I keep wondering if Marcia Muller likes researching her
novels more than writing them. EDWIN OF THE IRON SHOES was
clearly written by a woman who has to be dragged kicking and
screaming out of curio shops, antique dealers, and junk
shops. It didn't show up so much in ASK THE CARDS A QUESTION,
but Muller's passion for antiques and kitcsh comes back in
full force in THE CHESHIRE CAT'S EYE, along with another
passion, restoration of Victorian homes.
Not that I'm complaining. The early McCones are quite good,
and I picked up on the series despite LISTEN TO THE SILENCE
being my first book by Muller.
In this one, McCone goes to a Victorian home under
restoration to meet an interior designer friend. Only he's
dead when she gets there. That puts her at odds with casual
boyfriend and homicide cop Greg Marcus. (And while the
lover-rival dynamic is a bit treadworn, I like Marcus much
better than McCone's current squeeze, Hy Rypinsky.)
McCone has a list of suspects, none of whom she likes for it.
The police are working a burglary angle, which Marcus doesn't
like either, a lot less than McCone working the case. The
house belongs to David Wittringham, a real estate developer
and a gay man. Wittriingham's father was killed in the same
house only three years earlier (still an open case, another
thing that bugs Marcus). Wittringham lives with a neurotic
man from Dayton, Ohio, named Paul, who probably buys his
Valium at CostCo by the crate. Wittringham's restoration
efforts are stalled by Eleanor van Dyne, a wealthy socialite
who's also a restoration purist. She doesn't cotton to
David's "modern" remodeling of San Francisco's old Victorian
homes. David's partner is an obnoxious, rather crude former
rock promoter named Larry French. French acts the part of a
rock star, arrogant, flashy, and used to getting his way. We
never really learn if he is a sexist pig or if it's an act,
but his temper makes him a !
suspect.
While the story flowed much better than the first two
McCones, I have to say the identity of the killer
disappointed me. Just by actions and dialogue alone, I had
the person pegged in the first third of the book. Still, it's
a fast read, and McCone is less bogged down as an employee of
All Souls. I miss these early McCones. I don't object to the
domestic angle of the newer ones, but LISTEN was too weighty
for my liking. CHESHIRE jumped right into the story and ran
to the end.
So, anyone know if I can get a Tiffany kerosene lamp on eBay
cheap?
Jim Winter
http://www.jamesrwinter.com
http://jamesrwinter.blogspot.com
winter-newsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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