by Marcia Muller
The 21st installment of Muller's Sharon McCone detective
series, "Dead Midnight" involves the death of a prominent young "techie" in
a venture capital business.
Reviewed by: Lynne Quido
About Lynne Quido
Not only does Muller not allow her series to become stale, I really am of
the opinion that each successive book in the Sharon McCone series is better
than the last. McCone is a satisfying heroine who has grown into her
success as the head of her own investigative agency in San Francisco.
Unmarried, McCone has not fallen prey to the lack of family ties and
relationships that many other females in detective series seem to have in
common. McCone's family is large and seems to be in a state of crisis, as
most real families are.
In Dead Midnight, Sharon must investigate a suicide before she has fully
recovered from her reaction to her own brother Joey's suicide just one week
before. The Nagasawa family has decided to open an inquiry into the
apparent suicide of their son Roger, some two months after his death. Their
actions are provoked by a friend of Roger's, Jody Houston, who claims
Roger's employers at dot.com magazine "InSite" were somehow entwined with
the reasons Roger's life was ended.
Through Roger's journal and the eyes of his family and friends, McCone comes
to know a self-absorbed young man who is over his head in the secrets that
permeate the Insite company. Working with investigative reporter and friend
J.D. Smith, McCone unveils unethical business practices, petty office
hierarchies and eventually, the reason for Roger's death. Along the way,
brief appearances from McCone's cast of comrades (Hy, Ricky and Rae,
Charlotte and Mick, and the gang) help her stay grounded while narrowing the
search, and trying not to shoulder the blame for Joey's death.
A lot of the bitterness and loneliness that invades the female private
detective stereotype is not present in McCone, who has taken a lot in
stride, both professionally and personally, throughout the long tenure of
the popular series. McCone seems to gather wisdom and strength from the
bumps in her particular road, much as real women do in middle age. Lastly,
the identity of Roger's enemy continues to be a mystery, right up until the
very end, keeping the reader engrossed far into the night! At novel's end,
McCone is able to come to terms with her own loss and move on with her life.
Marcia Muller is an award-winning author because her timing, plotline, and
ability to weave familial story lines into police procedurals are unique and
satisfying. Dead Midnight leaves you hungry for more! If you haven't read
Muller, it's worth a trip back to see a much younger (and more "unwise")
McCone in the first novel of the series "Edwin of the Iron Shoes".
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: Dead Midnight
Copyright © by Lynne Quido, 2003
Reviewed by Lynne Quido:
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-- The Murder Book - by Jonathan Kellerman
-- Tuesdays with Morrie - by Mitch Albom
-- Girls' Poker Night - by Jill A. Davis
-- Dead Midnight - by Marcia Muller
-- The Jesus Thief - by J. R. Lankford
-- The Prettiest Feathers - by John Philpin, Patricia Sierra
-- Wherever You Go, There You Are - by Jon Kabat-Zinn
-- Demolition Angel - by Robert Crais
-- The Eight - by Katherine Neville
-- Mystic Rivert - by Dennis Lehane
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