From Publishers Weekly
In the 20th Sharon McCone mystery, the San Francisco-based PI leaves her usual haunts for Hawaii. McCone's downstairs office neighbor, Glenna Stanleigh, is a documentary filmmaker with a project on the island of Kauai. Glenna and her partner, Peter Wellbright, are making a film about Hawaiian legends and myths, based on the writings of Peter's father, Elson Wellbright, a descendant of early missionaries to the islands. There have been a series of accidents on the film set, and Glenna suspects that someone is trying to kill her or a member of her crew. Can McCone help? McCone is not licensed to operate in Hawaii, so she takes along her lover, Hy Ripinsky, and finds a way to work with the local branch of his security company, RKI. As she delves into the curious circumstances on the set, McCone keeps running into trouble with the large, influential and badly dysfunctional Wellbright family. Two family membersAElson himself and his youngest sonAhave gone missing for some years, and nobody seems to care much. As her inquiries lead her inevitably into learning more about the local folklore and history, McCone falls under the spell of the islands. She also fights an attraction to Russ Tanner, a local helicopter pilot and distant relative of the Wellbrights. Along with a taut, expertly plotted story, Muller conveys the magical appeal of Kauai, as well as the long-simmering resentment of some of the islanders toward white settlers. The Hawaiian setting, so well employed by Muller, reinvigorates a veteran, if a consistently entertaining and imaginative, PI series.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In her 20th appearance, Sharon McCone is seduced by the legends of Hawaii and nearly by one particular Hawaiian. Brought to Kauai initially to investigate "accidents" on the set of her filmmaker friend's documentary, McCone finds herself dealing with murder, Hawaiian militants, and drug dealers. At times deliciously devious, the plot, which combines past and present ? la Ross MacDonald, ultimately may be too complex even for diehard mystery readers. Nevertheless, Muller fans will await this.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
