Edwin of the Iron Shoes

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.

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Start to the Series, But Nothing Spectacular
Review: Private eye Sharon McCone was hired by All Souls Cooperative, a San Francisco legal services plan, to discover who was vandalizing a small street of antique shops when one of the antique dealers was found murdered in her own shop. Sharon had no idea who had killed Joan Albritton, a pleasant older woman whose main fault was talking to the dressmaker's dummy, the stuffed German shepherd, and the little boy mannequin she kept in her shop, but she didn't feel confident in the police's ability to discover the killer. Especially after she met the unpleasantly patronizing Lieutenant Marcus who was in charge of the case. Uncertain of whether she would be paid for her work or not, but refusing to allow Joan Albritton's killer to go free, Sharon starts her investigation.

Suspects abound, with Charlie, the junkman who ran the shop across the street from Joan's, at the forefront. Charlie was Joan's former lover, recently jilted for a wealthier man, and he was the one who had discovered the body and called the police. Then there was Cara Ingalls, a real estate mogul with ice running through her veins. She made no secret of the fact that she was glad that Joan was gone so that she could buy the land and force the antique dealers out. Of course, Cara was not the only one trying to buy the land and then there was the slimy bond bailsman and the slick "antique-style" dealer who kept popping up at every corner. Not to mention the puzzling Lieutenant Marcus, who was grateful for Sharon's help and then pushing her aside the next. As Sharon takes more and more risks, she comes closer to solving Joan's death, but she also comes closer to being murdered herself...

Edwin of the Iron Shoes is the First Sharon McCone mystery and it was just okay. The book was well written, but the story was pretty simplistic and the characterization was pretty inconsistent. Sharon McCone is billed as this hard-boiled female private investigator, but I thought that she was pretty stupid myself. She took a lot of unnecessary risks and managed to solve the case more by being the only one around then following the clues properly. Also, I know that this book was written quite some time ago (I have the 1977 edition), but I have a hard time believing that the police ever invited female private investigators to look over the crime scene while the body was still there. With a stronger plot, more believe characters and some additional detail, this mystery would have been much better. Hopefully the series improves as it goes along...

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: This is the 1st of the Sharon McCone books. I discovered it when another author's fictional detective referred to McCone on a "case." And holy cow! This book is copyrighted 1977. Where has it been hiding from me? Sharon McCone is quite a bit like Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone (or vice versa), which is truly high praise from me. It's savvy, sexy, exciting stuff. McCone is way cool. EDWIN OF THE IRON SHOES is set mostly in an antique shop with the eerie "characters" of a headless mannequin named Clothilde and a little "boy" named Edwin who has strange iron shoes. The author creates only a sketchy sense of place, but a definite sense of character, with some really fun potental villains. A very interesting ultimate motive for the murder makes for a satisfying ending. I can see why this is such a popular series. I loved it!

Rating:
Summary: Sharon's First Outing
Review: This is the first Sharon McCone mystery written by Marcia Muller. In it, we find beginning her career with the All-Soul Legal Co-Op. This is a fine first novel and gives an early taste of some wonderful stories to come.