The Everrunning Man [Hardcover]

Marcia Muller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2007

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.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. After 25 books in 30 years, the novelty of a female private eye such as MWA Grand Master Muller's Sharon McCone has worn off, but McCone has only gained luster since her original appearance in Edwin of the Iron Shoes (1977). The San Francisco investigator is in top form as she unravels a case that may unravel her marriage. When Renshaw & Kessell International, a maverick corporate security firm dealing in contingency plans for kidnappings and hostage situations, hires McCone after a series of bombings has damaged its facilities, she starts by looking into the checkered pasts of the firm's co-owners. Readers may find the collateral damage that threatens to tear apart McCone's private life as involving as the search for the bomber, who soon moves from demolition to murder. Muller delivers the complete package, an absorbing mystery with a familiar and evolving cast and enough grit to give it satisfying substance. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Someone is bombing the offices and safe houses of REI, a security firm headquartered in San Francisco, and Hy Ripinksy, one of the partners in the firm, hires Sharon McCone to investigate. A shadowy figure, dubbed the ever-running man, has been seen leaving each location where there has been an explosion. When another device is detonated at REI's home office, a security guard dies, and McCone narrowly escapes. Her investigation leads to the discovery of corruption and other dark secrets in the past of the firm's partners—revelations that may jeopardize her marriage, but McCone continues to probe, convinced that both her own and her husband's lives are at stake. Relatively few long-running mystery series succeed in dramatizing a hero's subtle changes over time, as he or she moves from one phase of life to another, but Muller's Sharon McCone novels excel in this regard (as do her husband Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective novels). The marital tensions, as well as the suspenseful plot and the scenic locations along the California coast, make this one a surefire hit with McCone's many fans. Bibel, Barbara --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; First Edition edition (July 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892968060
• ISBN-13: 978-0892968060
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,730,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MARCIA MULLER has written many novels and short stories. Her novel "Wolf in the Shadows" won the Anthony Boucher Award. The recipient of the Private Eye Writers of America's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award - their highest accolade - she lives in northern California with her husband, mystery writer Bill Pronzini.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gift to the Ever-Reading Fans, July 22, 2007

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ever-Running Man (Sharon McCone Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Curiouser and Curiouser, August 3, 2007

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ever-Running Man (Sharon McCone Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vengence is Mine, July 5, 2008

By 

Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Ever-Running Man (Sharon McCone Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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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