Wolf in the Shadows

by Marcia Muller

Book Overview

Muller's popular heroine, San Francisco sleuth Sharon McCone, faces her greatest challenge when her boyfriend disappears while delivering a $2 million ransom for a kidnapped researcher. Each of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446403830
• ISBN13: 9780446403832
• Release Date: July 1994
• Publisher: Mysterious Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Wolf in the Shadows

Very well written - with atmospheric descriptions of places the detective goes to. I enjoy the Sharon McCone books - having just recently discovered them - and as a person who does not live in the USA, the descriptions of people and places help bring life in the USA alive for me.

Sharon looks for Hy

Sharon McCone is shocked and dismayed when she is summoned in to a meeting of the partners of All Souls' Legal Cooperative where she works. Instead of the reprimand which she expects, Sharon receives the offer of a promotion which would put her behind a desk and away from the action. Although this goes against her grain, Sharon knows she must accept it if she wants to continue to work at All Souls'. At the same time, she discovers that her lover, Hy, has disappeared while on a job for a company called RKI. When she talks to Gage Renshaw at RKI, he tells her that he thinks Hy has double-crossed him and he wants to find him. Sharon offers to do so, thereby getting paid for something she planned to do anyway, and also having a paying job which doesn't involve All Souls'. She travels back and forth between California and Mexico in search of Hy and the answer to a series of unanswered questions. Muller's books in this series become longer as time goes on, and this causes some extra action which becomes a bit distracting to the main plot. However, she still spins a good tale and Sharon McCone remains a very likeable heroine.

Mystery or Career Counselling?

It's getting to the point where the ins and outs of life at All Souls Legal Coop is almost as much a part of the story as whatever case PI Sharon McCone is investigating. In this particular installment, McCone faces a career crisis when the "Corporation" wants to promote her to a desk job as administrator over a proposed staff of investigators and paralegals. While wrestling with this dilemma, McCone also tries to track down missing boyfriend Hy Ripinsky, which takes her south to San Diego and across the border into Mexico. Along the way, we once again meet members of McCone's real (biological) family. The story meanders a bit, but a tense climax to the mystery makes the story an entertaining read. The update on life at All Souls makes it a must for fans.

The best of her mysteries.

Marsha Muller has always struck me as being a formula writer, and her characters never rang true to me. But this book breaks the mold. A great read for those long summer evenings on the porch.

The turning point in the wonderful Sharon McCone series

Some people prefer the old days when Sharon was a young, eager, and underpaid investigator for All Souls Legal Cooperative. For me, the changes in McCone's character were not only expected, but in this case, they served to strengthen McCone's integrity and self-sufficiency. With her estrangment from the All Souls "family", McCone has to rely more than ever on her own sense and meticulous detecting skills. It's this greater sense of resolve, as well as the breathlessly paced plot, that make this novel one of the best Muller novels ever.