers and border hopping and such stuff that all seemed way too dubious unless our leading lady has suddenly become Wonder Woman. Once again, Sharon ignores her paying job at All Souls and sets off on her own, gone for over a week without even calling in. Sight unseen, an international security firm president not only grants McCone an audience but hires her on the spot to help retrieve either the kidnapped executive under their contract, or the absent agent, Hy Rapinsky, who just happens to be Sharon's lover (!), who has the two-million dollar letter of credit ransom to deliver. We won't delve further into the plot, but before it's over, Sharon is running back and forth into Baja Mexico, spying, remembering trick restrooms she hasn't seen in over a decade, shooting at people, and dealing with shady characters left and right, but emerging unscathed at every twist and turn. By the end it was clear that a Power Ranger has nothing on Ms. McCone.

This series must have a faithful following to warrant 22 titles to date, but despite what the dust cover says, Grafton and Paretsky are much better -- their female leads at least seem like regular real women who are just good at what they do. We believe we'll let the other 20 stories go for now.

Sharon McCone is shocked and dismayed when she is summoned in to a meeting of the partners of All Souls' Legal Cooperative where she works. Instead of the reprimand which she expects, Sharon receives the offer of a promotion which would put her behind a desk and away from the action. Although this goes against her grain, Sharon knows she must accept it if she wants to continue to work at All Souls'. At the same time, she discovers that her lover, Hy, has disappeared while on a job for a company called RKI. When she talks to Gage Renshaw at RKI, he tells her that he thinks Hy has double-crossed him and he wants to find him. Sharon offers to do so, thereby getting paid for something she planned to do anyway, and also having a paying job which doesn't involve All Souls'. She travels back and forth between California and Mexico in search of Hy and the answer to a series of unanswered questions. Muller's books in this series become longer as time goes on, and this causes some extra action which becomes a bit distracting to the main plot. However, she still spins a good tale and Sharon McCone remains a very likeable heroine.

It's getting to the point where the ins and outs of life at All Souls Legal Coop is almost as much a part of the story as whatever case PI Sharon McCone is investigating. In this particular installment, McCone faces a career crisis when the "Corporation" wants to promote her to a desk job as administrator over a proposed staff of investigators and paralegals. While wrestling with this dilemma, McCone also tries to track down missing boyfriend Hy Ripinsky, which takes her south to San Diego and across the border into Mexico. Along the way, we once again meet members of McCone's real (biological) family. The story meanders a bit, but a tense climax to the mystery makes the story an entertaining read. The update on life at All Souls makes it a must for fans.

I have always been a huge fan of Marcial Muller and her husband Bill Pronzini. When their books come out, I can't wait to dive into a new Sharon McCone or Nameless Detective mystery.

Unfortunately this book is a real let-down. Ms. Muller lives in the Bay Area and yet she seems to have done no research for this book. She places a trendy bar (with back room gambling) on the block that is considered the roughest, most crime-ridden and dangerous block in San Francisco. People may like grunge chic, but no way would the wealthy go to a club in this block. She places a gay bar in an area of San Francisco where there hasn't been a gay bar in over twenty-five years. When Sharon enters the bar, the male customers get upset and the bartender rushes over to tell her that she isn't welcome in a gay bar. There hasn't been a gay bar like this in SF in over two decades. Women are welcome and are regularly seen in gay bars in San Francisco. The mysteries are equally lame. Why is her office manager, Ted, acting so strangely? What a letdown when you find out. Doesn't Ms. Muller realize that threats of violence and verbal assault from homophobic people are not a rare occurence in the life of a gay person? Doesn't she know that there are organizations in SF that deal with this that Ted would certainly know about. As for her stalker, once you find out who it is, it's a long yawn to the finish. A mystery with no mystery and one that uses stereotypes that were old a quarter of a century ago. Hopefully her next book will return to the brilliance that we've all come to expect from Ms. Muller.

"While Other People Sleep" is a different type of novel for Marcia Muller. There are no murders in this novel, but there are 2 mysteries. There is a woman who is stalking and impersonating Sharon McCone, and McCone's office manager, Ted Smalley has been acting very strange. I thought that the resolution to Ted's problems was somewhat lame, but I did enjoy the suspense in McCone's tracking down the impostor who is making her life miserable. This is not Muller's strongest effort, but I found it entertaining.

Just finished Muller's latest - While Other People Sleep - and thoroughly enjoyed it. Muller continues to grow and develop her characters. Even after 19 books, Sharon McCone and her colleagues maintain this reader's attention. The book had great atmosphere. Muller's suberb touch with characterization make it an excellent book to enjoy by the pool, on the beach or curled up at home with a glass of chardonnay.

Ah, the San Francisco of the postcard. Alamo Square with Victorian Row houses with downtown in the background. Muller's third Sharon McCone novel has a terrific sense of place and taught me many new things about the Victorian scene in San Francisco.

Still, the pacing seems a bit bogged down. The side characters, often a highlight in Muller's books, aren't very interesting or sympathetic. Who cares if one of them is killed -- just don't wreck the Tiffany Lamp.

A good read if you love the atmosphere of "romantic San Francisco" but otherwise so-so.

Private eye, Sharon McCone, receives a frantic phone call from a friend, Jake Kaufmann, who paints houses in the Painted Lady district of San Francisco. When she reaches the Victorian house where Jake asks her to meet him, she finds him dead. During her investigation she discovers that there are many special interest groups in the area who might have a motive for murder. There are purists who want the homes restored to their original look and there are those who want to fix them up to sell them by painting them the gaudy colors which became popular in the 60's. Sharon (and the reader) find out about the different kinds of Victorian houses which became popular in San Francisco and also some of the furnishings which go well in the houses. Against this background McCone finally figures out who in the community committed Jake's murders and some others. This is a good mystery from the reliable Marcia Muller.

"The Cheshire Cat's Eye" is the third book in the Sharon McCone series by Marcia Muller. McCone finds her friend Jake Kaufmann dead in a San Francisco Victorian house that he is restoring by painting it with gaudy colors. The architectural communty is very opposed to these psychedelic houses. There are several suspects, and McCone is one of them. She must investigate, not only to clear her name, but find Jake's killer. Sharon McCone is by far my favorite female PI in detective fiction. Muller's characters are well-drawn, and her books are a pleasure to read. This novel is not as complex as some of her later works, but this is an excellent place to start. If you haven't yet met Sharon McCone, you will be in for a big treat.