Customer Reviews

The Ever-Running Man (Wheeler Hardcover)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When a series lasts as long as this one, I'm always afraid to pick up the next volume. Thankfully, my fears were groundless. I loved this book.

Marcia Muller is one of the few authors who actually grows and matures with her writing. Her characters evolve easily as we learn more about their backgrounds and watch their lives take unexpected (and always realistic) turns.

Here we see Sharon McCone in her toughest and most professional persona. She's agreed to help find the man who's killing off the leaders of RKI,the high-powered security agency that employes her husband, Hy Ripinsky. As the story develops, we learn more about Hy and we get caught up on Sharon and her far-flung family.

Muller is one of the few authors who successfully delivers all three ingredients of a murder mystery: scene, characters and plot. I've lived in San Francisco and felt a little homesick as I read about the urbanized Bay Area, the 101 to Healdsburg, and the East Bay. Her characters feel like people we know...although I'm not sure I'd be up for coffee with them.

Even the plot feels masterfully drawn. Without giving anything away, there's one situation othat seems puzzling. It could be coincidence. But later this bump in the narrative - so small that it might be missed by an unattentive reader - turns out to hold the key to the puzzle...but not the way that experienced mystery fans would anticipate. Clues are dropped masterfully so the end was a real surprise, yet the author plays fair.

Muller has developed her craft so she communicates potentially boring straightforward information -- the results of a series of interviews -- in a way that sounds fresh and interesting.

As close to a perfect mystery novel as I'll read in this lifetime.

You may think that you know people, but sometimes you don't, even when you have been acquainted with someone for a long period of time. McCone's agency is hired to investigate attacks on her husband's company. Someone seems to have a deadly grudge. People are killed. Shar escapes in the nick of time.

The trail leads into people's pasts - in some cases into shady dealings involving drugs and illegal arms sales. It is necessary to turn over some rocks to look for motives. There are a few subplots along the way including a lovers quarrel in the office (more than one if you count McCone's problems).

This was an interesting plot that kept me involved in the novel. The case is complex and hard to solve, and has a somewhat unexpected conclusion. People aren't always who you think they are.

It remains to be seen what happens to Hy's company, but that is left for another novel. There is that young, stranded girlfriend of one of the partners. That has possibilities, but we will have to see what develops in the next novel.

I've now got the previous 24 Sharon McCone novels the read. I will enjoy both looking for them and reading them. How I missed this author is a mystery, but THE EVER-RUNNING MAN has developed a new fan for the series.
Sharon is hired by her husband to discover the identity of a man seen running away from terrosts type bombings of the facilities of his company. During the investigation one of Hy's partners disappears and the other is murder.
This is a fast moving mystery/thriller with all the twists and turns of California's Highway 1. If like us you are new to this series you won't find a better read.
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Sharon McCone is looking for more than just the man who is leaving explosive devices at various offices used by her husband's security firm. She's digging into her husband's past and not liking what she's uncovering. Has she been wrong about him all this time?

The firm she's been hired to protect was built on corruption and secrets. Both of which have caught up with the founders and endangered the lives of innocent people, including the McCones. Taking this job will not only test her professional resolve, but could jeopardize her marriage as well.

Muller's spare writing style, at least in McCone's voice, keeps things crisp. There are no superfluous descriptions or emotions--you know, stuff you learn when privacy isn't an issue. As a reader, I sometimes miss those things--things I believe allow me to connect on a deeper level with a character. However, I have to admit her resolutions are unbeatable. And more--her characters are memorable in spite of what I perceive to be a limit to their dimensions (or maybe it's that privacy thing they insist upon). I know this is true because it's been a while since I've read a McCone mystery, but when, within the pages of The Ever-Running Man, Muller mentions secondary characters, I remember them like it was yesterday, and I smiled more than once.

There's been a huge hubbub in the world of mystery fans about McCone's marriage to Hy Ripinsky and whether or not it survives. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it. For many readers, it's clear they are on intimate terms with this--dare I say, fictitious--couple.

My advice? Get the book. Find out for yourself. And if it's been a while since you've seen some of the other people Sharon McCone has in her life, you'll be delighted to see them again. And you will not be disappointed in how Muller wraps up this mystery. Promise.

Armchair Interviews says: The Ever-Running Man is recommended.

Renshaw & Kessell International corporate security firm hires Sharon McCone to uncover who is responsible for the recent bombings of their facilities that has killed several employees and obviously has damaged their reputation. McCone accepts the case although she has reservations because her husband Hy Ripinsky works there. The partners Gage Renshaw and Dan Kessell explain to McCone that they need an outsider with a fresh perspective who solves crimes rather than prevents or negotiates as they do. They also mention the "ever-running man" is behind the bombings. As she leaves, the SF office is hit with security guard Jimmy Banks dead and McCone fortunate but now angry.

She realizes the ever-running man is nearby, but wonders how he knows the layouts of RKI except if he is or was an insider. She begins questioning management including an irate Hy about some of the historical questionable cases that he prefers left buried. As the married couple argues below the belt including comparisons to his first wife "Saint Julie".; the ever running man knows that McCone is investigating and decides she must die for not minding her business even if that is her business and Hy also must be killed for his role in the firm.

The ever running McCone mystery series remains as fresh and exciting although this is the twenty fifth entry. The story line plays out on two interrelated levels; the investigation and its impact on the relationship between Hy and Sharon that has exploded into acrimony. Fans will learn more about Hy's life that he does not want to divulge even to his spouse. The ever running man is a great villain as he plays cat and mouse with McCone whose professional and personal lives have mixed together with neither looking quite upbeat. Marcia Muller is at her best with this brisk McCone mystery.

Harriet Klausner

First Sentence: "Here's what we have on the ever-running man," Hy said.

PI Sharon McCone is hired by her husband as someone is blowing up properties owned by RK Investigations, the security firm, of which Hy is one-third owner. A figure has been seen leaving the scenes and has become known as "the ever-running man." Although Sharon knew Hy had done things of which he was not proud, there seem to be other things he has not told her. This case may be the end of both Hy's firm and their marriage.

Muller always writes a good story, but one of the things I like best about the series is that her character grows and changes. The present McCone is a long way from the first book. The other things I enjoy are her strong sense of place and her excellent dialogue. On the other hand, I felt the story read flat, as though I were reading a case report. I just didn't have the sense of danger or involvement I usually do. Even with the conflict between the major protagonists, there was never any real question how it would end. This is a series which really should be read in order as character development, which not completely missing, is minimal and relationships have been built throughout the series. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to give up reading Muller but, for me, her mid-series books, starting with "Wolf in the Shadows," were some of her best.

It's amazing to me how after so many years MM continues to turn out great installments of the best series I've ever read.

Unlike other series, where the characters don't age or progress, Sharon does both. I do wish she'd get a bit more back to her roots -- the Sharon with three homes and a plane who stays in five-star hotels is a bit more difficult to relate to than the old Sharon. However, that doesn't detract from the read at all -- actually, I blame it on Hy, who's the one character I've never been able to warm to.

This installment was fast-paced and exciting -- I read the whole thing in less than 24 hours because I couldn't put it down -- although towards the end, the culprit's identity became very apparent and it took Sharon a lot longer than me to figure the whole thing out. As usual, the whole cast is included in the story, but it doesn't feel forced, as if she's just trying to fit them in and sticking them wherever she can. And I love that we got another life-changing event for one of the characters -- MM certainly isn't afraid of changing things up, even in her long-running story arcs.

One little quirk though that drives me nuts -- why does Sharon always refer to her "cellular"? I don't know anyone who calls it that, rather than just their "cell" or "cell phone." Just a little thing I find annoying.

Can't wait to read "Burn Out!"

I am new to the Sharon McCone series. I am very glad I've discovered this wonderful series by Marcia Muller. The Ever-Running Man is an intense mystery with surprise twists and turns!

I had to get used to the rhythm of this book. I did think it was way too intense at first, so I put it aside. I planned on returning it to the library. But, I soon found myself wondering about the identity of the "ever-running man", as well as the problems in McCone's marriage to Hy Ripinsky. Obviously Muller crafted strong characters and plot.

I'm glad I finished the book. Muller kept me on my toes until the very end. I recommend this book for all people who are looking for a solid mystery series.

Very absorbing read.I constantly wonder where the author can take these characters next and how she can develop them and keep them and her stories fresh but she always manages it.The "Sharon McCone" she created all those years ago in her first book is essentially the same person but with subtle and not-so-subtle differences, just as we all are in real life as time passes.Skillful and spellbinding plotting as usual,highly recommend it.Enjoy.

When veteran detective Sharon McCone married Hy Ripinsky in her last adventure, VANISHING POINT, she knew she was marrying a man with a dark past. Ripinsky is a hostage release specialist with Renshaw & Kessell International, a security firm made up of two other partners who share a connection as cargo pilots from years past in Southeast Asia.

When a series of explosions damage several of RKI's branch offices, the partners at first suspect terrorism and hire Sharon McCone's firm to investigate. The violence grows personal as McCone narrowly escapes a deadly explosion at the San Francisco headquarters where an employee is killed as the bomb goes off in the lobby. Just before this occurred, she spotted a man running down the alley.

During her investigation, other witnesses describe a similar individual running away from the scene before each explosion. McCone turns her crew of computer and industrial espionage experts loose on the case. She decides to investigate the backgrounds of each of RKI's partners as she begins to suspect that the bomber carries a personal grudge against the company. This leads to delving into the past of the newest partner --- her bridegroom --- which threatens their relationship as questions surface about his connection to activities with the cargo firm while in Thailand. Suspicion mounts as the investigation uncovers some unsavory connections to drug and munitions running by the other partners.

As first one partner and then the second disappear, McCone is torn between concern for her husband's safety and suspicion of his activities. As she closes in on the bomber, both her marriage and her life are in jeopardy.

Marcia Muller has created a colorful cast of characters that weaves through each of her novels in an enduring family saga. Fans will remember McCone's shaky beginnings in San Francisco in the 1970s when she started the All-Souls Detective Agency with characters as hip and altruistic as the times. Her business and her lifestyle have changed since then, but she wears well with her readers. She has developed strong survival skills and pilots her plane, stakes out her suspects and takes them down like the pro she has become.

THE EVER-RUNNING MAN is as taut and finely honed a mystery as any of the preceding 24 Sharon McCone novels.

--- Reviewed by Roz Shea