The Ever-Running Man

I've now got the previous 24 Sharon McCone novels the read. I will enjoy both looking for them and reading them. How I missed this author is a mystery, but THE EVER-RUNNING MAN has developed a new fan for the series. Sharon is hired by her husband to discover the identity of a man seen running away from terrosts type bombings of the facilities of his company. During the investigation one of Hy's partners disappears and the other is murder. This is a fast moving mystery/thriller with all the twists and turns of California's Highway 1. If like us you are new to this series you won't find a better read. Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil WarUnder the Liberty OakGuns Across the Rio: A Texas Ranger in Old Mexico

What A Wonderful painting of character personalities plus continuous intrigue! Marcia Muller has the keenest manner of painting the full picture without being maudlin or overly emotional along the way. She leaves precisely noted pictures with just the right amount to be filled-in by the intuitive reader! She waits until the final fifty pages before she lays the neat groundwork for the identity of the Ever-Running Man. Her hints are simply sparse as other reviewers have noted. Her writing is totally tied together with knots, loosely woven and threaded together! It took me about the first 40-50 pages before I became hooked into her story of the Security firm of RKI for Renshaw-Kessell Investigative Agency. It is indeed one more page-turner and spell-binder!!! Retired Chap Fred W Hood

You may think that you know people, but sometimes you don't, even when you have been acquainted with someone for a long period of time. McCone's agency is hired to investigate attacks on her husband's company. Someone seems to have a deadly grudge. People are killed. Shar escapes in the nick of time. The trail leads into people's pasts - in some cases into shady dealings involving drugs and illegal arms sales. It is necessary to turn over some rocks to look for motives. There are a few subplots along the way including a lovers quarrel in the office (more than one if you count McCone's problems). This was an interesting plot that kept me involved in the novel. The case is complex and hard to solve, and has a somewhat unexpected conclusion. People aren't always who you think they are. It remains to be seen what happens to Hy's company, but that is left for another novel. There is that young, stranded girlfriend of one of the partners. That has possibilities, but we will have to see what develops in the next novel.

When a series lasts as long as this one, I'm always afraid to pick up the next volume. Thankfully, my fears were groundless. I loved this book. Marcia Muller is one of the few authors who actually grows and matures with her writing. Her characters evolve easily as we learn more about their backgrounds and watch their lives take unexpected (and always realistic) turns. Here we see Sharon McCone in her toughest and most professional persona. She's agreed to help find the man who's killing off the leaders of RKI,the high-powered security agency that employes her husband, Hy Ripinsky. As the story develops, we learn more about Hy and we get caught up on Sharon and her far-flung family. Muller is one of the few authors who successfully delivers all three ingredients of a murder mystery: scene, characters and plot. I've lived in San Francisco and felt a little homesick as I read about the urbanized Bay Area, the 101 to Healdsburg, and the East Bay. Her characters feel like people we know...although I'm not sure I'd be up for coffee with them. Even the plot feels masterfully drawn. Without giving anything away, there's one situation othat seems puzzling. It could be coincidence. But later this bump in the narrative - so small that it might be missed by an unattentive reader - turns out to hold the key to the puzzle...but not the way that experienced mystery fans would anticipate. Clues are dropped masterfully so the end was a real surprise, yet the author plays fair. Muller has developed her craft so she communicates potentially boring straightforward information -- the results of a series of interviews -- in a way that sounds fresh and interesting. As close to a perfect mystery novel as I'll read in this lifetime.

Renshaw & Kessell International corporate security firm hires Sharon McCone to uncover who is responsible for the recent bombings of their facilities that has killed several employees and obviously has damaged their reputation. McCone accepts the case although she has reservations because her husband Hy Ripinsky works there. The partners Gage Renshaw and Dan Kessell explain to McCone that they need an outsider with a fresh perspective who solves crimes rather than prevents or negotiates as they do. They also mention the "ever-running man" is behind the bombings. As she leaves, the SF office is hit with security guard Jimmy Banks dead and McCone fortunate but now angry. She realizes the ever-running man is nearby, but wonders how he knows the layouts of RKI except if he is or was an insider. She begins questioning management including an irate Hy about some of the historical questionable cases that he prefers left buried. As the married couple argues below the belt including comparisons to his first wife "Saint Julie".; the ever running man knows that McCone is investigating and decides she must die for not minding her business even if that is her business and Hy also must be killed for his role in the firm. The ever running McCone mystery series remains as fresh and exciting although this is the twenty fifth entry. The story line plays out on two interrelated levels; the investigation and its impact on the relationship between Hy and Sharon that has exploded into acrimony. Fans will learn more about Hy's life that he does not want to divulge even to his spouse. The ever running man is a great villain as he plays cat and mouse with McCone whose professional and personal lives have mixed together with neither looking quite upbeat. Marcia Muller is at her best with this brisk McCone mystery. Harriet Klausner