Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye (USA 2011)

From the Publisher:
To tourists, bay-windowed Victorian mansions are quaint, peaceful symbols of old San Francisco, but on the secluded hill above Steiner Street, the gingerbread has sparked a bitter battle. Ambitious developers are pushing for restoration and residents are fighting for their homes...until a controversial restorationist is found dead on the job, awash in garish housepaint. Private investigator Sharon McCone is called in only to discover a second bitter feud, this time between the developers and members of the city's powerful architectural community. As workmen rip through layers of sheetrock, plaster, and wallpaper, McCone unearths another, older crime: a cache of stolen antiques comes to light; and a missing one-of-a-kind Tiffany lamp emblazoned with the glowing profile of the Cheshire Cat becomes McCone's most important clue. To catch a killer, she must follow its eerie, knowing grin before its hidden eye foresees a fatal future.

Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye. A Sharon McCone Mystery. Blackstone, ISBN: 9781609986575 (October, 2011), eBook, 595 KB (ca. 224 p.), $6.99.

Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye (UK 2003)

From the Publisher:
The brash and confident Sharon McCone is plunged into intrigue and murder as her snooping leads her to San Francisco's 'Painted Ladies', the landmark district of gaudily coloured Victorian houses. Responding to her old friend Jake Kaufmann's urgent call, Sharon is shocked to find him dead in a pool of red paint in the house he was restoring. Assuming that his killer will be found among the glamorous, fashionable figures of San Francisco's architectural community, Sharon is embroiled in the internal battles between the matronly, upper-crust preservationists, and the flamboyant defenders of the psychedelic houses. Her investigation narrows to the pursuit of a single, very valuable clue: a one-off Tiffany lamp with the grinning face of the Cheshire Cat emblazoned among the stained-glass leaves. But it is when Sharon herself is implicated in Jake's death that the pressure peaks - and it takes all of her daring to prove her innocence. Love, not money, is the motive for murder in this novel, the third in the Sharon McCone mystery series.

Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye. Robert Hale; ISBN: 0709073690 (April, 2003), 176 p., £17.99.

Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
STREET OF SECRETS...
To tourists, bay-windowed Victorian mansions are quaint, peaceful symbols of old San Francisco, but on the secluded hill above Steiner Street, the gingerbread has sparked a bitter battle. Ambitious developers are pushing for restoration and residents are fighting for their homes... until a controversial restorationist is found dead on the joy, awash in garish housepaint. Private investigator Sharon McCone is called in only to discover a second bitter feud, this time between the developers and members of the city's powerful architectural community.

As workmen rip through layers of Sheetrock, plaster, and wallpaper, McCone unearths another, older crime; a cache of stolen antiques comes to light; and a missing one-of-a-kind Tiffany lamp emblazoned with the glowing profile of the Cheshire Cat becomes McCone's most important grin before its hidden eye foresees a final future.

"THIS IS THE THIRD SHARON MCCONE MYSTERY AND THEY JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER." -- Publishers Weekly

Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye. A Sharon McCone Mystery. Mysterious Press; ISBN: 0445408502 (July, 1995), 207 p., $5.50.

Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye (USA 1990)

From the Publisher:
"This is the third Sharon McCone mystery and they just get better." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
0NCE AGAIN, SAVVY PRIVATE EYE Sharon McCone is plunged into intrigue and murder. This time her investigations lead her to San Francisco's "Painted Ladies" -- the landmark district of gaudily colored Victorian row houses.

Responding to her old friend Jake Kaufmann's urgent call, Sharon is shocked to find him dead in a pool of red paint in the house he was restoring. Assuming that his killer will be found among the glamorous, fashionable figures of the city's architectural community, Sharon is soon embroiled in the battles between the matronly, upper-crust preservationists and the flamboyant, funky defenders of the psychedelic houses.

Her investigation narrows to the pursuit of one very valuable clue: a one-of-a-kind Tiffany lamp emblazoned with the grinning face of the Cheshire Cat. But it is when Sharon herself is implicated in Jake's death that the pressure reaches its peak -- and it takes all of her daring to get herself out of this one.

"For devotees of the hard-boiled school, McCone is the best of a recent spate of female detectives." -- SAN FRANCISCO REVIEW OF BOOKS

Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye. A Sharon McCone Mystery. Mysterious Press; ISBN: 0445408502 (April, 1990), 207 p., $4.99.

Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye (USA 1983)

From the Publisher:
The suspects:
• wealthy, smooth-talking David Wintringham, the talented architect who is better at managing space than high finance
• Paul Collins, domestic and fastidious, his true nature concealed behind an obsequious facade
• Prince Albert, the foppish young artisan whose technical expertise diverts attention from his own unscrupulous schemes
• Charmaine, the interior designer, chic, inscrutable, and selfish to the core.

Once again, brash and savvy Sharon McCone is plunged into intrigue and murder. This time, her snooping leads her to San Francisco's "Painted Ladies, the landmark district of gaudily colored Victorian row houses. Responding to her old friend Jake Kaufmann's urgent call, Sharon is shocked to find him dead in a pool of red paint in the house he was restoring. Assuming that his killer will be found among the glamorous, fashionable figures of San Francisco's architectural community, Sharon is soon embroiled in the internal battles between the matronly, upper-crust preservationists and the flamboyant, flashy defenders of the psychedelic houses.

Marcia Muller: The Cheshire Cat's Eye. A Sharon McCone Mystery. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1983, ISBN: 0312131755, 149 p., $10.95.