Rating: 
Summary: Edwin of the Iron Shoes
Review: "Edwin of the Iron Shoes" is Marcia Muller's first Sharon McCone novel, and the first hard-boiled female private investigator novel published. It was written in 1977, and since then there have been a rash of hard-boiled female private eye novels published. McCone works for All Souls Legal Cooperative. A small-time antique store owner is murdered with a dagger from one of her display cases. Edwin of the Iron Shoes is a little-boy mannequin with iron shoes who "witnesses" the murder, but of course can't speak. This is a very good novel, which I would give 4 stars in a usual review, but the impact this novel has had on American mystery fiction earns it a 5th star. Marcia Muller was the first, and in my opinion, still the best by far.
Rating:
Summary: Edwin of the Iron Shoes
Review: "Edwin of the Iron Shoes" is Marcia Muller's first Sharon McCone novel, and the first hard-boiled female private investigator novel published. It was written in 1977, and since then there have been a rash of hard-boiled female private eye novels published. McCone works for All Souls Legal Cooperative. A small-time antique store owner is murdered with a dagger from one of her display cases. Edwin of the Iron Shoes is a little-boy mannequin with iron shoes who "witnesses" the murder, but of course can't speak. This is a very good novel, which I would give 4 stars in a usual review, but the impact this novel has had on American mystery fiction earns it a 5th star. Marcia Muller was the first, and in my opinion, still the best by far.
Rating:
Summary: A Very nice start
Review: I am a fan of Ms Muller's,and I thought I'd go back to the beginning. I was not at all disappointed. This is a thoroughly enjoying who-dunnit and I recommend it to you. As you read it you can see the clues that she will make this character a winner. It is uncluttered by her usual gang who will probably be introduced later, so her effort is focused and her characterizations really overwhelm in this effort. I will now go through the rest of her books, in order, resting assured they we be as good as the last.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent First Mystery Book
Review: I read this book a number of years ago, but recently decided to go back and try to read the Sharon McCone books in order.I was not disappointed. The first time I read this book I did not realize what an excellent first mystery book this is. Sharon McCone is a likeable and believable character. I liked the information about the world of art and antiques. If you haven't read any of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone books, I highly recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent First Mystery Book
Review: I read this book a number of years ago, but recently decided to go back and try to read the Sharon McCone books in order. I was not disappointed. The first time I read this book I did not realize what an excellent first mystery book this is. Sharon McCone is a likeable and believable character. I liked the information about the world of art and antiques. If you haven't read any of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone books, I highly recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: Debut of a long-running series
Review: It took me a long time to discover Marsha Muller, but I am glad that I finally did. This is the first installment of her Sharon McCone Mystery Series which had a strong influence on later female authors and heroines. Sue Grafton, in a quote on the book jacket calls Muller the "founding mother of the contemporary female hard-boiled private eye". That's quite a claim considering how many well-known female investigators there are in fiction now. In this first installment, Sharon McCone is the investigator for a group of attorneys called All Souls Cooperative. Her boss Hank asks her to investigate the murder of an antique store owner who has been stabbed with one of her own knives. Sharon learns that the dead woman was about to make an important decision about selling her property and she feels that this might be a motive. She also discovers some shady goings-on among the art dealers and tries to fit this in to a motive for murder. Add to this some past and present romances, and there are several possible suspects. Muller's writing is clear and to-the-point. She tells a good story and carefully wraps up each loose end. I look forward to reading the other books in this series, which has so far spanned a 25-year period.
Rating:
Summary: Debut of a long-running series
Review: It took me a long time to discover Marsha Muller, but I am glad that I finally did. This is the first installment of her Sharon McCone Mystery Series which had a strong influence on later female authors and heroines. Sue Grafton, in a quote on the book jacket calls Muller the "founding mother of the contemporary female hard-boiled private eye". That's quite a claim considering how many well-known female investigators there are in fiction now. In this first installment, Sharon McCone is the investigator for a group of attorneys called All Souls Cooperative. Her boss Hank asks her to investigate the murder of an antique store owner who has been stabbed with one of her own knives. Sharon learns that the dead woman was about to make an important decision about selling her property and she feels that this might be a motive. She also discovers some shady goings-on among the art dealers and tries to fit this in to a motive for murder. Add to this some past and present romances, and there are several possible suspects. Muller's writing is clear and to-the-point. She tells a good story and carefully wraps up each loose end. I look forward to reading the other books in this series, which has so far spanned a 25-year period.
Rating:
Summary: A Very nice start
Review: Just as Dashiell Hammett invented the hard-boiled PI and paved the way for the future success of Chadler, Spillane, MacDonald, and others, so Marcia Muller created the equivalent concept of the female hard-boiled PI. Edwin is Muller's first novel, but her detective, Sharon McCone, springs to life fully formed and quite likeable. What's more, the book is actually a well-crafted mystery, a whodunit with very real clues and a killer not revealed until the very end (unlike some of Muller's inheritors, who seem to favor suspense over actual mystery). All in all, a very satisfying read, and especially interesting in light of it's status as originator. All you Paretsky and Grafton (and Cornell, etc) fans, give it a shot!
Rating:
Summary: If you like female PIs, go to the source
Review: Just as Dashiell Hammett invented the hard-boiled PI and paved the way for the future success of Chadler, Spillane, MacDonald, and others, so Marcia Muller created the equivalent concept of the female hard-boiled PI. Edwin is Muller's first novel, but her detective, Sharon McCone, springs to life fully formed and quite likeable. What's more, the book is actually a well-crafted mystery, a whodunit with very real clues and a killer not revealed until the very end (unlike some of Muller's inheritors, who seem to favor suspense over actual mystery). All in all, a very satisfying read, and especially interesting in light of it's status as originator. All you Paretsky and Grafton (and Cornell, etc) fans, give it a shot!
Rating: 
Summary: disappointment
Review: Ms. Muller's books get a lot of stars, so I was expecting something memorable. This is not it, maybe because it was an early book? The characters don't make sense, particularly sharon's relationship with a cop, who is first nasty (in a way that i would consider "over the top" for teasing) and later becomes just as inexplicably friendly. This was very jarring for the reader. I kept wondering why the beneficiary of the will, rather than the executor, was making legal decisions about the estate -- doesn't everyone know that there has to be an executor? this mistake bothered me. Regarding the actual antiques, while I don't really know, I find it hard to believe that business is conducted in the way described. All in all, pretty unpolished.
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