Muller's Dangerous Hour Delights Fans

The Dangerous Hour by Marcia Muller

Stepping into the middle of a series can be disorienting. You find yourself surrounded by strangers who are chattering merrily in a subtext known to all but you. Many authors will strive to make each book be autonomous. However, they daren't alienate their faithful readers by either neglecting past story lines or tediously re-introducing each and every character.

Marcia Muller walks this tightrope rather well in her 23rd and latest Sharon McCone mystery, The Dangerous Hour. She fills the dance floor with myriad characters, all with richly detailed backgrounds from previous novels. One almost needs a dance card to keep track of everyone.

So expertly, though, does Muller clothe her dancers that even first-timers are soon entranced by the fancy footwork and caught up by her impressive choreography.

The Dangerous Hour opens with an optimism that is soon shattered by the arrest of a trusted employee. Julia Rafael is accused of credit card fraud-credit cards that were supposedly stolen from one of the agency's clients. McCone's agency is then made the subject of an investigation and her license is put at risk. The whole agency is thrown into an investigation on which their survival hinges-both as an institution and as individuals.

As they delve deeper into the details behind the charges, old enemies and grudges surface and all of them go deeper into danger.

Muller also continues to develop McCone and her relationships. She wrestles with a marriage proposal and struggles with where she wants her personal life to go. McCone is all the more likeable because although she is a confident and strong character, she also has her imperfections and uncertainties.

The other characters that populate the novel are also very appealing-whether they are likeable, contemptible, or simply amusing. McCone breathes life into each of them, giving them unique voices and motivations. They are not merely adjuncts to the main protagonists, but realistic people with their own desires and lives.

The Dangerous Hour is filled with suspense and plenty of surprises. Muller writes a story that is hard-edged without being overly bloody or grotesque. She creates tension through increasingly dangerous situations and tightly writes her plots. I especially appreciated the way she mixed in details of character's lives without straying too far from the main plotline.

It's easy to see why Muller has such a devoted fan base. Her novels are well-written and the stories are entertaining and quick moving. --B. Redman