Point Deception [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Marcia Muller (Author), Ray Gautreau (Reader), Laural Merlington (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2001

A bestselling journalist, Guy Newberry is known for his articles on the plight of troubled communities. Shortly after his arrival in the small seaside community of Signal Port, California, a town that has never recovered from the unsolved murder of two young families 13 years ago, another nightmare begins. An unidentified woman's body washes up at nearby Point Deception, immediately stirring up old feelings of fear and suspicion. Relentless in pursuing his story, and haunted by a tragedy in his own past, Newberry does not let up, instilling fear in the town's sheriff, Rhoda Swift, who fears his prying will destroy her town. But as more women die and public panic sets in, Newberry and Swift form an uneasy alliance and unite in a confrontation with a killer whose motives are not as random as they seem.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A new Marcia Muller book is always cause for celebration, and in this brooding, melancholy thriller she introduces a compelling new heroine. Rhoda "Rho" Swift is a deputy sheriff in California's fictional Soledad County. She is still tormented by a 13-year-old multiple murder in Cascade Canyon, where two counterculture families and their children were slain by an unknown killer. And when the body of an unidentified woman washes up in the waters off nearby Point Deception and two other local women go missing, Rhoda fears that the anniversary of the Canyon murders has unleashed another killing spree. She's not alone. The scared, suspicious townspeople are wondering the same thing. They're also unhappy that Guy Newberry, a New York writer whose bestselling books have exposed the secrets of other small towns, has turned up in Soledad trying to ferret out theirs. But Rho and Guy have something in common besides trying to learn why trouble has come back to Point Deception: they're both running from their own demons, and even the attraction that's starting to grow between them can't change the past.

Muller's intricate plotting and strong narrative flow have won a dedicated fan base for her Sharon McCone series, and both qualities are on full display here. She's skilled at evoking the landscape and atmosphere of her native California, and even her minor characters (like Wayne Gilardi, Rho's fellow cop, and Jack Swift, her father) are complex and interesting enough that their sketched-in back stories are worth telling. A terrific read from a master of the genre, Point Deception is Muller at her best. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

You can taste the fog and smell the seaweed along Highway 1 in Boucher Award-winner Muller's Soledad County even though it's a fictional entity pasted between the real Mendocino and Humboldt Counties on California's northern coast. You can also feel the despair and frustration that hover over the area, scene of some particularly brutal murders 13 years before. Taking a break from her justly praised Sharon McCone series, Muller creates a compelling (if somewhat predictable) story of a community and its inhabitants whose faith in themselves and in each other has been poisoned by the past. Sheriff's Deputy Rhoda Swift, now in her mid-30s, was a rookie cop who made some mistakes on her first big job investigating the shooting deaths of six adults and two children in a post-hippie commune in Cascada Canyon. After driving past a young woman standing next to her disabled sports car at the Point Deception turnout, Rho turns back to help, but a sudden emergency call takes her elsewhere. The disappearance and later murder of the stranded motorist sets off another round of violence and guilt. Guy Newberry, a successful New York-based writer of true-crime books, tries to break out of the slough of despond caused by the death of his wife by digging up the Cascada Canyon graves. He and Rho forge a touchy, believable bond, and Muller's circle of secondary characters is wide and deep, but most readers will come away from this one humming the scenery instead of the plot. (July 31)Forecast: Lots of McCone fans should be drawn to their favorite author's first stand-alone mystery.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Unabridged Library Edition; Unabridged edition (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587882531
• ISBN-13: 978-1587882531
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,464,129 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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Muller has another winning character in Rho Swift, August 24, 2001

By 

Moe811 (New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Point Deception (Hardcover)

I picked up this book expecting to be disappointed. I have been reading the Sharon McCone series so long that I didn't think that Ms. Muller could write anyone as well. I was wrong. I picked up this book yesterday and couldn't put it down until I read the last word. Rho and Guy are two very sympathetic but human characters with terrible past experiences that they have managed to overcome-mostly. The novel is set in a little coastal town in Northern California. Almost thirteen years ago, horrible massacre occurred in Cascade Canyon. Six adults and two children were brutally murdered. Only one child survived. The tragedy pretty much killed the spirit of the town, and almost destroyed Deputy Rho Swift. Guy Newberry, a writer who specializes in stories about towns in trouble, is researching a book about the murders and their effect on the community. Together, they work to solve the murders and get past their pasts.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MULLER'S AMAZING FLEXIBILITY, August 20, 2001

By 

Kent Braithwaite (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Point Deception (Hardcover)

As a mystery author who juggles two protagonists (one for novels and one for short stories)with varying degrees of success, I am amazed at Marcia Muller's masterful flexibility. Sharon McCone is certainly her most famous lead. There are also some books with Elena Olivarez or Joanna Stark in the lead. Each series has its own tone and subject matter, perfectly appropriate for each series. In POINT DECEPTION, Marcia Muller has either written a magnificent stand-alone thriller or a solid debut of a new mystery series. POINT DECEPTION is basically a police procedural starring Deputy Sheriff Rhoda Swift. She is haunted by a mass murder dating from the start of her career and as the anniversary of that murder rolls around a New York writer named Guy Newberry shows up to write about the unsolved homicides. More deaths occur in time present, and Rho wants to solve all of the crimes. Rho Swift is a complex character. She carries this book, and she could carry a series. The plot is complicated yet believable, and Ms. Muller's writing is up to its usual highest standards. We have a terrific book here.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Point Deception proves that Marcia Muller.., November 3, 2001

By 

L. Quido "quidrock" (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Point Deception (Hardcover)

writes an outstanding, complex tale of murder and betrayal, even when the book does not feature old favorite Sharon McCone.

Point Deception tells the story of Rhoda Swift, a young deputy in a rural California location who has been unable to bury the past of her first murder case, a case that has never been solved.

A well-known writer is tricked into exploring the area, and uncovering the old case, just as new murders, linked in some way
to the old case, occur. His friendship with Rhoda turns into
a partnership that leads them back in time, and through some terrifying moments, to discover the full truth.

Muller uses different points of view, most notably that of the newest victim, explored before her death takes place, to weave her tale. One of Muller's strong points is her character development; many of the characters here are rich with strong opinions, and no one in this small town can cast stones at any of the other residents - all have contributed to the decay and depression that pervades, and the cynicism that arises from that feeling. Also an impressive creator of scenic areas that come alive under her pen, Muller gives us a stark view of the crime scenes and the forest canyon area that contains the murder secrets of the past.

You'll find the book difficult to put down once you've started, so set aside some time!