From Publishers Weekly
Continuing the Sharon McCone series, Muller's latest mystery concerns a terrorist bombing and a kidnapped little girl. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Muller's most recent whodunit, Till the Butchers Cut Him Down (LJ 7/94), managed to sell more than 30,000 copies in hardcover. Here, gumshoe Sharon McCone is hot on the trail of a missing nine-year-old girl.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Hard to believe that fearless P.I. Sharon McCone is grappling with world-weariness, approaching the "big four-oh," and lamenting the distance she's traveled from her innocent early days at All Souls Legal Co-op. But even a midlife crisis doesn't stop McCone from getting involved in the case of the "Diplo Bomber," a terrorist who has maimed or killed half a dozen foreign diplomats. San Francisco homicide cop Adah Joslyn enlists McCone's help when the bomber warns that his next target will be the San Francisco^-based consulate of Azad, an oil-rich Arab emirate. But it's not until McCone meets the engaging nine-year-old granddaughter of the Azad consul that she gets hooked. The case is as puzzling and frustrating as any she's worked on, taking her from San Francisco's seamy underworld to the sparkling beauty of a remote Caribbean island. And just when McCone thinks she's finally figured out who the bomber is, even she's surprised by one final, macabre twist. Once again, Muller, the reigning queen of the female P.I. genre, gives her readers the kind of superbly crafted, riveting thriller they've come to expect. Emily Melton

ANNOTATION

The bestselling author of Till the Butchers Cut Him Down presents her latest mystery starring Saron McCone. Investigating a terrorist bombing at the Consulate of an Arab Emirate, Sharon is thinking only of the million-dollar-reward--until she meets the consul general's daughter. When the girl disappears, Sharon risks everything to save her.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For months, the embassies of oil-rich nations have been the target of an elusive terrorist known only as the Diplo-Bomber. A federal task force, which includes one of Sharon McCone's closest police contacts, is stumped - until a botched bombing attempt threatens the San Francisco consulate of Azad, a progressive Arab emirate. At first McCone is thinking only of the $1 million reward offered by the FBI and the Azadis. But when she learns more about the consulate household, McCone suspects that someone inside the turbulent ruling family may be linked to the bombing. The Azadis' consul general is the western-educated Malika Hamid, one of only a few Muslim women to brave the world of international diplomacy. An intriguing mix of eastern traditions and modern ideas, Malika is fiercely controlling the lives of her playboy son and his beautiful, alcoholic American wife. Torn between her troubled parents is the lonely, nine-year-old Habiba, a mischievous imp of a girl who takes an immediate liking to McCone. When little Habiba disappears, McCone follows her trail to a desolate Caribbean island that has its own brand of justice. Now McCone and her allies, including her lover, Hy Ripinsky, find themselves in an arena far larger than any they have been in so far. Here McCone is risking not only her own life but those of many others as the mission takes her dangerously close to the edge of disaster. For this is a battle that could destabilize U.S. international relations - and one in which McCone must literally fight fire with fire...

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Flying solo, swimming in the dark and losing her heart to a nine-year-old girl, the nearly-40 Sharon McCone tests her strength and her principles in this action-packed, affecting 16th adventure (after Till the Butchers Cut Him Down). A series of bombings at embassies, consulates and U.N. delegation offices in the U.S. over the last five years is the work of someone the feds and the San Francisco police call the Diplo-bomber. A $1-million reward has been offered, and Sharon signs on with the slick security office of RKI, where her boyfriend Hy Ripinski is loosely connected, to investigate. Recently targeted is the local consulate of Azad, a small Arab emirate; during an interview with the woman consul general, Sharon meets her granddaughter Habiba, whose isolated loneliness reminds Sharon of her own childhood. Unmet is Habiba's father, who disappeared years before, apparently after getting in gambling trouble. More bombings, a murder and a kidnapping lead Sharon to a small Caribbean island, a dramatic late-night rescue and then a desperate flight from Miami to California as she tries to stay a step ahead of the kidnappers. The Diplo-bomber case promises more violence and, not incidentally, craters the career of a policewoman friend before its resolution. A mellow, engaging and determined Sharon here heads a diverse and intriguing supporting cast, notably members of the family that once owned the island. Major ad/promo. (Aug.)

Library Journal

Muller's most recent whodunit, Till the Butchers Cut Him Down (LJ 7/94), managed to sell more than 30,000 copies in hardcover. Here, gumshoe Sharon McCone is hot on the trail of a missing nine-year-old girl.

BookList - Emily Melton