Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things (USA 2011)

From the Publisher:
When a former sixties radical is murdered during a string of random sniper attacks, the All Souls Legal Cooperative must settle his surprisingly large estate. P.I. Sharon McCone comes across a new will, made just days before he died, that disinherits his two children in favor of four unknown and unconnected parties. McCone sifts through Perry Hilderly's belongings, but finds little to explain this puzzling change -- until she uncovers a .357 with the serial number burned off. As McCone tracks down the new beneficiaries she discovers that the shootings aren't so random after all and that the dead man isn't the only one with a lurid past. To find the killer, she must follow a treacherous trail of evidence that travels from the Vietnam years to the present. But along the way the elusive sniper waits in a homicidal rage and takes aim -- this time at All Souls and Sharon McCone.

Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things. A Sharon McCone Mystery. Blackstone, ISBN: 9781609986162 (December, 2011), eBook, 357 KB (ca. 274 p.), $6.99.

Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
SHOTS FROM THE SHADOWS
When a former sixties radical is murdered during a string of random sniper attacks, the All Souls Legal Cooperative must settle his surprisingly large estate. Then private investigator Sharon McCone comes across a new will, made just days before he died, that disinherits his two children in favor of four unknown and unconnected parties. McCone sifts through Perry Hilderly's belongings, but finds little to explain this puzzling change-until she uncovers a .357 with the serial number burned off.

As McCone tracks down the new beneficiaries she discovers that the shootings aren't so random after all and that the dead man isn't the only one with a lurid past. To link the heirs to the killings, she must follow a treacherous trail of evidence that travels from the Vietnam years to the present. But along the way the elusive sniper waits in a homicidal rage and takes aim-this time at All Souls and Sharon McCone.

"MULLER CREATES A FASCINATING TAPESTRY... TROPHIES AND DEAD THINGS IS, ABOVE ALL, A COMPELLING LOOK AT THE LEGACY OF THE '60S." -- Newsweek

Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things. A Sharon McCone Mystery. Warner Books, ISBN: 0446400394 (August, 1995), 266 p., $5.50.

Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things (UK 1992)

From the Publisher:
Another mystery featuring private investigator Sharon McCone. Four random killings take place in the San Fransisco Bay area, one of which is McCone's legal client, who has disinherited all his children in favour of four apparent strangers. As she tracks them down, a pattern emerges which leads back to Vietnam.

Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things. A Sharon McCone Mystery. The Women's Press, ISBN: 0704343142 (August, 1992), 266 p., £5.99.

Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things (USA 1991)

From the Publisher:
"Marcia Muller is the founding 'mother' of the contemporary female hard-boiled private eye." -- SUE GRAFTON
A RANDOM SERIES OF MURDERS IS ONLY a succession of headlines in the San Francisco Chronicle for investigator Sharon McCone until one of her legal co-op's clients becomes a victim. Perry Hilderly had been a founder of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement in the early 1960s. Although he had settled down and drawn up a proper will several years earlier, a holograph document was found among his possessions... the new will disinherits his children and leaves his considerable estate to four unknowns.

As Sharon tries to track down this strange quartet, she wonders what connection they had had with the dead man. One is a popular news anchor, one is a successful divorce attorney, one runs a Marin County horse stable, and the fourth is an alcoholic oysterman. Before long, Sharon notices a pattern -- a tangled pattern of involvement leading back to the Vietnam War.

When the random killer starts to strike closer to home, the facts behind Hilderly's death become less abstract. Never before has Sharon become so personally involved in a case -- and faced so squarely the brutal consequences of murderous rage.

"McCone is one of the most freshly conceived and complexly characterized of the female private eyes." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things. A Sharon McCone Mystery. Mysterious Press, ISBN: 0446400394 (October, 1991), 266 p., $4.99.

Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things (USA 1990)

From the Publisher:
The Sharon McCone mysteries have long been a favorite with readers and writers alike: "'Muller's distaff private eye continues to add a new human dimension to the genre," wrote John Jakes, and Sue Grafton refers to Marcia Muller as "our founding mother." Both Muller and McCone come on strong in their latest adventure.

A random series of murders is only a succession of headlines in the San Francisco Chronicle for investigator Sharon McCone until one of her legal co-op's clients becomes a victim. Perry Hilderly had been a founder of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement in the early 1960s. Although he had settled down and drawn up a proper will several years earlier, a holograph document was found among his possessions... the new will disinherits his children and leaves his considerable estate to four unknowns.

As Sharon tries to track down this strange quartet, she wonders what connection they had had with the dead man. One is a popular news anchor, one is a successful divorce attorney, one runs a Marin County horse stable, and the fourth is an alchoholc oysterman. Before long, Sharon notices a pattern -- a tangled pattern of involvement leading back to the Vietnam War.

When the random killer starts to strike closer to home, the facts behind Hilderly's death become less abstract. Never before has Sharon become so personally involved in a case -- and faced so squerely the brutal consequences of murderous rage.

MARCIA MULLER pioneered the contemporary female private investigator novel-the first Sharon McCone mystery, Edwin of the Iron Shoes, was published in 1977. Over the past dozen years the McCone private eye series has spawned wide critical acclaim, a loyal and ever-growing circle of readers, and dozens of hard-boiled imitators.

In addition to her success as a novelist, Muller is also a well-known anthologist and critic. With Bill Pronzini, she has edited several collections of short mystery stories and the comprehensive 1986 reference work 1001 Midnights: The Aficionado's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction.

Marcia Muller lives in northern California.

Marcia Muller: Trophies and Dead Things. A Sharon McCone Mystery. Mysterious Press, ISBN: 0892964170 (September, 1990), 266 p., $16.95.