Locked In

13. Locked In, by Marcia Muller

The 27th Sharon McCone mystery finds McCone hospitalized, paralyzed by a gunshot wound to the head, in a "locked-in" state, meaning that she can hear, she can think, but she cannot move or talk. At best, she can respond by blinking - once for "yes", twice for "no".

Her colleagues gather to try to find out who attacked her, delving through old files on the not unreasonable assumption that this was likely related to one of her old cases.

Ordinarily, Muller writes from McCone's point of view. But because of the situation in which she has placed her protagonist, this book is written from multiple points of view. It's a departure which I found interesting, and which worked, particularly as we also got inside Sharon's head as she responded mentally to what she was being told by others. Muller really captured the frustration that someone who is "locked-in" must feel, particularly if that person is ordinarily as physically and mentally active as McCone.

Although some McCone fans may feel there is not enough of her in this novel, I liked this unexpected twist.

Burn Out

18. Burn Out, by Marcia Muller

Private investigator Sharone McCone is burnt out. Just off an investigation involving her husband, Hy Ripinksy's, security firm, an investigation that nearly got them both killed, she's tired. Tired of investigating, tired of running her agency. So she heads off to their ranch for a little R&R, and some time away from it all to try to figure out what she wants to do.

This being a detective novel, she's not allowed to have that quiet time. Trying to help her ranch foreman deal with some family issues, she finds a young relative of his murdered, another disappears. And, despite her intentions, McCone finds herself in the middle of the investigation. In the process, she moves foreward in making reconnections with her recently found birth father, and her Shoshone heritage.

I must admit that I figured out who and what was behind the killings before McCone did. But then, I had the advantage of knowing the conventions required by this genre. The book's a good one, and I always appreciate the fact that Muller treats Sharon and Hy and their families (birth, adoptive and chosen) as people with lives, who grow and change.