Locked In (Sharon McCone Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Marcia Muller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2010 | Series: Sharon McCone Mysteries

Shot in the head by an unknown assailant, San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone finds herself trapped by locked-in syndrome: almost total paralysis but an alert, conscious mind. As she lies in her hospital bed, furiously trying to break out of her body's prison, all the members of her agency fan out to find the reason she was attacked. Meanwhile, Sharon becomes an incapacitated detective, evaluating the clues from her staff's separate investigations and discovering unsettling truths that could put her life in jeopardy again. But as the case draws to a shocking conclusion, her husband, Hy, threatens to return to his own violent past--and exact fatal vengeance on Sharon's would-be killer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Muller's harrowing 27th mystery to feature San Francisco PI Sharon McCone (after 2008's Burn Out) opens with a bang: returning to her office late one night, McCone is shot while interrupting a burglary. When she wakes up in the hospital, McCone is fully conscious but locked in. Paralyzed, she can communicate only by blinking her eyes. Muller articulates this chilling conceit with painful realism, even citing the popular French memoir about the locked-in syndrome, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Narrative duty falls on McCone's motley crew of co-workers and other series regulars like her husband, Hy Ripinsky. Each chapter, told from a different perspective, provides another clue in a convoluted case that includes multiple murders, a sex scandal in city government and the inevitable coverup. While this approach can be hard to follow at times, it provides Muller ample opportunity to showcase her strength at characterization. (Oct.)
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.

Review

On LOCKED IN:
"Throughout her many McCone novels, Muller has displayed a knack both for keeping the series fresh and for allowing her character to grow. She accomplishes both goals this time by taking McCone out of the spotlight but giving her fans a chance to root for her to recover. After all these years, Muller's series remains a gold standard for female detective stories." (Kirkus, starred review )

"Top-notch mystery and more from one of the genre's Grand Masters." (Library Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (October 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446400491
• ISBN-13: 978-0446400497
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #529,689 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

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Does It Feel To Be Locked In?, September 30, 2009

By 

B. Davis "crazy about books" (Beautiful Northwest USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Locked In (Sharon McCone Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Written with the precision of a master craftsman, Locked In, by Marcia Muller will excite her fans, just as her previous works have stirred and thrilled them in the past.

In this book, Detective Sharon McCone is shot in the head by an unknown gunman. The devastating injury leaves her unable to move or speak. She can only blink her eyes in response to questions, but her mind is as sharp as ever. The reader enters Sharon's thoughts and misery as she confronts her fears and her frustration. Is she going to die? Will she be taken off of life support? She cannot communicate, so how can she save herself, or find the person who did this to her? Sharon is on a rollercoaster ride between death and life.

Ms. Muller's latest mystery is well-developed, unique, suspense filled, and very moving. It was also a fast read. I finished it within 24 hours.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner in a great series!, October 4, 2009

By 

Mary J. Gramlich "The Reading Reviewer" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Locked In (Sharon McCone Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Sharon "Shar" McCone has worked so many cases from Private Investigation firm she owns and always thought the best case was the resolved case. But she never thought that she would solve the case that involved her own shooting and all this without a voice but being she is pivotal to solving this crime.

This nightmare all starts one night when Shar being at the wrong place at the wrong time results in receiving a bullet to the head. Though her team is frantic for answers and at first scramble for direction they never lose the focus of finding whoever did this to her. While they have to watch Shar in a medically frozen condition known as "locked-in" syndrome where she has rational thought but cannot move or communicate in any fashion. But even without an ability of physical movement or a voice it is apparent that she was going to help them solve the crime and Shar is trying very hard to get someone; especially her husband Hy to hear her and figure out that she has a voice even without words.

What Shar has filled her life with multi-faceted family member and friends who she has over the years help save and reconstruct their own lives. Now that it is her turn to be the victim and the crime to be solved everyone in the agency from the top down strives to find the person who shot Shar and bring them to justice one way or another. There is no one on her team from her nephew Mick, her complicated biological and adoptive parents to everyone one at the office. They all share bloodlines whether by relation or devotion to one another.

But every time an answer seems to reveal itself another problem arises and when the individual pieces of the case collide headlong into each other it appears there may be more than embezzlement problems at city hall to investigate there may be a traitor amongst the team. How could someone slip past the background check, is it possible that a devoted employee is really a snake in the grass?

This long running series has always been a winner but this book has so many twists and a story within the story that you are totally enthralled with the way everything plays out. You go down one road only to hit a dead end but that dead end takes you through the woods where you find evidence that may lead to yet another clue. The multiple point-of-views may distract at first from following the plot but trust me there is not one moment where you feel you are missing any of the action because there is so much of it and allot of people to tell the story. For Shar to go from case solver to the victim completely throws everyone off balance but every member of her team proves they are a group of individuals that can act as one.

Mary Gramlich (The Reading Reviewer) [...]

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Muller does it again..., October 13, 2009

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Locked In (Sharon McCone Mysteries) (Hardcover)

If you aren't already a Sharon McCone fan, don't read this book. Locked In assumes the reader recognizes members of Sharon's biological, adopted and professional family. Part of the charm of this book is seeing the way these folks respond to Sharon's accident and assume new roles.

Sure we get a few details as each character is introduced, just enough to remind us who they are. But if you're new to the series, you will probably be confused and maybe even bored.

I was dismayed when I first opened the book and realized the premise. I didn't like it. I like Sharon McCone as tough investigator, not hospital patient. But, encouraged by other reviewers, I dipped back into the novel and soon got hooked.

Muller introduces each piece of a complex puzzle. She does a masterful job of keeping the different characters, suspects, leads and stories straight and consistent. As you read each character's involvement, you see the pieces come together, with an intricate plot and generally plausible motives. Part of the political subplot seemed a little over the top. It's not as deeply satisfying as my favorite in the series, Listen to the Silence. We don't get the character depth of other Muller novels because each character zips in and out, like actors in an ensemble production.

But as contemporary mystery novels go, this one is one of the best. I was never tempted to peek at the ending and I had to force myself to stop and do some work. That's what a good mystery does.

Highly recommended to Sharon McCone fans. Otherwise, start with some of the earlier novels...you've go a lot to read and you are lucky to be discovering this series.

But it's definitely a solid piece of writing and a suspenseful novel.