Publisher's Weekly Review
After the travails of The Ever-Running Man (2007), Sharon McCone retreats to her high desert ranch near Yosemite in MWA Grand Master Muller's fine 26th novel to feature the San Francisco PI. Depressed, bored and uncertain about her future in a dangerous business, McCone is unwittingly drawn into a local case--the murder of Hayley Perez, the estranged niece of ranch manager Ramon Perez, and the disappearance of Hayley's teenage sister, Amy, and their alcoholic mother, Miri. As she looks into the Perezes' relationships, McCone uncovers secrets that hint at more than simply family dysfunction. Two more murders and a suicide add to the confusion, which McCone can only untangle, with the help of her husband and her Shoshone birth relatives, by tracing the victims' complex past. By the upbeat ending, McCone has learned that with judicious use of both her investigative and executive skills she can reshape her life. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Sharon McCone, who narrowly escaped death on her last case (The Ever-Running Man, 2007), has retreated to the ranch she shares with her husband to wallow in a bit of self-pity and figure out what to do with the rest of her life. Should she leave her successful investigative agency, overwhelmed by the administrative side and tired of risking her life in the field? Although the traumatized detective is determined not to get involved in any new investigations while resting in the high desert, a case finds her when she encounters a young girl in a supermarket parking lot who appears to be a victim of abuse. Although concerned, McCone sticks to her resolution not to get involved. But after she learns that a recent murder victim may have ties to the abused girl, McCone can't help herself. She begins investigating and discovers a very troubled Native American woman with an extremely dysfunctional family. Two more deaths have her combing a deserted resort, parts of Nevada, and an isolated ranch belonging to a mysterious millionaire. As McCone uncovers a web of murder, betrayal, and hidden identities, her depression lifts, and she reestablishes herself as the strong, capable woman her readers have embraced for decades. Muller's series launched the modern hard-boiled female detective, and it has been setting a gold standard for the subgenre for more than 30 years. Fortunately, the end isn't in sight quite yet.--Bibel, Barbara Copyright 2008 Booklist
Kirkus Review
Sharon McCone fights depression. Nine months after escaping death by a mere five seconds (The Ever-Running Man, 2007, etc.), San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone retreats to the ranch her husband Hy Ripinsky owns in the high Sierras and contemplates closing her agency. A glimmer of her usual peskiness shows through when she spies Boz Sheppard tossing Amy Perez, the ranch manager's niece, out of his pickup shortly before Amy disappears. Offering to help look for her, McCone wanders into a series of Perez tragedies. Amy's older sister Hayley, who decamped for Vegas years ago and became a hooker, secretly returns, makes a will leaving major money to Amy and is shot dead in a trailer park. Amy's mom Miri, a bellicose drunk/slut who'd been shunned by her family after a rape when she was a teen, also disappears and dies violently. An old beau of Hayley's is shot in the back and left to rot in the desert. Bud Smith, a registered sex offender who may have taken the rap for a relative, is also killed. Tracking down people and alibis via the "moccasin telegraph," McCone sorts through the family's Paiute heritage, but it will take some serious piloting to get her out of a jam and bounce her back to normalcy. A bit more self-deprecating humor than usual from McCone and a crisply woven plot. For those readers tired of the McCone-Ripinsky romance, there's much ado about a burgeoning relationship between McCone and a snickering horse. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Having narrowly escaped death at the hands of The Ever-Running Man, ace investigator Sharon McCone retreats to husband Hy Ripinsky's ranch near Yosemite to fight depression and seek a path to her future. But her hoped-for peace is disturbed by the sight of a fearful young Native American woman, who turns out to be the niece of ranch manager Ramon Perez, and then shattered by a string of murders that attracts national media attention. What starts simply as help for a friend soon fully involves McCone, who calls on her Shoshone heritage to find the key to a decades-old rape. The process also invigorates McCone, who comes up with solutions to the plummeting morale in her San Francisco agency as well as answers for herself. Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Muller is in top form here, weaving McCone's personal plight into an intriguing plot with a backdrop of California's high desert country. An essential purchase for all mystery collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/08.]--Michele Leber, Arlington VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
