Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Muller's latest book shows how far the author has come in her craft and highlights the uniqueness of this series. Few authors could pull off a novel where the heroine escapes to the country for some personal time out without subjecting the reader to introspective, sappy interludes. Even fewer can keep a heroine living on the edge after she's married. We don't get those long intimate scenes with Too Much Information.
So what do we get? Muller's pacing seems to be sharper than ever. Sharon McCone continues to grow as a person and detective. I liked the scenes where Sharon decides to make friends with the horse who seems to dislike her so much. I also liked the scenes where Sharon pilots airplanes (including a brief moment when she enjoys teasing a police officer who's flying as a passenger).
And of course we follow Sharon as she inevitably gets caught up in a mystery involving a range of characters from trailer dwellers to a wealthy East Coast magnate. Sharon combines her own peerless interviewing skills with a touch of "moccasin telegraph" and her nephew's special connection to the keyboard.
McCone defies female stereotypes without making a fuss about it. She's not afraid to call in "markers" with a politically connected client to get something she needs. When she briefly reconnects with her father, she reports family feelings without a touch of sentimentality. Sharon is one straight-up gal.
The plot was satisfying and the ending plausible. I suspect some readers will feel the solution was telegraphed but I say the author played fair and dropped hints. There's a tense scene where the suspense might seem too short and climax is, well, somewhat anti-climactic. If there's any flaw in the book, it's that penultimate chapter: plausible but not as hair-raising as a mystery reader might want.
In another episode, Sharon's nephew Mick turns up surprising facts about someone who has been in the public spotlight for quite awhile. These days, it's hard to believe a sharp journalist would not have been sniffing around many years earlier. Stories can be buried but with the Internet, it's harder.
So all in all, Burn Out was a deeply satisfying read. I'm writing this review in late October. If you're flying somewhere for the holidays, I'd save a few inches in a carry-on bag. But if you can hold off on picking up this book and reading all the way through, your willpower is a lot stronger than mine.
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