Beyond the Grave [Mass Market Paperback]

Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini team up for a novel that takes place in two times focusing on the same mystery. Elena Oliverez, in the present day, accidentally stumbles upon a piece of the report of one Detective Quincannon, hired to find the stolen treasures of a Mexican ranchero in the 1890s. As Oliverez gets absorbed in Quincannon's story, she finds herself looking to solve the mystery Quincannon wasn't able to uncover eighty years previously.

The two stories interlock without a hitch, and both Oliverez and Quincannon are engaging protagonists. This is quick, easy beach fare; fast-paced, homey, digestible, and well worth the time for mystery fans. Those who haven't yet discovered either Muller or Pronzini, this is one of many good starting points. ***

Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini team up for a novel that takes place in two times focusing on the same mystery. Elena Oliverez, in the present day, accidentally stumbles upon a piece of the report of one Detective Quincannon, hired to find the stolen treasures of a Mexican ranchero in the 1890s. As Oliverez gets absorbed in Quincannon's story, she finds herself looking to solve the mystery Quincannon wasn't able to uncover eighty years previously.

The two stories interlock without a hitch, and both Oliverez and Quincannon are engaging protagonists. This is quick, easy beach fare; fast-paced, homey, digestible, and well worth the time for mystery fans. Those who haven't yet discovered either Muller or Pronzini, this is one of many good starting points...

As far as I can determine, Muller and Pronzini have collaborated on three novels: LIGHTHOUSE, a stand-alone thriller; DOUBLE, a Nameless/McCone mystery; and BEYOND THE GRAVE, featuring two of the authors' lesser-known series characters, Muller's art museum director Elena Oliverez and Pronzini's late-19th-century San Francisco detective John Quincannon. As in DOUBLE, the authors alternate -- first, we get a few chapters told from Oliverez's point of view, and then we switch to Quincannon. What makes this collaboration noteworthy is that the Quincannon chapters take place in 1894, Oliverez's in the 1980s.

Oliverez has bought a Mexican wedding chest at auction for her art museum, and when she's examining it, she finds an old report written by Quincannon inside a hidden compartment. He had been on the trail of some lost religious artifacts, but apparently was never able to find them. By using Quincannon's report, Oliverez hopes to recover the valuable pieces. In the process of searching, both characters encounter murder and face danger.

The story flows seamlessly between past and present. While these may be the authors' second-string characters, this book is definitely never second rate.