Trophies and Dead Things

Marcia Muller's Trophies and Dead Things is another strong effort in her Sharon McCone series. It was interesting to read how the Viet Nam Era is still affecting some people today. Lawyer Hank Zahn, a friend and colleague of San Francisco private investigator, Sharon McCone, asks her a favor. A client of his, Perry Hilderly, was killed by a sniper. As Hilderly's lawyer, Zahn must take care of his estate and clean out his apartment. Zahn is surprised to find that Hilderly has recently written a new will, eliminating his two sons and leaving $1 million to be split between four unknown persons. Zahn (and the estate) hire McCone to find these four heirs. In the process of finding the four heirs, McCone encounters stonewalling, denial and mystery. It is obvious that there is something major being hidden. It turns out that the common denominator is a militant political anti-war group from the 1960s and McCone goes about trying to solve this 30 year old mystery. It is also obvious that the events of the past have scarred everyone involved. The 1960s were a turbulent time and Muller does a fine job of weaving fact with fiction. Muller finds an old pair of love beads and observes that the beads are "symbols of an era that was perhaps never as joyful or innocent as some of us remember it." Also, she reminisces about the legacy of the anti-war movement, "A war had been stopped, the will of the people had prevailed, society had been altered in profound ways. But there was a darker side to the legacy, and the personal cost had been high on both sides." Trophies and Dead Things shows that Marcia Muller is not just a good mystery writer, but a good writer, period.

Sharon McCone and her boss Hank are confused at the changes that one of their clients made in his will before he was killed by a sniper. Instead of leaving money to his wife and children, he has bequeathed his money to four people who seem, on the surface, to be unconnected. As Sharon begins to investigate, she discovers that the new heirs are connected by the protest movement against the Viet Nam War in the 60's. She peals away the secrets which these four are hiding, layer by layer. She discovers that interwoven relationships, long-simmering hatred, and desire for revenge which began 40 years ago is now leading to unfortunate incidents in the present time. As always, Marcia Muller weaves an interesting mystery against the background of San Francisco with which she is intimately acquainted and which she describes to her readers in wonderful detail.

Sharon McCone is my favorite private investigator. She cares about people, and she especially cares about her clients. She's an astute observer of people. In this mystery Sharon is getting over her romance with Kostakos and her involvement with Jim Addison isn't working out, so she has a lot of time to solve this newest situation. Watney, her cat and special companion, has died, and she's alone, once she helps straighten out the life of a childhood friend who is currently staying with her . Marcia Muller has characters galore, and a mystery about an inheritance which was intended for family now bequeathed to 4 questionable people. Muller weaves all the plots together and makes us care about what's happening to everyone. If you like good mysteries where the emphasis is on the story, you'll enjoy Muller's books. This is one of her best!