Rating: 
Summary: A fast but effective read!
Review: "Dead Midnight" by Marcia Muller is a fast but effective afternoon read.The story in itself was a quick read. I couldn't actually believe how quickly I finished the book. But on the otherhand it was far from dull or boring! Quite effective in satisfying my thrust for suspense and mystery. The characters were plenty realistic enough. The dialogue easy to relate to. And the plot entertaining. Nicey done... John Savoy
C.E.O. & Financial Advisor
Savoy International
Motion Pictures INC.
Rating:
Summary: Dead Midnight
Review: "Dead Midnight" is the 22nd Sharon McCone novel by Marcia Muller. Shortly after learning of the suicide of her brother Joey, Sharon is hired to investigate the apparent suicide of Roger Nagasawa who worked for InSite, an online magazine. As Sharon investigates she finds that Nagasawa had learned something that would implicate one of the executives at the magazine. When Nagasawa's friend Jody Houston leaves San Francisco, and Sharon's reporter friend J. D. Smith is found murdered, she realizes that she is dealing with someone who will stop at nothing to cover up their crimes. This is not my favorite Sharon McCone novel, but it is always a pleasure to spend a few hours with Sharon McCone.
Rating: 
Summary: MULLER AND McCONE ARE MAGNIFICENT
Review: As everyone is wont to say: time does fly. It's a quarter of a century since ace mystery author Marcia Muller brought San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone onto the literary scene. McCone was one of the first female PIs, and one of the most compelling. She still is. It's hard to believe that Muller is getting better because, for many, she started at the top rung of this genre. Nonetheless, "Dead Midnight" is superb, above and beyond her past work. With this, the 22nd McCone adventure, McCone is still trying to recover from the suicide of her brother. Then, there is another suicide. A talented, hip, young man who has a good job with an online magazine takes his own life. What caused him to leap from the Bay Bridge? His family's sorrow pierces McCone's heart as she relives the grief she felt and still feels at the loss of her brother. Perhaps it is this empathy that enures her to the danger she soon finds herself in. Muller is one in a million and so is McCone. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Marcia Muller's Sharon Mc Cone is the best of the female PIs
Review: Beginning a Sharon McCone novel is like meeting with old friends: you enjoy finding out what's new with familiar characters and meeting new ones, visiting familiar haunts in San Francisco and knowing you will be entertained from the very first page. This is the 22nd Sharon McCone novel and Marcia Muller is still at the top of her game. Lots of things have happened to Sharon recently, particularly the suicide death of her brother Joey, only a short time after her father's death. Sharon is wondering if she could have done more to help Joey, when she is offered a case involving another suicide. This case, involving Roger Nagasawa, a young employee in a hip, online magazine, is to investigate whether overwork and mistreatment caused his death and thus could be the basis of a lawsuit against the company. Sharon almost refuses to take the case since it is so close to real life. But she does take it and is soon caught up in the vicious dog-eat-dog world of a dot.com struggling to survive. What did Roger find out about a conspiracy to sink the company and what did this have to do with his suicide? A number of clues surface which show Roger had found things someone wanted to hide Before Sharon finds the answer, an old friend is murdered and some of the evidence points to her. Woven integrally into the story are threads of venture capital business, computer security, personal privacy, and greed--all which add interest and intrigue to a very fast paced story. Over the years Sharon McCone has kept the elements that we have enjoyed--her feistiness, ingenuity, and independence but she has also matured, developing a good-sized PI firm and lots of interesting coworkers and supporting characters that we have come to know and love. It just keeps getting better and better....
Rating:
Summary: Dead Midnight: A Dark Dot.Comedy
Review: Dead Midnight by Marcia Muller is a partial return to the old days of Sharon McCone. In this entry to the McCone series, there is no flight in a small plane, no Hy to the rescue, no searching for long lost ancestors [Listen To The Silence is a great, but very different, Sharon McCone novel], and very little travel outside of San Francisco. The book starts with the suicide of Sharon's brother Joey and a case involving the suicide of a young man whose family believes he was worked to death by an online magazine. Contemplating the whys of suicide pretty much go by the wayside as Sharon dives into the daily life of the family she's working for and the excessive goings on at the 'zine. This novel abounds with unlikable folks who deserve to get what's coming to them. On the one hand, the story kept me up to the wee hours of the morning several nights in a row. On the other hand, the story drifted from serious to dark comedy and could have been a little tighter. Call this one a 4.3 star book.
Rating:
Summary: Muller and McCone Back on Track
Review: Despite a somewhat convoluted ending, I thought this was one of the more successful McCone mysteries in recent memory. I, for one, have not embraced the increasingly high-tech nature of McCone's practice over the years, so it was good to see her relying more this time around on good old-fashioned leg-work. And although Muller's dialogue is not always believable, her writing is better than most of those who are currently putting out this kind of disposable whodunit. All in all a great beach read, no thinking required.
Rating:
Summary: Marcia Muller
Review: Good stories - great mystery and suspense. Don't know how Muller keeps her freshness because she has given us many wonderful books but so far, I have not been disappointed. What I especially like is that you can start any of her books at any point and not feel like your time is wasted with 2 or 3 chapters that make reference to where her character has been or done in preceding novels. Thanks
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to par
Review: I just finished reading this book and it took me a month. I kept expecting it to get better but it never did. I would put it down for days before I would pick it back up. I even read another book during that time. Marcia Muller is a good author but this one just doesn't cut it. Sorry Marcia
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat Disjointed
Review: I usually devour all the books by Marcia Muller. She is an excellent writer of can't-put-it-down mysteries. I was a little disappointed in Dead Midnight. Her style was somewhat rambling. This book did not hold my attention as well as most of her efforts. The theme of suicide and the aftermath of survivor's guilt was realistic, however, and I'm sure it will touch a chord in many readers' lives. The plot was well thought out and researched thoroughly. We're all aware of corruption in business and the ups and downs of the stock market. I do suggest reading it, but I'm not sure that I want to own it to read over and over again.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing & Frustrating
Review: I usually enjoy Marcia Muller's books, but as a mystery fan I find few things as frustrating as a mystery novel that doesn't solve the mystery--or mysteries, as the case may be. This one leaves so many loose ends dangling I found myself wishing for a Q&A with the author at the story's end. There are explanations that don't fit the story's timeline, characters whose involvement in and/or motivation for various crimes is never explained, and a climax that was, frankly, flat. If I were a client of Ms. McCone and received a report with this many holes in it, I wouldn't pay her fee.
| 
