judyward's review against another edition
2.0
Sometimes you just have to pick up a book that you know you can read while you watch television and keep up with both the plot and the program. This is a book in that category. An interesting story and certainly the descriptions of the high desert in California are fascinating. But the plot is not going to keep up beyond your bed time. I think that I have read all of the books in this series and thinking back over them, none of the plots stand out. In fact, the author referred to several other "adventures" which obviously happened in previous volumes and I only had the vaguest recollection. I have to put this book into the category of a pleasant read, but don't rush out to find it.
robinsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I have been reading Marcia Muller's mysteries since I discovered women mystery writers waaaay back when. Marcia's Sharon McCone series has always been at the top of my list and she never disappoints. In BURN OUT, Sharon is at Hy's high desert ranch in Owens Valley, trying to get over her depression after almost losing her life in a previous case and deciding what her her futures holds (should she sell her business and completely get out of investigating?). But this alone would not make for an interesting plot so she reluctantly gets involved in the disappearance of a local teen, which, of course, evolves into something much more complicated.
Again, Muller evokes a wonderful sense of place and her travels from one end of the valley to the other, including Hawthorne, a one-horse town in the middle of Nevada nowhere, are dead-on and become an integral part of the story.
Again, Muller evokes a wonderful sense of place and her travels from one end of the valley to the other, including Hawthorne, a one-horse town in the middle of Nevada nowhere, are dead-on and become an integral part of the story.
perednia's review against another edition
3.0
Sharon McCone has been through plenty since she first graced the pages of a book in 1977's EDWIN OF THE IRON SHOES. Her life is far more complicated than could have been foreseen and, after her last case, far more than she thinks she can handle.
So McCone, bone weary and questioning whether she can stand going into work again, where it's a big agency and not just her, hides at her husband Hy's mountain ranch. Whether it's cooking for herself or standing up to an arrogant stallion, McCone would rather not. But life has a way of not letting her get away with it.
Ramon, Hy's longtime foreman and friend, has a missing niece. McCone sees a young woman kicked out of a truck and looking lost outside a grocery store. The missing girl and the forelorn woman are the same person. McCone sets out to bring the girl home. The more she learns about how broken the family is and how old injuries keep coming back to inflict further wounds, the more McCone gradually finds herself involved.
BURN OUT features a terrific case in its own right. The story of Amy, Ramon's niece, and how she and her family got into their situation, is fascinating, a sock in the gut and revealed in a textbook example of superb pacing.
Add onto that the story of Sharon McCone, the Sharon McCone, questioning herself, hiding away from the world and to letting that horse get the better of her, and BURN OUT is one of the best mysteries of the year. Not many writers can keep a series fresh for more than a half dozen books. For Marcia Muller to come out with a book like this after decades of steady, sure writing, is cause to celebrate.
So McCone, bone weary and questioning whether she can stand going into work again, where it's a big agency and not just her, hides at her husband Hy's mountain ranch. Whether it's cooking for herself or standing up to an arrogant stallion, McCone would rather not. But life has a way of not letting her get away with it.
Ramon, Hy's longtime foreman and friend, has a missing niece. McCone sees a young woman kicked out of a truck and looking lost outside a grocery store. The missing girl and the forelorn woman are the same person. McCone sets out to bring the girl home. The more she learns about how broken the family is and how old injuries keep coming back to inflict further wounds, the more McCone gradually finds herself involved.
BURN OUT features a terrific case in its own right. The story of Amy, Ramon's niece, and how she and her family got into their situation, is fascinating, a sock in the gut and revealed in a textbook example of superb pacing.
Add onto that the story of Sharon McCone, the Sharon McCone, questioning herself, hiding away from the world and to letting that horse get the better of her, and BURN OUT is one of the best mysteries of the year. Not many writers can keep a series fresh for more than a half dozen books. For Marcia Muller to come out with a book like this after decades of steady, sure writing, is cause to celebrate.
amalyndb's review against another edition
4.0
Sharon McCone is burnt out, still reeling from the bombings in her last case (The Ever-Running Man). She goes to Hy’s ranch near Tufa Lake in Mono County to try to relax and gain perspective - and ends up caught up in a case when the niece of a ranch hand is murdered.
I found this very enjoyable, much in the vein of the earlier novels in the series.
I found this very enjoyable, much in the vein of the earlier novels in the series.
curlygirl71's review against another edition
3.0
I like this series but I found Sharon McCone's depression a bit much.. understandable from what I could remember as to what happened in the last book but I was happy towards the end when she was back to the old Sharon and kicking ass and taking names.
dkeane2007's review against another edition
4.0
Marcia Mueller always write a solid, enjoyable mystery. This was no exception.
kklompien's review against another edition
3.0
It was good to learn how Sharon dealt with her burnout, but the story was a bit weaker than some in the series.
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