Saturday, May 7, 2011

Till the Butchers Cut Him Down by Marcia Muller

Till the Butchers Cut Him Down I've been reading Marcia Muller for years but in no particular order. Whenever I see one of her Sharon McCone series books at a book sale that I haven't read, I buy it. I still have one more in my TBR stack. The reason is that they always are entertaining and I like McCone.

Till the Butchers Cut Him Down is the first one I've read that disappointed me. I'm not sure why. I still like McCone and I find her life interesting. I enjoy her trials and tribulations with her nephew Mick. This story is set when McCone first opens her own business, renting an office from her previous employer, All Souls Legal Cooperative. Her sister has sent Mick to stay with her because they aren't getting along. He's 17 and a computer wizard, which is convenient because McCone has decided to finally enter the computer age. Her boyfriend Hy is off on mysterious business in this one and she's wondering if they will last.

With all of this going on, the last thing she needs is for her first client to be a man out of her past who is anything but likeable or easy to get along with. T. J. Gordon is known to her as "Suits," shortened from Suitcase because when McCone was in college he traveled around with a ratty old suitcase and sold pot. Now he's a multimillionaire who takes companies in big trouble and turns them around, usually successfully.

The story is set in California, a place fittingly called Lost Hope, Nevada, and a former steel town in Pennsylvania called Monora. Then there is Suits' mansion and guest house on the northern California coast. Maybe that's the problem. It jumps from place to place, Suits is a very jumpy person with absolutely no consideration for others, and I was simply uncomfortable reading about him. The story didn't hold my interest like Muller's novels normally do.

This is not to say that it's bad. Not at all. It just didn't fit my mood or something, but you may really like it. I always recommend Muller for a good read, even if like me you read the series out of order.

3 comments:

  1. I like Sharon McCone too and pretty much read the books the same way - in no particular order. I don't think I've read this one.

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  2. Sounds interesting. I've never heard of this author, but I'm not good with this genre though. Is there one of them then that you recommend more than others?

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  3. Not heard of this author - sounds interesting though. I'm racing through C J Sansome's books set in the reign on Henry VIII. Damn good mysteries in them and wonderful writing. By the way, that's great news about Scaredy Cat - I look forward to photos next! :O)

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