Marcia Muller

She lives in northern California -- and that's all I know.

At the moment, I give the titles, year of publication, publisher, ISBN where I have it, and the blurb that appears on that edition. I'll add more entries as and when I get hold of the books (and have the time).

Novels

Edwin of the Iron Shoes (1977, McKay Washburn. 1993, The Women's Press [ISBN: 0 7043 4364 9])

"When a small-time antique-shop owner is found murdered - stabbed with a bone-handled dagger from one of her own displays - Sharon McCone's first case begins...
"And it doesn't look easy - her only witnesses are the shop's inhabitants: Clothilde, the headless dressmaker's dummy; Bruno, the stuffed German shepherd; and Edwin, the little-boy mannequin with ornate iron shoes.
"But soon she has a range of suspects, among them Cara Ingalls, a socialite business tycoon; Charlie the junkman, once the victim's lover... and a group of high-powered real-estate speculators, each with his own reason for closing down the curio shops of San Francisco's Salem Street, and each seemingly willing to twist and break the law to get what he wants.
"McCone is determined to crack the case... but neither antiques nor people are quite what they seem..."

Ask the Cards a Question (1982, St Martin's Press. 1993, The Women's Press [ISBN: 0 7043 4365 7])

"Who would have wanted to kill Molly Antonio -- the nicest woman in Sharon's building?
"Madam Anya had warned Molly that the cards foretold evil, but Sharon's friend, Linnea Carraway, looks like suspect number one.
"It's all a bit too close for comfort for Sharon McCone, as she races against the clock to find the killer... and to clear her friend.
"Then she comes across a string of big-time deals, brutal blackmail, and murder, to which even the experts have been blind. Can she find the solution? And save her professional credibility -- and her life?"

The Cheshire Cat's Eye

Games to Keep the Dark Away (1984, St Martin's Press. 1994, The Women's Press [ISBN: 0 7043 4368 1])

"Can [Sharon McCone] overcome the small-town secrets and suspicions that hide a maniacal killer poised to strike again?
"Hired by the reclusive and sensational photographer, Abe Snelling, to find his missing roommate, McCone has her work cut out. But Jane Anthony turns up only to soon. Dead beneath a rotting pier in the sleepy fishing village of Salmon Bay.
"As McCone discovers, small towns are never as sleepy as look... Confronted with a host of suspects, and cut short by local residents who don't like her city-girl sleuthing, McCone finds herself an unwilling player in an increasingly deadly game."

Leave a Message for Willie

Double (with Bill Pronzini)

There's Nothing to be Afraid of

Eye of the Storm

The Tree of Death (1983. 1996, Mysterious Press Edition [ISBN: 0 446 40420 9])

"Elena Oliverez, curator of the new Museum of Mexican Arts in Santa Barbara, wanted her first exhibit to convey the power and subtlety of fine Chicano art. Displaying the huge, gaudy, ceramic arbol de la vida - tree of life - would please the wealthy patron who donated it, but convey all the tackiness of a pinata from Tijuana. It wounded Elena's sensibilities and her pride. And that was before it killed her boss. Lying among the smashed pottery was Frank de Palma, the man Elena [had] locked inside the gallery when she['d] left the night before. No one else could have entered without her key. Anglo homicide detective Lieutenant Dave Kirk called the death a murder and Elena his only suspect. Now she had to turn to another fine art: catching a talented killer who [had] framed her with a masterpiece of crime."

There's Something in a Sunday (1989, St Martin's Press. 1992, The Women's Press [ISBN: 0 7043 4312 6])

"Investigating for her co-operative law firm, McCone takes on a routine weekend surveillance as a favour for a colleague's client. The job seems straightforward - even boring - until she returns with her report to find the client bludgeoned to death. And Sharon McCone is in the midst of a lethal mix of sour relationships and murderous rage..."

The Shape of Dread

Trophies and Dead Things (1990, The Mysterious Press. 1992, The Women's Press [ISBN: 0 7043 4314 2])

"[H]eadlines in the San Francisco Chronicle about a seemingly random series of murders are causing quite a stir. When one of McCone's legal clients becomes a victim, matters quickly get complicated and McCone ends up investigating not one but four messy murders. And when the killer strikes closer to home, it all starts to get more personal..."

Where Echoes Live

Pennies on a Dead Woman's Eyes

Wolf in the Shadows (1993, Warner Books. 1994, The Women's Press [ISBN: 0 7043 4389 4])

"[Sharon McCone's] employers, the All Souls Legal Cooperative, have issued an ultimatum. They want McCone to take a promotion - a desk job designed to curb her unorthodox behaviour - or leave.note Just when her new lover, the enigmatic Hy Ripinsky, has gone missing.
"At first, tracking him down seems an adventure. A welcome break for the woes of work. Then McCone uncovers a million-dollar kidnapping. Soon she is caught up in a deadly game, played out in the badlands of the American-Mexican border. Just how well does she know her mysterious lover? Confronted with tough choices, McCone puts her own life, her future, and everything she holds dear at risk..."

Till the Butchers Cut Him Down (1994, Warner Books. 1995, The Women's Press [ISBN: 0 7043 4416 5])

"Out on her own for the very first time and determined to make her new agency a success, the last thin McCone needs is T.J. Gordon, alias `Suits', back in her life. He swears he's reformed, but just how deep does this transformation go? And how legitimate is his new venture, Intervention Management Inc.?
"Now his life is in danger, and he wants McCone to find the man who's trying to kill him. At any price. It's an offer she can't afford to refuse. But the cost soon proves more deadly than her wildest dreams..."

A Wild and Lonely Place (1995, Warner Books. 1995, The Women's Press [ISBN: 0 7043 4454 8])

"A series of diplomats have been the targets of a vicious bombing campaign. Reluctantly, Sharon McCone agrees to help a security firm protect their client. And there's far more at stake than the one million dollar reward the FBI are offering for the terrorists' capture.
"Behind a wall of diplomatic immunity, McCone uncovers a web of intrigue, corruption, and murder. Now a child's life is in peril and, as McCone's trail leads her back to those she's been hired to defend, she finds herself in the sights of a ruthless and cold-blooded killer..."

The Broken Promise Land (1996, Warner Books. 1996, The Women's Press [ISBN: 0 7043 4504 8])

"When country music star, Ricky Savage, receives an anonymous threat, he knows instantly where to turn. His sister-in-law is Sharon McCone.
"But Ricky's past isn't as pretty as his press notes suggest. As threats lead to gossip and radio stations turn reluctant to play his new album, bit Ricky's precarious marriage and his glittering career are soon in jeopardy. Then the trauma takes on more treacherous tones. And McCone discovers that Ricky has deadly enemies, in an industry known for breaking promises -- and lives."

1 - I must say, this isn't how I read the plot; blurb writers often do this, so that one begins to wonder how carefully they read the book.
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