Marcia Muller, the author of THE SHAPE OF DREAD, obviously put a lot of time into this book. Her commitment is apparent in two ways. 1. There is a lot of believable and factual information about prisons, murder investigations, comedy clubs, mental conditions, etc. Muller seems to have done a good amount of research on these topics because there is not doubt in the readers' mind that she is completely factual about everything surrounding the plot. 2. Muller seems to be not only committed to her excellent story line about a murdered comedian, but also committed to her thesaurus. At times, articulate adjectives and adverbs that were irrelevant to the plot overshadowed the excellent story line. As the reader, I felt that I didn't need to know that the building the main character walked into was khaki stucco surrounded by small palm trees in perfect rows. The reader would much rather know what the investigator was thinking, for example- Would Ms. McCone find Tracy Kostakos dead or alive? In conclusion, I believe that this book is a good read, only if you enjoy TONS of detail. Otherwise, chose a mystery novel that gives you the facts to attempt to solve the case yourself, not to decide whether the room has been interior decorated to your taste.

A criminal lawyer at All Souls Legal Cooperative is troubled by a convicted criminal who is on Death Row and has confessed to a murder. The confession is full of holes and the lawyer does not believe that Bobby Foster is really guilty. When he shares his concerns with PI Sharon McCone, she agrees to do some investigating into the situation. She decides that the only way to get Bobby off the hook is to find the person who did commit the murder. The case is two years old and Sharon fears that the trail has grown cold, but she perseveres in her investigation and interviews anyone who had any connection to the victim, Tracy Kostakos. She turns up some disturbing information about Tracy and begins to understand why she was the target for murder. This is a good addition to this series, and continues to develop the characters that Muller's fans have read about in previous books.

I have read many of Ms. Muller's Sharon McCone mysteries. While there is, in my opinion, no danger that she will threaten the position of Arthur Conan Doyal and Agatha Christie at the top of the heap among mystery writers, I am clearly enjoying these stories or I wouldn't have read so many of them. Partly, I suppose, this comes from my familiarity with, and enjoyment of, her characters. McCone and the other denizens of the All Souls Legal Cooperative are, by now, all like old friends. Also, partly, it comes from San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area as the principal setting for the stories. The scenes she descibes are often familiar and, thus, easy to visualize. This applies especially to this book, parts of which are set in the area immediately south of Market Street in an area near where I once worked for several years.

Largely, though, I keep coming back because Muller writes entertaining stories. This one is no exception. In fact, I found this one to be somewhat better than her average story. Some, while still fun to read, aren't too difficult when it comes to putting your finger on the murderer. But in this one there were plenty of twists and turns before the story came to its final conclusion. At times, there was even some doubt about the crime. We have a convicted felon on death row but is catually Tracy dead? Or had she simply chosen to disappear? Or is somebody dead, but not Tracy?

My general rating for Sharon McCone mysteries is four stars in Amazon's system. This one I rate 4+.

Although the plot line was intriguing, the author never allows the reader to discover anything on his/her own--every point is belabored painfully. Additionally, lots of lecturing (mostly of politically correct views) finds its way into the text. The author recalls the decade of the 60s much differently than I do. Many of us were too busy to be smoking dope in college or carrying anti-war placards, which seems to be the author's memory. As I've explained to my children, much of what happened is the 60s was terrifying--desegregation demonstrations that involved dogs, fire hoses and deaths, the weekly wail of air raid sirens and radio emergency frequencies being tested, the FBI under Hoover, the spector of the USSR looming over the age. In general, my main criticism is the heavy hand with which the author includes her opinions, descriptions and recollections--if it is necessary to lecture, it should be done lightly and subtly.

Sharon McCone and her boss Hank are confused at the changes that one of their clients made in his will before he was killed by a sniper. Instead of leaving money to his wife and children, he has bequeathed his money to four people who seem, on the surface, to be unconnected. As Sharon begins to investigate, she discovers that the new heirs are connected by the protest movement against the Viet Nam War in the 60's. She peals away the secrets which these four are hiding, layer by layer. She discovers that interwoven relationships, long-simmering hatred, and desire for revenge which began 40 years ago is now leading to unfortunate incidents in the present time. As always, Marcia Muller weaves an interesting mystery against the background of San Francisco with which she is intimately acquainted and which she describes to her readers in wonderful detail.

Sharon McCone is my favorite private investigator. She cares about people, and she especially cares about her clients. She's an astute observer of people. In this mystery Sharon is getting over her romance with Kostakos and her involvement with Jim Addison isn't working out, so she has a lot of time to solve this newest situation. Watney, her cat and special companion, has died, and she's alone, once she helps straighten out the life of a childhood friend who is currently staying with her . Marcia Muller has characters galore, and a mystery about an inheritance which was intended for family now bequeathed to 4 questionable people. Muller weaves all the plots together and makes us care about what's happening to everyone. If you like good mysteries where the emphasis is on the story, you'll enjoy Muller's books. This is one of her best!

Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, Beyond the Grave (Carroll and Graf, 1986)

Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini team up for a novel that takes place in two times focusing on the same mystery. Elena Oliverez, in the present day, accidentally stumbles upon a piece of the report of one Detective Quincannon, hired to find the stolen treasures of a Mexican ranchero in the 1890s. As Oliverez gets absorbed in Quincannon's story, she finds herself looking to solve the mystery Quincannon wasn't able to uncover eighty years previously.

The two stories interlock without a hitch, and both Oliverez and Quincannon are engaging protagonists. This is quick, easy beach fare; fast-paced, homey, digestible, and well worth the time for mystery fans. Those who haven't yet discovered either Muller or Pronzini, this is one of many good starting points...

The best thing about being a Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini fan is that there always seems to be a book by one of them that I somehow missed. Sure, I've read every Sharon McCone and Nameless Detective novel, their short story collections, and many of Pronzini's stand-alones; however, these married authors have written and edited DOZENS of books, including many that are out of print. What a treasure trove for the discerning reader of suspense!

As far as I can determine, Muller and Pronzini have collaborated on three novels: LIGHTHOUSE, a stand-alone thriller; DOUBLE, a Nameless/McCone mystery; and BEYOND THE GRAVE, featuring two of the authors' lesser-known series characters, Muller's art museum director Elena Oliverez and Pronzini's late-19th-century San Francisco detective John Quincannon. As in DOUBLE, the authors alternate -- first, we get a few chapters told from Oliverez's point of view, and then we switch to Quincannon. What makes this collaboration noteworthy is that the Quincannon chapters take place in 1894, Oliverez's in the 1980s.

Oliverez has bought a Mexican wedding chest at auction for her art museum, and when she's examining it, she finds an old report written by Quincannon inside a hidden compartment. He had been on the trail of some lost religious artifacts, but apparently was never able to find them. By using Quincannon's report, Oliverez hopes to recover the valuable pieces. In the process of searching, both characters encounter murder and face danger.

The story flows seamlessly between past and present. While these may be the authors' second-string characters, this book is definitely never second rate.

An anthology of stories with crime solving twosomes - it's a winning idea. Unfortunately, the editors couldn't decide if they wanted to present an historical review or a collection that holds up to today's standards and expectations. Some of the stories are true winners, capable of delighting contemporary audiences as much as they did the original readers. Some stories, however, are seriously dated...not just in setting, but in mindset and perspective. While it is possible to ask respect for those pieces from an historical point of view, it is harder to claim that they make for compelling reading today.

This book presents a varied selection of stories featuring crimes solved by partners, by autbors ranging from Edgar Allen Poe to Julie Smith. Although the quality of the stories varies depending on the skill of the author in using the short story form, they are all interesting. The introductory essay preceding each story gives a good summary of the author's work as a whole, not just those works which feature the duo in the story. Especially valuable is the long Introduction to the book. which discusses the many partnerships in crime-solving which appear in works too long to appear in this collection as well as those which do. I found this work to be enjoyable and a wellspring of leads to authors I had overlooked.

After getting into Marcia Muller a few months ago I picked up Pennies, thinking it would be equally enjoyable. I was wrong, barely getting through half the book and then putting it away. Don't make this one a priority, it's slow and it's hard to care about this case or the people involved.

In 1956 Lis Benedict, a wealthy socialite, was convicted of murdering her husband's young mistress, Cordy McKittridge. Thirty-six years later, she is released from prison and goes to live with her daughter Judy, who testified against her at the trial. The daughter feels that her mother may not have been the murderer after all, so she requests a re-trial in the Historical Tribunal, a group which tries to redress old wrongs. Private Investigator Sharon McCone is asked to help with the case for the defendant, which is being prepared by the All Souls' Legal Cooperative, where Sharon works. Fearing that the trail is too cold to follow, Sharon interviews anyone who had any connection to the deceased or the supposed murderer. Tales of love and politics rise to the surface and Sharon begins to piece together a theory as to the real murderer's identity. This book is very suspenseful and had me guessing the murderer's identity up to the end. As usual, there is a complex plot and Muller does a masterful job of tying up all of the loose ends.

This is the 13th "Sharon McCone mystery" I've read, so it goes without saying that I basically find these stories entertaining. This one has an involved plot about the bloody 1956 murder of a society girl. Lis Benedict has just been released from prison after serving 36 years for the crime and her daughter, Judy, has convinced Jack Stuart to take the case before the Historical Tribunal. Some anonymous threats suggest that somebody doesn't want the case re-opened.

The story kept me turning pages to find out what would happen next, so it was a good read. There are, however, a few downsides to this one. Ms. Muller spends a lot of space trying to give it a dark, mystical mood. What with all the foggy settings, mysterious shapes, foghorns in the night, and dark forebodings of PI McCone, the rather unsurprising ending is something of a letdown. Also, Ms. Muller is a traditional San Francisco liberal, which is her privilege, but she increasingly wears hers personal attitudes on her sleeve. The story would have benefitted from having forty or fifty pages of murky scenery and Ms. Mullers' soapbox preaching edited out. As it is, the story rambles here and there.

That said, it was still good enough to keep my curiosity up all the way through. Good enough for four stars in my estimation.

What on earth happened here?! One of my favorite writers, Marcia Muller, has converted one of my favorite characters, Sharon McCone, into some sort of lame-brained "damsel" victimized by her lusting hormones, conniving acquaintances, and short-circuited brain cells. I grew up reading way too much of this genre -- the "Gothic romance mystery" of the '60s & '70s was vacuous and insulting to the reader's intelligence then and this book proves it still is! Most readers will have figured out more than half the "mystery" before they've read half the book; but reading isn't really necessary or desirable. This book is perfect for the Summer Beach Reading category, the type you can just skim and not miss a thing in doing so.

Please, Marcia, promise us this McCone entry was just a brief summertime aberration and that you'll be bringing back the intelligent, independent and forthright Sharon we all know in your next book. I promise not to give up on you just because of this one disappointment!

I'm a fan of Marcia Muller going back many years, but this installment in the Sharon McCone series was a disappointment. Not that all good authors can't stumble occasionally. A Walk Through the Fire was tepid and just plain boring most of the time. It didn't really even seem that Sharon was the same character we've been following for so long. The demands of turning out a top notch mystery year in year out must surely take a toll on any author. But we are all hoping Muller merely slipped a bit on this one and that the next installment will be back on track.

I have read all of Marcia Muller's books and this one was one of the best. I am never disappointed but A Walk Through Fire kept me on the edge of my seat. I sent this one to my sister and now she is a Muller fan. Sharon McCone is a great character and just grows better and better with each new book. I love the way Muller takes us through McCone's changes in lifestyles and boyfriends. I almost feel like I know this woman and could call on her to help me in any situation. She is not as flippant as Grafton but I can hardly bear to put the books down to go to sleep or to work. Muller is one of the best writer's of the mystery/private eye genre that I have come across and I have read quite a lot. This one was all the better because it took us out of the usual setting of San Francisco to Hawaii. Love it!