The
Ever-Running Man
A Sharon McCone
Mystery
Marcia Muller
Warner Books (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-446-58242-5 (0446582425)
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-58242-1 (9780446582421)
Publication Date: July 2007
List Price: $24.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): Sharon McCone is hired by her husband's security firm to track down "the ever-running man," a shadowy figure who has been leaving explosive devices at their various offices. She doesn't have to search for long. When McCone narrowly escapes an explosion at the security firm's San Francisco offices, she catches a glimpse of his retreating figure. The ever-running man is dangerously close--and anyone connected to the firm seems to be within his deadly range. To complicate matters, McCone is forced to question her intensely private husband, Hy, about his involvement in some of the firm's dark secrets. The history of corruption may jeopardize their marriage, but uncovering the secrets of the firm may be the only way she can save her husband's life, and her own.
Review:
Mixing her personal and professional lives leads to complications for
private investigator Sharon McCone in The Ever-Running Man,
the 25th mystery in this long-running series by Marcia Muller.
The Ever-Running
Man is comprised of two storylines, neither of which seems
fully developed, that have been cobbled together to create one of the
more disappointing entries in this series. The first of these, a tale
of mistaken identity, is basically used as a red herring to the second,
a tale of a vendetta.
McCone's husband, Hy Ripensky, is a partner in an ultra-secretive
security firm with two other men with whom he had worked years earlier
transporting goods throughout the Middle East and southeast Asia. The
firm's offices have been the target of bombing attempts, and McCone has
been hired to look into the matter. When one of the partners is killed,
the authorities initially believe there is a connection to the
bombings, but McCone thinks otherwise. Her staff discovers someone else
with the same name as the dead partner and a connection
between them, and she sets out to prove that the murder was
independent of the
bombings. The major problem with this scenario is that it is purported
to be a case of stolen identity, yet no evidence is presented to
indicate how the man whose name was "stolen" was ever harmed in any way
or suffered any material or personal loss. As written, the murder
victim adopted another man's name in the past and they led completely
separate lives. Half of the book is devoted to this investigation which
seems intended primarily to serve as filler for, or a diversion
to, the mystery of the man who has been seen running
from the scene of several of the bombings.
The bombings investigation is to some extent more interesting, though
no more credible. Here, McCone suspects something in her husband's past
may be motivating the bomber. The author, who has created such a
wonderfully complex and richly drawn character in Sharon McCone, one
that has grown and evolved during the series, convincingly relates the
personal turmoil McCone faces during her investigation. But there are
all sorts of plot points that just don't seem to fit. For a company
obsessed with security, it's never made clear how the
culprit managed to locate the firm's safe house (where McCone just happened to be staying) to place a bomb. For
someone with a vendetta against the partners, using explosive devices
seems particularly impersonal, rather impractical, and somewhat
arbitrary. Why not target the partners directly? The use of bombs seems
to be a convenient literary approach for adding sensational elements to mask an
otherwise weak plot.
Fans of the series will want to read The Ever-Running Man
for the ongoing development of series lead Sharon McCone who is truly
among the best characters created in mystery fiction. Those readers looking for
an intriguing investigation that showcases McCone's skills are better
off picking up one of the earlier books.
Special thanks to Grand Central Publishing for providing an ARC of The Ever-Running Man for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Edwin of the Iron Shoes
David McKay Co. (Hardcover), 1977
ISBN-10: 0-679-50782-5 (0679507825)
ISBN-13: 978-0-679-50782-6 (9780679507826)
Ask the Cards A Question
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), 1982
ISBN-10: 0-312-056-532 (0312056532)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-056-537 (9780312056537)
The Cheshire Cat's Eye
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), 1983
ISBN-10: 0-312-131-755 (0312131755)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-131-753 (9780312131753)
Games to Keep the Dark Away
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), 1984
ISBN-10: 0-312-31620-8 (0312316208)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-31620-4 (9780312316204)
Leave A Message for Willie
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), 1984
ISBN-10: 0-312-477-287 (0312477287)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-477-288 (9780312477288)
Double
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), 1984
ISBN-10: 0-312-218-079 (0312218079)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-218-072 (9780312218072)
There's Nothing to Be Afraid of
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), 1985
ISBN-10: 0-312-799-551 (0312799551)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-799-557 (9780312799557)
Eye of the Storm
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1988
ISBN-10: 0-89296-269-0 (0892962690)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-269-3 (9780892962693)
There's Something in A Sunday
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1989
ISBN-10: 0-89296-270-4 (0892962704)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-270-9 (9780892962709)
The Shape of Dread
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1989
ISBN-10: 0-89296-271-2 (0892962712)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-271-6 (9780892962716)
Trophies and Dead Things
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1990
ISBN-10: 0-89296-417-0 (0892964170)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-417-8 (9780892964178)
Where Echoes Live
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1991
ISBN-10: 0-89296-418-9 (0892964189)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-418-5 (9780892964185)
Pennies on A Dead Woman's Eyes
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1992
ISBN-10: 0-89296-454-5 (0892964545)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-454-3 (9780892964543)
Wolf in the Shadows
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1993
ISBN-10: 0-89296-525-8 (0892965258)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-525-0 (97808929652510)
Till the Butcher's Cut Him Down
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1994
ISBN-10: 0-89296-455-3 (0892964553)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-455-0 (97808929645510)
A Wild and Lonely Place
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1995
ISBN-10: 0-89296-526-6 (0892965266)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-526-7 (9780892965267)
The Broken Promise Land
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1996
ISBN-10: 0-89296-621-1 (0892966211)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-621-9 (9780892966219)
Both Ends of the Night
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1997
ISBN-10: 0-89296-622-X (089296622X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-622-6 (9780892966226)
While Other People Sleep
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1998
ISBN-10: 0-89296-650-5 (0892966505)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-650-9 (9780892966509)
A Walk Through the Fire
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 1999
ISBN-10: 0-89296-688-2 (0892966882)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-688-2 (9780892966882)
Listen to the Silence
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 2000
ISBN-10: 0-89296-689-0 (0892966890)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-689-9 (9780892966899)
Dead Midnight
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 2002
ISBN-10: 0-89296-765-X (089296765X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-765-0 (97808929676510)
The Dangerous Hour
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 2004
ISBN-10: 0-89296-804-4 (0892968044)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-804-6 (9780892968046)
Vanishing Point
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), 2006
ISBN-10: 0-89296-805-2 (0892968052)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-805-3 (9780892968053)
The Ever-Running Man
Warner Books (Hardcover), 2007
ISBN-10: 0-446-58242-5 (0446582425)
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-58242-1 (9780446582421)
Omnimystery keywords for The Ever-Running Man
...
Location(s) referenced: San Francisco.