Customer Reviews

The Cheshire Cat's Eye

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"The Cheshire Cat's Eye" is the third book in the Sharon McCone series by Marcia Muller. McCone finds her friend Jake Kaufmann dead in a San Francisco Victorian house that he is restoring by painting it with gaudy colors. The architectural communty is very opposed to these psychedelic houses. There are several suspects, and McCone is one of them. She must investigate, not only to clear her name, but find Jake's killer. Sharon McCone is by far my favorite female PI in detective fiction. Muller's characters are well-drawn, and her books are a pleasure to read. This novel is not as complex as some of her later works, but this is an excellent place to start. If you haven't yet met Sharon McCone, you will be in for a big treat.

Yet another great job by Muller. This time, she takes us into the world of San Francisco's famous "painted ladies." Ever wonder what secrets those grand old houses kept? The lives, the loves (and of course, the deaths) of one family are told in fantastic detail and originality. As Sharon is closing in on the killer, she sets an simple yet effective trap, and the pages turn quickly! Even if you've never been to SF, Muller's writing style will still place you right at the scene of the crime!

Private eye, Sharon McCone, receives a frantic phone call from a friend, Jake Kaufmann, who paints houses in the Painted Lady district of San Francisco. When she reaches the Victorian house where Jake asks her to meet him, she finds him dead. During her investigation she discovers that there are many special interest groups in the area who might have a motive for murder. There are purists who want the homes restored to their original look and there are those who want to fix them up to sell them by painting them the gaudy colors which became popular in the 60's. Sharon (and the reader) find out about the different kinds of Victorian houses which became popular in San Francisco and also some of the furnishings which go well in the houses. Against this background McCone finally figures out who in the community committed Jake's murders and some others. This is a good mystery from the reliable Marcia Muller.

Private Investigator, Sharon McCone receives a message from an old friend, Jake Kaufmann, asking her to meet him in one of the old Victorian terrace houses in the suburbs of San Francisco, which he is restoring and painting in very bright colours. The locals highbrows who disapprove of anything which is not an original colour, call this row of houses, the Painted Ladies. She finds his murdered body lying in a pool of bright red paint, at the foot of a tall ladder and calls in her boyfriend, Lieutenant Greg Marcus, the head of Homicide. This turns out to be the first of three murders which occur in these houses, and all seem to be connected,pointing directly to both the various architectural bodies which object to the bright colours and to the local poor population who object to their neighbourhood being gentrified, thus depriving them of cheap housing which these houses were when in their dilapidated state. It's a quick little read and quite interesting with its descriptions of the furnishings and architectural features of Victorian terraces in America.

Ah, the San Francisco of the postcard. Alamo Square with Victorian Row houses with downtown in the background. Muller's third Sharon McCone novel has a terrific sense of place and taught me many new things about the Victorian scene in San Francisco.

Still, the pacing seems a bit bogged down. The side characters, often a highlight in Muller's books, aren't very interesting or sympathetic. Who cares if one of them is killed -- just don't wreck the Tiffany Lamp.

A good read if you love the atmosphere of "romantic San Francisco" but otherwise so-so.

I've read about 5 of Muller's books featuring Sharon McCone. This wasn't one of my favorites.