The Ever-Running Man

by: Marcia Muller

Published by: Hachette Books

Reviewed by Peg Brantley

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 McCone’s. 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.

Author’s Web site: http://www.MarciaMuller.com