Beyond the Grave

Mixes history and mystery -- it's a mys-tory! Switching between 1894 and 1986 to solve a crime committed in 1846 - and 1986. Interesting mixture, well done by this husband-and-wife writing team. The detectives in 1894 are the male/female team of Carpenter and Quincannon, creations of Pronzini, the detective in 1986 a female Hispanic detective drawn by Marcia Muller, each the subjects of their own books by their respective creators.

This is the third and final book of Marcia Muller's Elena Oliverez trilogy, completing the exploits of her Hispanic art museum curator. The first was: "The Tree of Death" and the second was "The Legend of the Slain Soldiers." However, this final outing was co-authored with Bill Pronzini (who is now Muller's husband). Pronzini employs his lesser-known (to his famous Nameless Detective that Sharon McCone calls Wolf) Quincannon who lived about a century ago. I think this trilogy gets better book by book, so I actually liked this one the best. It's interesting to see both Muller and Pronzini write about protagonists other than their famous ones (Sharon McCone and Nameless, respectively). Muller also authored the Joanna Stark trilogy about an art security expert. The Elena Oliverez series is heavily into the world of Hispanic art but is highly dosed with the personalities of its highly divergent characters--highlighting human foibles. It is not a continuing saga like the Stark trilogy, but is connected in time and in the characters involved. Interestingly, Muller gives Elena a cameo appearance in her latest Sharon McCone adventure: "The Dangerous Hour." I find both Elena and Quincannon appealing. I consider this one of her best works--I liked this book very much, and it's worth reading the entire trilogy. I am not as familiar with Pronzini's works, however, the two have collaborated on several novels so far "Duo" and "Double" as well as editing numerous themed short story collections together (e.g. "Child's Play," "Kill or Cure," "The Wickedist Show on Earth," and the western story collection, "She Won the West"). In other of the novels written together, sections describing each character's actions flip flop between the two authors. However, in prior efforts, they employed McCone and Nameless; here each uses a different protagonist. Also, in this book there is a major time lapse between the eras of the two characters making this an unusual and especially intriguing work. I've read over 30 of Muller's works, and I consider this one of the 5 best. Enjoy!

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.