As detailed in the previous books in this long
running series, Private Investigator Sharon McCone has had a quite a few cases
over the years and a number of them have been a bit odd. This latest one with Carolyn
Warrick has the hallmark of being odd and, as another year begins, one that may
have more challenges than worthwhile.
Carolyn
who goes by the name “ Caro” is a very vocal advocate for gun control. Three
years ago she was arrested, tried, and acquitted for the killing of her best
friend Amelia who allegedly was trying to take her boyfriend. Part of her defense in
this love triangle gone wrong murder case was that she came from a family shattered by gun
violence and would not use a gun to kill. The opportunity to be the focal point
of a media crusade for gun control during the trial failed to materialize. Now
she has another chance thanks to Greta Goldstein who will co-author a tell all
book on the case with Caro. Not only does Caro want Sharon McCone to definitively prove the jury got it right in her complicated case she wants vindication for
their verdict.
Despite misgivings and lots of other things going
on, McCone takes the case. It isn’t long before Caro Warrick is dead, a victim of a
killer who is just a small part of the potential threats arranged against McCone,
in this latest in a long running series.
While the actual case and investigation and other facets of the book are borderline interesting, the constant over the top pro-gun control preaching is distracting and unnecessary. Readers are hammered throughout much of the book, to the detriment of the plot and secondary storylines, on the issue of gun control. Several characters involved, including Sharon McCone, are adamantly pro-gun control with the specter of the mass shootings of recent years constantly thrown up to readers as proof of the need. Unfortunately, this is done so often that it stops the already very weak story and becomes the sole focus of the book to its detriment.
Much of Looking for Yesterday: A Sharon McCone
Mystery reads like a spleen venting rant in favor of gun control. Once
you get by that and her smaller rants about abortion, what is left is a weak
and disjointed plot that stumbles and staggers its way to a lackadaisical conclusion.
Hopefully, with this out of her system, author Marcia Muller will get back to
writing mysteries that actually entertain and do not spend the majority of the
book brow beating readers.
You can easily skip this one.
Looking
For Yesterday: A Sharon McCone Mystery
Marcia
Muller
Grand
Central Publishing
November
2012
ISBN#
978-0-446-57335-1
Hardback
293
Pages
$25.99
Material
supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2013
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