Marcia Muller’s Locked In was so absolutely compelling that when Coming Back (2010) appeared on the bookstore shelves, I bought it immediately. But then I left it sitting on my desk for almost two months, unopened and definitely unread.
The truth is I couldn’t see how this book could top the last one, not just in the suspense caused by the shooting of Muller’s PI, Sharon McCone, but also the way all the storylines of the other characters seemed to come together in a way that was, to me, just about perfect. It felt like the culmination of the series.
So where does a series go after it has culminated? Muller handles that dilemma beautifully. In a few short pages she summarizes Sharon’s rehab, covering a period of months, and then the novel really begins. The mystery involves Sharon’s investigation of her friend Piper’s disappearance; the story involves Sharon’s efforts to “come back,” all the way back to being the detective she’s always been (she’s a great first “Strong Heroine” for the challenge).
Once I got going, I read the whole thing on one long day and night (one of the many snow days Georgia’s suffered through this winter) and couldn’t believe I’d treated it as clutter for so long. If you like Marcia Muller‘s series, don’t wait for bad weather to read this one!
Book #1 in the Strong Heroine Reading Challenge
