Marcia Muller, The Ever Running Man

The Ever Running Man

Marcia Muller

Warner, July 2007, $24.99

ISBN: 0446582425

Renshaw & Kessell International corporate security firm hires Sharon McCone to uncover who is responsible for the recent bombings of their facilities, that has killed several employees and obviously has damaged their reputation. McCone accepts the case, although she has reservations because her husband Hy Ripinsky works there. The partners Gage Renshaw and Dan Kessell explain to McCone that they need an outsider with a fresh perspective who solves crimes, rather than prevents or negotiates as they do. They also mention the "ever-running man" is behind the bombings. As she leaves, the SF office is hit, with security guard Jimmy Banks dead and McCone fortunate but now angry.

She realizes the ever-running man is nearby, but wonders how he knows the layouts of RKI, except if he is or was an insider. She begins questioning management, including an irate Hy about some of the historical questionable cases that he prefers left buried. As the married couple argues below the belt, including comparisons to his first wife "Saint Julie"; the ever running man knows that McCone is investigating and decides she must die for not minding her business, even if that is her business, and Hy also must be killed for his role in the firm.

The ever running McCone mystery series remains as fresh and exciting, although this is the twenty fifth entry. The story line plays out on two interrelated levels; the investigation and its impact on the relationship between Hy and Sharon that has exploded into acrimony. Fans will learn more about Hy's life that he does not want to divulge, even to his spouse. The ever running man is a great villain, as he plays cat and mouse with McCone, whose professional and personal lives have mixed together with neither looking quite upbeat. Marcia Muller is at her best with this brisk McCone mystery.