Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question (USA 2011)

From the Publisher:
There's trouble in Sharon McCone's quiet San Francisco apartment building. Madame Anya - with her cards, her tame crow, and her candles - had predicted evil for Molly Antonio. Linnea Carraway, drinking heavily and careening crazily in the wake of a divorce, had argued with her. Now the sweet, elderly Molly lies dead in her apartment. Linnea, last to see Molly alive, is the prime suspect and if Sharon means to clear her best friend, she has to find the murderer fast. Sleuthing out the small-time secrets of her quirky neighbors leads Sharon in and around the neighborhood, and, much to her surprise, to a shocking string of big-time deals and blackmail. Suddenly death is in the cards, threatening Sharon's oldest friendship, her professional credibility - and her life.

Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question. A Sharon McCone Mystery. Blackstone, ISBN: 9781609986568 (October, 2011), eBook, 479 KB (ca. 224 p.), $6.99.

Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question (UK 2000)

From the Publisher:
Meet Sharon McCone, private eye. Tough-talking and streetwvise. But what is going on when murders start taking place in her own apartment block?

Who would have wanted to kill Molly Antonio, the nicest woman in Sharon's building? Madam Anya had warned Molly that the cards foretold evil, and Sharon's friend Linnea Carraway looks like the number one suspect.

Now it's all a bit too close to home for McCone, racing against the clock to find the killer and to clear her friend. Then she comes across a string of big-time deals, brutal blackmail and murder, to which even the experts have bee blind. Can she find the solution, save her professional credibility - and her life?

Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question. A Sharon McCone Mystery. The Women's Press; ISBN: 0704346788 (October, 2000), 224 p., £5.99.

Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question (USA 1993)

From the Publisher:
There's trouble in Sharon McCone's quiet San Francised apartment building. Madame Anya, with her cards, her tame crow, and her candles, had predicted evil for Molly Antonio. Linnea Carraway, drinking heavily and careening crazily in the wake of a divorce, had argued with her. Now the sweet, elderly lady lies dead in her apartment. Linnea. last to see Molly alive, is the prime suspect and if Sharon means to clear her best friend, she has to find the murderer fast. Sleuthing out the small-time secrets of her quirky neighbors leads Sharon in and around the neighborhood, and, much to her surprise, to a shocking string of big-time deals and blackmail. Suddenly death is in the cards threatening Sharon's oldest friendship, her professional credibility-and her life.

"MULLER'S FANS WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED." -- Publishers Weekly
"A COMPLEX CHILLER... PERFECTLY PLOTTED... McCONE REASSERTS HER BRAININESS AND BRASSINESS IN THE SOLUTION OF AN IRONCLAD CRIME." -- Booklist

MARCIA MULLER's Sharon McCone mysteries have won her critical acclaim and a devoted audience. With Sharon McCone, Ms. Muller has pioneered the hard-boiled female P.I. and created a character that has found a home in the hearts of mysterv lovers everywhere.

Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question. A Sharon McCone Mystery. The Mysterious Press published by Warner Books, ISBN: 0445408499 (July, 1993), 209 p., $4.99 (?).

Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question (USA 1990)

From the Publisher:
"Muller's fans won't be disappointed." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
PRIVATE EYE SHARON MCCONE IS faced with a murder case too close for comfort -- who would have wanted to kill Molly Antonio, the nicest lady in Sharon's building?

The San Francisco neighborhood seems a pretty sleepy place for a murder; the most exotic tenant is the hat-faced Madame Anya, who tells fortunes for five dollars... and who had warned Molly that the cards foretold evil things in store for her.

Sharon realizes that her impulsive and heavy-drinking friend Linnea Carraway was the last person to see Molly alive, and may be the prime suspect. As the detective works against time to find the killer and clear her friend, she encounters adventures that threaten not only her professional credibility, but even her life.

A string of big-time deals, brutal blackmail, and murder to which even the experts have been blind lead Sharon to a surprising solution--just in time.

"Perfectly plotted... McCone reasserts her braininess and brassiness in the solution of an ironclad crime... a complex chiller." — BOOKLIST

Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question. A Sharon McCone Mystery. Mysterious Press, ISBN: 0445408499 (April, 1990), 209 p., $3.95.

Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question (USA 1982)

From the Publisher:
Savvy and sure of herself, private eye Sharon McCone has enough on her hands without a murder case. Her old friend, Linnea Carraway, has moved lock, stock, and barrel into Sharon's tiny apartment. And Lieutenant Greg Marcus, head of Homicide, who loves to woo Sharon with giant chocolate bunnies left in unlikely places, just won't take her seriously when it comes to investigative work. Now she's faced with a case too close for comfort -- who would have wanted to kill Molly Antonio, the nicest lady in Sharon's building?

Full of Social Security kibitzers, domino players, and the trainees from the local center for the blind, the San Francisco neighborhood seems a pretty sleepy place for a murder. About the most exotic tenant is the bat-faced Madame Anya who tells fortunes for five dollars a shot... and who had warned Molly that she saw evil things ahead for her in the cards.

But the Mission District yields some unlikely suspects -- Mr. Moe, the Arab grocer with his own tragic axe to grind; Sebastian, the blind man who delivers brushes made at the Center; Jeffrey Neverman, the creepy husband of the eccentric fortune teller; and Herb Clemente, the cynical director of the Center whose idealism disappeared long ago. Sharon's cool professional interest gets a little more personal when she realizes that her heavy-drinking, impulsive friend was the last person to see Molly alive, and may be a prime suspect in her murder.

The lively young detective works against time to find the killer in a fast-paced adventure that threatens not only Sharon's professional credibility but even her life. A string of big-time deals, brutal blackmail, and murder to which even the experts have been blind lead Sharon to a surprising solution -- just in time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
The author of Edwin of the Iron Shoes (1977), Marcia Muller was a freelance journalist and magazine writer before turning to detective fiction. She lives in San Francisco, and this is her second Sharon McCone mystery.

Marcia Muller: Ask the Cards a Question. A Mystery. New York: St Martin's Press, 1982, ISBN: 0312056532, 169 p., $10.95.