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 for providing an ARC of The Ever-Running Man for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read The Ever-Running Man? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Edwin
of
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David McKay Co. (Hardcover), October 1977
ISBN-10: 0-679-50782-5 (0679507825)
ISBN-13: 978-0-679-50782-6 (9780679507826)
Ask
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St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), May 1982
ISBN-10: 0-312-05653-2 (0312056532)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-05653-7 (9780312056537)
The
Cheshire Cat's Eye
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), January 1983
ISBN-10: 0-312-13175-5 (0312131755)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-13175-3 (9780312131753)
Games
to
Keep the Dark Away
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), October 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), September 1984
ISBN-10: 0-312-47728-7 (0312477287)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-47728-8 (9780312477288)
Double
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ISBN-10: 0-312-21807-9 (0312218079)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-21807-2 (9780312218072)
There's
Nothing to Be Afraid of
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover), August 1985
ISBN-10: 0-312-79955-1 (0312799551)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-79955-7 (9780312799557)
Eye
of
the Storm
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), March 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), January 1989
ISBN-10: 0-89296-270-4 (0892962704)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-270-9 (9780892962709)
The
Shape
of Dread
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), November 1989
ISBN-10: 0-89296-271-2 (0892962712)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-271-6 (9780892962716)
Trophies
and Dead Things
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), September 1990
ISBN-10: 0-89296-417-0 (0892964170)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-417-8 (9780892964178)
Where
Echoes Live
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), July 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), July 1992
ISBN-10: 0-89296-454-5 (0892964545)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-454-3 (9780892964543)
Wolf
in
the Shadows
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), July 1993
ISBN-10: 0-89296-525-8 (0892965258)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-525-0 (9780892965250)
The
McCone Files (short stories)
Crippen & Landru (Hardcover), May 1994
ISBN-10: 1-885941-05-6 (1885941056)
ISBN-13: 978-1-885941-05-3 (9781885941053)
Till
the
Butcher's Cut Him Down
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), July 1994
ISBN-10: 0-89296-455-3 (0892964553)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-455-0 (9780892964550)
A
Wild
and Lonely Place
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), August 1995
ISBN-10: 0-89296-526-6 (0892965266)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-526-7 (9780892965267)
The
Broken Promise Land
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), June 1996
ISBN-10: 0-89296-621-1 (0892966211)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-621-9 (9780892966219)
Both
Ends
of the Night
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), July 1997
ISBN-10: 0-89296-622-X (089296622X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-622-6 (9780892966226)
While
Other People Sleep
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), July 1998
ISBN-10: 0-89296-650-5 (0892966505)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-650-9 (9780892966509)
McCone
and Friends (short stories)
Crippen & Landru (Hardcover), February 1999
ISBN-10: 1-885941-37-4 (1885941374)
ISBN-13: 978-1-885941-37-4 (9781885941374)
A
Walk
Through the Fire
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), May 1999
ISBN-10: 0-89296-688-2 (0892966882)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-688-2 (9780892966882)
Listen
to
the Silence
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), July 2000
ISBN-10: 0-89296-689-0 (0892966890)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-689-9 (9780892966899)
Dead
Midnight
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), July 2002
ISBN-10: 0-89296-765-X (089296765X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-765-0 (9780892967650)
The
Dangerous Hour
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), July 2004
ISBN-10: 0-89296-804-4 (0892968044)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-804-6 (9780892968046)
Vanishing
Point
Mysterious Press (Hardcover), July 2006
ISBN-10: 0-89296-805-2 (0892968052)
ISBN-13: 978-0-89296-805-3 (9780892968053)
The Ever-Running Man
Warner Books (Hardcover), July 2007
ISBN-10: 0-446-58242-5 (0446582425)
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-58242-1 (9780446582421)
Burn
Out
Grand Central (Hardcover), October 2008
ISBN-10: 0-446-58107-0 (0446581070)
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-58107-3 (9780446581073)
Locked
In
Grand Central (Hardcover), October 2009
ISBN-10: 0-446-58105-4 (0446581054)
ISBN-13: 978-0-446-58105-9 (9780446581059)
Omnimystery
keywords for The Ever-Running Man
...
Location(s) referenced: San
Francisco, California.
