Dead Midnight

Sharon McCone #21

by Marcia Muller

Sharon McCone has decided to throw herself into work so she can get past her brother's suicide, but the wrongful-death suit she is working on hits too close to home. It's a civil case in which the family of a young 'zine employee claims his suicide was the result of his company's treatment of him. In his final journal entry, Roger Nagasawa describes his fatal plunge from the San Francisco Bridge as being "swept away from sadness."

With the help of her friend, J.D. Smith, McCone investigates the InSite offices and soon learns of its publisher's less-than-professional activities. She also learns that Roger had been afraid for his life since he was a witness to computer espionage. Faced with the death of her friend, Smith, and the sudden disappearance of Roger's associate, McCone must keep one step ahead of the game and solve this mystery -- or else become the next victim.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Detective, Womens

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Marcia Muller is an American author of mystery and thriller novels.
Muller has written many novels featuring her Sharon McCone female private detective character. Vanishing Point won the Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel. Muller had been nominated for the Shamus Award four times previously.
In 2005, Muller was awarded the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master award.
She was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Birmingham, Michigan, and graduated in English from the University of Michigan and worked as a journalist at Sunset magazine. She is married to detective fiction author Bill Pronzini with whom she has collaborated on several novels.

Reviews

[SuperWendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in the middle of a dreadful reading slump so picking up the next new-to-me entry in the McCone series was just what the doctor ordered. The book opens with Sharon dealing with the death of younger brother Joey (the troublemaker/screw-up of the family) by suicide. I "get" why Muller did this, given that it juxtaposes nicely with the case Sharon ends up working on, but having Joey off page for the series only to have him serve as emotional grist later on seems like a lost opportunity to me. But, whatever.

The mystery here is pretty decent. It's set during the first dot-com bubble and there's a bunch of sneaky venture capitalist shenanigans afoot. Unfortunately it kind of fizzled for me at the end. It's like Muller's editor told her she had to hit a certain word count (wrap it up!) and the final few chapters feel rather rushed.

Good, not great entry in the series - but it succeeds in keeping the needle moving.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Private investigator Sharon McCone is not in a good place at the beginning of Dead Midnight. She needs loads of resilience after living through many of the changes in her family, including most recently, the suicide of her brother Joey.

There has been the anger at her brother for doing what he did and now she is beginning to feel guilt — did she try hard enough to help him? Why didn't she find him sooner?

So she in not sure she wants to take on her latest case, an investigation into a young man's suicide. Did his company drive him to such depths that he would take his own life?

In conducting her investigation, McCone finds some very strange behavior and characters related to the company, an online magazine. People aren't very happy, in fact, there are signs of backstabbing and sabotage — was it what caused Roger Nagasawa to take his life?

McCone digs deeper and finds that there is something more, much more, going on.

Usually Marcia Muller has her protagonist doing more reflection and spending time worrying about her feelings and her relationships. In this book, McCone has some distractions but for most of the book she is focused on getting to the bottom of the mystery. It makes for a tighter, more compelling read. I found myself — rather than frustrated by the actions of McCone — driven to continue reading and to learn the solution to the case. This is one of Muller's books that I read with pleasure and intensity.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#22 in the Sharon McCone series. This novel is permeated by Sharon's thoughts of her brother Joey, who has committed suicide, although none the action is directly related to Joey. The action is driven by the suicide of Roger Nagasawa, whose parents claim was caused to hid death by working conditions at an online magazine. Sharon is supposedly hired to investigate the magazine's working conditions, but the plot is quickly diverted to uncovering criminous goings-on. A rewarding story if you stick with it and don't get sidetracked by some of Sharon's stream of consciousness musings.

McCone is trying to understand her brother Joey's recent suicide. Roger Nagasawa, scion of a wealthy Japanese-American family, has killed himself. Roger's heartbroken parents plan to sue his employer, a hip online magazine, for wrongful death because of rumored brutal working conditions. First, Jody Houston, Roger's friend to whom he'd revealed illegal financial activities at the magazine, disappears. Then Max Engstrom, Roger's maniacal boss, tells Sharon that someone is sabotaging his business and one of his backers has vanished. More deaths ensue. After McCone retrieves Roger's computer files detailing his discoveries, she's almost killed.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After gathering digital dust on the books hard drive since late August 2012, this one finally gets the attention it deserves. Once again, there’s merit in not perfunctorily deleting something after several years assuming you’ll never get to it especially since it takes up no physical room in your world.

Roger Nagasawa was a troubled young man in some respects. He rejected his Japanese heritage early on and sought a journalism degree from the University of Michigan. He got a job at an online zine, and it was a troubled place not unlike the young man. On a tragic Valentine’s night, Roger committed suicide. The family hires Sharon McCone to see whether she can determine what happened and why.

Sharon wangles her way onto the magazine staff with help from an enterprising reporter friend of hers where she seeks to investigate the behind-the-scenes stuff. Sadly, someone will murder her reporter friend before the book ends.

This isn’t the strongest book in the series, but if you crank this to 2.75X, you’re through it in almost no time. And it’s good enough that I found it largely satisfying and entertaining. My hope is that you’ll have a similar experience if you read it.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharon McCone #21

As good as ever/always. Sharon gets herself in the most frightening situations in search of the truth. A very loyal friend, a bad enemy, a true avenger. Always willing to go the distance. Marcia Muller, if she acts out the scenarios she writes, must have at least as many lives as Sharon. This book deals with suicide. It is so hard to deal with the realization that a family member or friend found life so unbearable that they chose to leave it rather than to seek help. This happened in my own family and for those who are left to deal with it, it feels like a betrayal. All you continually ask is "why?", but the answers are not always forthcoming.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you live in the Bay Area, that's a pretty upsetting cover. It's a crystal clear, perfect rendition of the side of the Golden Gate Bridge, with someone going over. It speaks of suicide, as the Bridge is the second most popular suicide spot in the world, claiming an average of 30 lives in a year in recent times. Frankly, I think it's an irresponsible cover. But, it also immediately ties to the plot, sort of. Except the suicide that opens the novel occurs on the Bay Bridge. (Sigh.)

The mystery itself is well-done. It's a complex story of venial greed and accidental results. McCone herself comments how much more complex it is than her cases when she was getting started, but nonetheless, Muller lays out the clues and the reader can follow.

As with many of her recent books, Muller has realized the power of connecting these cases intimately to McCone's life, but this one gives us a bit of a breather: though there are important personal details, they're offered as mild counterpoint to the mystery, not the main course.

And the Bay Area color continues to be good. (Mostly; besides the bridge mixup on the cover there's a rather horrific mistake about the location of Alameda, which Muller places in the East Bay hills, far above the Bay.)

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful entertaining mystery listening 🎶😬

Another will written murder mystery adventure thriller novel by Marcia Muller book twenty-one in the Sharon McCone Mystery Series. One ☝ of Sharon's best friends is murdered and Sharon becomes part of the investigation leading to the unexpected conclusion. I would recommend this novel and series to readers of mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 Alexa as I do because of eye issues and damage from nerve damage caused by shingles. 🏡🔰👒😆 2022

[Alton Motobu · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Sharon McCone mysteries. She is hired by family of a suicide victim to find out why he killed himself. Lots of action as she uncovers one clue after another, and it never bogs down. She gets into several life-threatening predicaments and escapes with only a sore back. This is a solo act for Sharon as Hy, Mick, Adah and others in her circle have only minor roles. The only head-scratcher is when she unravels everything and finds out why the victim killed himself, she does not tell the family. The story ends as she flies into the sunset with Hy.

[Christy Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Sharon McCone book seemed to be phoned in. The same background is given for the office and the staff and where it's located. All that is described in detail and then Touchstone is described and the plane is mentioned. Then Hy Ripinsky is mentioned and RKI. S Sharon goes about her solving of cases. It's just very reminiscent of several preceding novels. Maybe it's just me. I know someone who has not read the preceding novels would not get some of the references in this one.

[Gail Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Investigation of a suicide leads to the murder of one of Sharon's friends. But as Sharon works to solve the case she is also able to deal with her own brother's suicide. Meanwhile she solves a missing person case and exposes a 20 million dollar fraud.....

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed others in this series so picked this one up after finding it in my stash of books to read. Lots of time now! I enjoyed the story line although it’s out of date in this age, but still interesting and well written.

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Mystery

[Joan Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Investigation of a suicide while dealing with her brother’s.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the way Muller can drop clues throughout and then complete the story so neatly.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read 2007

[Sharon Velin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked up from bookshelf at place I am staying ... #22 in a mystery series. Didn’t enjoy ... maybe because had not read previous 21 books. Too simple😥

[Terry Tschann Skelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series. I hope Marcia Muller lives forever and keeps writing the Sharon McCone stories (or at least for the next 20 years, since I hope to not live any longer than that).

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another episode where P.I. McCone's family life conflicts with her professional life.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really fast paced from start to finish! I really enjoyed this one.

[Nancy Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one.

[Sara M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another higly.engaging Sharon Mccone mystery.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good Sharon McCone mystery - this one dealing with suicide, greed, murder and personal relationships.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sharon McCone series is a winner in my opinion.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

On with the challenge! And to the next.

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

I'm not an objective judge of Marcia Muller's writing - this is book 22 in the Sharon McCone series and it would be near impossible for Muller to come up with a plot twist which would alienate me at this point. That said, I thought the introduction of a "dot com" business into this book was likely to make it end up being rather lousy. I should really trust Muller more than this. She's always woven topical themes into her books and it doesn't age them.

Sharon's been investigating for 25 years now and if anything the problem I have is that she's become more of a business woman and less of an investigator in recent books. She's not aging so fast, I think she's aged from 28 in the first book to 41 in this one which is about half the real rate of aging (and interestingly this is the same rate that Reginald Hill claimed Dalziel and Pascoe were aging at in Asking for the Moon). One of the good things about this book is that it seems to mark a return to regular investigation with Sharon investigating things that aren't to do with her own family and though her own family's tragedies feature too they are extra background material that adds realism and not the focusof the story. I also hold out great hopes that Sharon's newly hired investigator Julia Rafael will prove to be an interesting colleague in future books continuing the trend of this series to have not just a central character who makes me come back for more but a whole family of a cast I want to come back and visit.

I have a few reservations about the way the story ended up, I liked the conclusion on the whole and the "dot com" business didn't turn into the cliche that it could so easily have done. My problem was what I felt to be a lack of coherence between the hook that started the story and the ending. Something didn't come full circle enough for me to be totally satisfed.

On the whole though this is another excellent entry in one of the best detective series around and McCone is as fresh and interesting as the day Muller conceived her.

[Vivisection · Rating 3 out of 5]

So here's the thing. I've been reading Marcia Muller for nigh on 20 years now but I did take a break. For about 5 years. I was cruising through the sale books on Nook and I saw a bunch of Muller's titles. I suddenly missed Sharon McCone, the hard-boiled San Francisco PI and her hippie collective.

Even though McCone has become more a corporate investigator than collective member, she still belongs in that rare category of uncompromising professional females. Like V.I. Warshawski. Like Nina O'Reilly. LIke Kinsey Millhone. McCone doesn't do the cutesy "hey I'll investigate while married with children." No hunky, hunky heros to look out for these ladies--they kick ass all on their own. All the while loving difficult men and the complex relationships that sometimes work and sometimes don't. It's not that I hate the status quo, it's just nice not to have it shoved down my throat, or see my demographic as the pool of murder victims. It's nice to see the protagonist choose a lifestyle other than suburban living and children.

That being said, McCone and the gang are in fine form, pursuing answers to a suicide which leads to murder which leads to conspiracy. Only McCone can ferret out the truth. With the city of San Francisco, a character in it's own right, as the back drop, I have to confess....I didn't mind the slow parts because I just cruised Craigslist for San Francisco apartments and reminisced about my days living in the Upper Richmond. I'll kick down bad streets in San Fran with McCone and love every minute.

This wasn't the best McCone mystery ever. That will always be Pennies on a Dead Woman's Eyes as far as I"m concerned. Like Paretsky and Grafton, though, time with a middle of the road mystery by Muller is still better than the best efforts of other contemporary mystery writers.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Sharon McCone story.

Sharon McCone has decided to throw herself into work so she can get past her brother's suicide, but the wrongful-death suit she is working on hits too close to home. It's a civil case in which the family of a young 'zine em-ployee claims his suicide was the result of his company's treatment of him. In his final journal entry, Roger Nagasawa describes his fatal plunge from the San Francisco Bridge as being "swept away from sadness." With the help of her friend, J.D. Smith, McCone investigates the InSite offices and soon learns of its publisher's less-than-professional activities. She also learns that Roger had been afraid for his life since he was a witness to computer espionage. Faced with the death of her friend, Smith, and the sudden disappearance of Roger's associate, McCone must keep one step ahead of the game and solve this mystery-or else become the next victim

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

DEAD MIDNIGHT-G
Hoag, Tami
PI Sharon McCone is trying to understand her brother Joey's recent suicide. Roger Nagasawa, scion of a wealthy Japanese-American family, has killed himself. Roger's heartbroken parents plan to sue his employer, a hip online magazine, for wrongful death because of rumored brutal working conditions. As usual in McCone mysteries, greed and corruption lie beneath the surface. First, Jody Houston, Roger's friend to whom he'd revealed illegal financial activities at the magazine, disappears. Then Max Engstrom, Roger's maniacal boss, tells Sharon that someone is sabotaging his business and one of his backers has vanished. More deaths ensue. After McCone retrieves Roger's computer files detailing his discoveries, she's almost killed.

McCone seems real and keeps developing

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dead Midnight by Marcia Muller is the 21st book of the Sharon McCone mystery series set in contemporary San Francisco, California. Sharon McCone owns her own private investigation agency, staffed by many talented employees who are also her good friends. Traumatized by her brother's recent suicide, no way does she want to investigate a suicide case - but she's pressured into taking it. She tries to go undercover at an online magazine office, to determine if Roger was driven to suicide by his work. No surprise: as she digs into the evidence and confronts the major players, she uncovers high-stakes crime. The characters are unlikable, it's hard to care much about what happens to them, but it's a welcome return to Sharon investigating cases in her P.I. business (rather than digging into her own past).

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 21st installment of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone PI series, Dead Midnight, Sharon tackled her toughest case yet. After the suicide death of her brother, she plunged herself into work, when the next case hit too close to home. She investigated the death of Roger Nagasawa, who was a brilliant employee on an online magazine. In his last post, he blamed his death on the treatment of his employers, when he jumped off the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. From there, she learned shocking secrets when she looked into Roger's life and needed to get down to the bottom of the mess, before she became the next one to disappear.