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Sharon McCone #20
Listen to the Silence
Upon the death of her father, San Francisco-based PI Sharon McCone discovers she's adopted and is determined to find her biological parents. She journeys to Idaho's Flathead Reservation for answers but discovers some locals who will stop at nothing to keep certain secrets hidden.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2000
65 people are currently reading
392 people want to read
About the author
Marcia Muller
165 books724 followersMarcia 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.
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.
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October 29, 2023
A conversation between Sharon McCone, the detective protagonist (and narrator) of this book and her "very significant other," Hy Ripinsky. Ripinsky speaks first:
"...you've been listening to what people're willing to tell you, and it's not much. Maybe you should listen to what they're not willing to tell."
"How d'you mean?"
"You've known these people all your life. You're tuned in to their personalities, their ways of thinking, subtle nuances. Tune out their words and listen to what's hidden in the spaces between them. To the pauses, the hesitations. Picture them at the times when they won't look you in the eye."
"Interesting approach."
'You try it. Listen to the silence. It can tell you everything."
--------------------------------------
Sharon McCone, who runs a very successful detective agency, has a problem and she needs information from her own family. Her father has just died. McCone, looking through her father's belongings, finds adoption papers. Her adoption papers. McCone, forty years old, has always been aware that she doesn't look like the rest of her family, but she had no idea that she was adopted. Her mother is strangely reluctant to tell McCone anything concerning the adoption. And McCone's mother says one sentence that, though meant innocently, is very upsetting:
"In many ways, your father and I loved you more than our own children."
Our own children.
I felt as if she'd slapped me.
McCone is now determined to find out all she can about her birth parents. Her investigations cover a lot of ground - physically, historically, and emotionally. Her birth mother was evidently a Shoshone Native American. Finding the person she believes to be her mother is complicated, and McCone's timing is terrible. And whether or not this woman is her birth mother, who was her birth father?
Much of the rest of the book concerns Native Americans, mostly Modocs. McCone, with Ripinsky's help, goes undercover in a rural area to find out more about a legal situation. This puts her in more danger than she could have anticipated.
I believe that I had read all the novels in this series up to and somewhat beyond this one. (This was the twentieth book in the series.) As the series went on, I lost some of my interest. There are too many continuing characters, which might be fine except that Muller tends to cram as many as she can in each book. Also, McCone had originally been a poor investigator working primarily for clients of a social service law firm. Now she and Ripinsky are wealthy - not comfortable, not well-to-do - flat-out rich. Protagonists being poor and scrappy is more interesting to me than them being rich. And the book does acknowledge the change. The following is a conversation between McCone and Ted, a long-time employee. McCone speaks first:
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, I was just flashing on the old days. You lived in that dreadful studio on Guerrero and the rest of us were crammed into the Victorian in Bernal Heights. Most people would've called it a wretched existence, but all we cared about was saving the world."
"Well, one small legal cooperative wasn't going to accomplish that. Besides, what's wrong with being able to pay our bills and live like grownups?"
There is also a problem common to books narrated in the first person. McCone portrays herself as wonderful. She is a great investigator and that is totally believable. She is also a great boss, a great sister, a great friend. She is brave, bright, and in fine physical condition. If I were the narrator in a book, I would probably be just as incredible - but it is incredible; no one, I think, is that close to perfect.
There are other flaws in the book. One is something that may not have bothered other readers. McCone seems to me to be preparing readers for a great catastrophe. In the following, McCone is talking to Ripinsky. McCone speaks first:
"Would you mind the agency for me? Whenever I went away before I put Rae in charge, but now -"
"No problem. I'm between projects, but even if I wasn't, I'm always here for you."
"I know."
But now I know that "always" is a lie.
Now I know that, in the end, death is the only certainty.
So, obviously, someone important to MCone will die later in the book. Ripinsky? McCone's adoptive mother?
No. Nobody. Purely misleading. (And I'm not designating this as a "spoiler," because it deserves to be spoiled.)
And the main problem with the book is that the central mystery makes no sense. Why are McCone's adoption and the details thereof secrets? There is a sort of explanation thrown in in a brief passage a few pages before the end of the book. Brief and not remotely believable.
When the book gets away from McCone's personal problems, it comes to life. The rural setting is nicely portrayed. (There is a ghost town in the story - well, really a ghost settlement - once named Cinder Cone. That isn't a real place, but "cinder cones" really do exist; they are geological features found in exactly the kind of area in which this part of the book is set.) The reason for a non-fatal shooting incident is just silly, but it isn't all that important. And there are some genuinely surprising developments late in the book.
I did go on to read some more books in this series but finally gave up. Listen to the Silence is, on the whole, not a bad book, but I would recommend it only with strong reservations.
"...you've been listening to what people're willing to tell you, and it's not much. Maybe you should listen to what they're not willing to tell."
"How d'you mean?"
"You've known these people all your life. You're tuned in to their personalities, their ways of thinking, subtle nuances. Tune out their words and listen to what's hidden in the spaces between them. To the pauses, the hesitations. Picture them at the times when they won't look you in the eye."
"Interesting approach."
'You try it. Listen to the silence. It can tell you everything."
--------------------------------------
Sharon McCone, who runs a very successful detective agency, has a problem and she needs information from her own family. Her father has just died. McCone, looking through her father's belongings, finds adoption papers. Her adoption papers. McCone, forty years old, has always been aware that she doesn't look like the rest of her family, but she had no idea that she was adopted. Her mother is strangely reluctant to tell McCone anything concerning the adoption. And McCone's mother says one sentence that, though meant innocently, is very upsetting:
"In many ways, your father and I loved you more than our own children."
Our own children.
I felt as if she'd slapped me.
McCone is now determined to find out all she can about her birth parents. Her investigations cover a lot of ground - physically, historically, and emotionally. Her birth mother was evidently a Shoshone Native American. Finding the person she believes to be her mother is complicated, and McCone's timing is terrible. And whether or not this woman is her birth mother, who was her birth father?
Much of the rest of the book concerns Native Americans, mostly Modocs. McCone, with Ripinsky's help, goes undercover in a rural area to find out more about a legal situation. This puts her in more danger than she could have anticipated.
I believe that I had read all the novels in this series up to and somewhat beyond this one. (This was the twentieth book in the series.) As the series went on, I lost some of my interest. There are too many continuing characters, which might be fine except that Muller tends to cram as many as she can in each book. Also, McCone had originally been a poor investigator working primarily for clients of a social service law firm. Now she and Ripinsky are wealthy - not comfortable, not well-to-do - flat-out rich. Protagonists being poor and scrappy is more interesting to me than them being rich. And the book does acknowledge the change. The following is a conversation between McCone and Ted, a long-time employee. McCone speaks first:
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, I was just flashing on the old days. You lived in that dreadful studio on Guerrero and the rest of us were crammed into the Victorian in Bernal Heights. Most people would've called it a wretched existence, but all we cared about was saving the world."
"Well, one small legal cooperative wasn't going to accomplish that. Besides, what's wrong with being able to pay our bills and live like grownups?"
There is also a problem common to books narrated in the first person. McCone portrays herself as wonderful. She is a great investigator and that is totally believable. She is also a great boss, a great sister, a great friend. She is brave, bright, and in fine physical condition. If I were the narrator in a book, I would probably be just as incredible - but it is incredible; no one, I think, is that close to perfect.
There are other flaws in the book. One is something that may not have bothered other readers. McCone seems to me to be preparing readers for a great catastrophe. In the following, McCone is talking to Ripinsky. McCone speaks first:
"Would you mind the agency for me? Whenever I went away before I put Rae in charge, but now -"
"No problem. I'm between projects, but even if I wasn't, I'm always here for you."
"I know."
But now I know that "always" is a lie.
Now I know that, in the end, death is the only certainty.
So, obviously, someone important to MCone will die later in the book. Ripinsky? McCone's adoptive mother?
No. Nobody. Purely misleading. (And I'm not designating this as a "spoiler," because it deserves to be spoiled.)
And the main problem with the book is that the central mystery makes no sense. Why are McCone's adoption and the details thereof secrets? There is a sort of explanation thrown in in a brief passage a few pages before the end of the book. Brief and not remotely believable.
When the book gets away from McCone's personal problems, it comes to life. The rural setting is nicely portrayed. (There is a ghost town in the story - well, really a ghost settlement - once named Cinder Cone. That isn't a real place, but "cinder cones" really do exist; they are geological features found in exactly the kind of area in which this part of the book is set.) The reason for a non-fatal shooting incident is just silly, but it isn't all that important. And there are some genuinely surprising developments late in the book.
I did go on to read some more books in this series but finally gave up. Listen to the Silence is, on the whole, not a bad book, but I would recommend it only with strong reservations.
October 25, 2017
#21 in the Sharon McCone series. Finalist 2001 Shamus Award for Best Novel; Finalist 2001 Anthony Award for Best Mystery. Intriguing read - Sharon finds, on the death of her father, that she was adopted as an infant. Determined to find the truth about her birth parents, she winds up delving into Shoshone culture and solving a 40 year old murder.
Sharon McCone series - Her father's death brings McCone not only sadness but the shocking revelation that she was adopted. The search for her birth parents takes her to a Shoshone reservation in Idaho, where an old man named Elwood Farmer offers cryptic advice. Armed with an old photograph in a buffalo-bone frame, McCone tracks down Saskia Blackhawk, the woman she believes to be her birth mother, only to see her put into a coma by a hit-and-run. Saskia, a lawyer, had been battling with Austin DeCarlo, a developer, over Spirit Lake, an area Modoc Indians consider sacred, but DeCarlo considers ripe for a resort. DeCarlo may be McCone's biological father, which would mean that her father may be trying to kill her mother.
Sharon McCone series - Her father's death brings McCone not only sadness but the shocking revelation that she was adopted. The search for her birth parents takes her to a Shoshone reservation in Idaho, where an old man named Elwood Farmer offers cryptic advice. Armed with an old photograph in a buffalo-bone frame, McCone tracks down Saskia Blackhawk, the woman she believes to be her birth mother, only to see her put into a coma by a hit-and-run. Saskia, a lawyer, had been battling with Austin DeCarlo, a developer, over Spirit Lake, an area Modoc Indians consider sacred, but DeCarlo considers ripe for a resort. DeCarlo may be McCone's biological father, which would mean that her father may be trying to kill her mother.
January 9, 2015
In the 20th installment of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone PI series, Listen to the Silence, Sharon learned a shocking twist about her life. When she attended a joyous wedding, she had found out that her father had died. After she mourned his loss, she learned something that really startled her. She was adopted. That made her puzzled on why she didn't look like her fellow siblings. From there, it took her to Montana to discover the truth behind her birth and to find her birth parents, while she was on the case on the attempted lawyer and threats were made on her life. She needed to listen carefully, before the bullet would take her down.
December 19, 2018
This is an author I haven't read in a long time and forgot how her stories grab you and keep your interest throughout. After her father dies, Sharon finds out, to her surprise and shock, that she is adopted. Thus, her search is on to learn more about her biological parents. Even more she finds her birth mother is Shoshone, and this takes her search in many directions, some dangerous.
March 11, 2016
Sharon McCone answers the phone in the middle of a happy wedding, to learn that her father has died. It is her duty, along with one of her brothers, to scatter his ashes. Already reeling from the loss, Sharon finds among her father's papers a secret that shatters the ground under her feet. Dropping everything, ignoring the frantic attempts of her mother to stop her, Sharon turns her detective skills on her family's past.
"Listen to the silence," Hy Ripinsky tells her, and she begins to hear the thoughts within the pauses and the reluctant speech of her informants. They focus her attention on the Shoshone reservation of her great-grandmother in Fort Hall, Montana. Obsessed but still competent, Sharon tracks the subjects of a photograph taken during what looks to be an idyllic summer before her own birth. She meets residents and relatives living in Fort Hall, a rich father and son from California, a bravely dying tribe at Spirit Lake, and the ghosts of a ghost town called Cinder Cone. Indifferent to trouble, she checks out a conflict between the Spirit Lake tribe and a real estate developer, and finds it may be her death. Revealing decisions are made at the point of a gun.
Author Marcia Muller sees each of her characters with the discernment of love. Most important among them is Sharon's significant other, Hy Ripinsky, who is so observant, supportive, and understanding that every interaction between the two is a pleasure to read. Elwood Farmer, who gives her the picture, is pleasantly independent and eccentric and makes one hope to meet him again. Will Camphouse, not-so-accidentally met in a bar, has the makings of an interesting and challenging friend. The real estate developer, Austin DeCarlo, is given a well rounded development as a human being, not colored by his professional stance. By contrast, his father Joseph DeCarlo is the least successful character in the book: most of his dimension is created by variations in his level of hostility. Most tantalizing is attorney Saskia Blackhawk, whom we have no opportunity to see at her best because she has just been the victim of a hit and run. Her children, sister and brother Robin and Darcy Blackhawk, have an enjoyably intriguing relationship with Sharon McCone. I will hope for a chance to get to know the Blackhawk family better in a later book.
LISTEN TO THE SILENCE is an insightful study of family feeling in its different forms. Sharon's brothers and sisters are simply her brothers and sisters, and she doesn't look at them any more than we usually look at our own. She just loves them and leans on them. Her relationships with each of her parents are unique and valuable, each in its own way. We see extremes of family from the multiple network reaching beyond Fort Hall Reservation to the dominance of Joseph DeCarlo over Aaron. Whether tender or nerve-wracking, the family moments that Muller lets us see include something that each of us will recognize from our own lives.
This book is blessedly free of politics. Along the way Muller handles subjects that have a definite politically correct position, but she looks at them from a purely human viewpoint. There are no diatribes about the death of Native American culture, no polemics about developing wilderness areas. Instead there are musing chats with Modoc tribe councilmen about plans for their city, and an encounter with a troublemaker for sale to the highest bidder. The sensible Will Camphouse comments that he prefers to say he's an Indian because it's shorter than Native American. Muller shows us people, not causes.
LISTEN TO THE SILENCE is an absorbing read, moving from one gripping physical or psychological event to another so closely that there is no place where it is possible to stop. It is preceded in the 20-book Sharon McCone series by A WALK THROUGH THE FIRE, but is excellent as a stand-alone. Marcia Muller has won multiple mystery awards and this book is sure to meet her fans’ high expectations.
July 2000 Review Originally Published on the Independent Reviews Site
Co-Favorite Contemporary Mystery Reread of 2010
"Listen to the silence," Hy Ripinsky tells her, and she begins to hear the thoughts within the pauses and the reluctant speech of her informants. They focus her attention on the Shoshone reservation of her great-grandmother in Fort Hall, Montana. Obsessed but still competent, Sharon tracks the subjects of a photograph taken during what looks to be an idyllic summer before her own birth. She meets residents and relatives living in Fort Hall, a rich father and son from California, a bravely dying tribe at Spirit Lake, and the ghosts of a ghost town called Cinder Cone. Indifferent to trouble, she checks out a conflict between the Spirit Lake tribe and a real estate developer, and finds it may be her death. Revealing decisions are made at the point of a gun.
Author Marcia Muller sees each of her characters with the discernment of love. Most important among them is Sharon's significant other, Hy Ripinsky, who is so observant, supportive, and understanding that every interaction between the two is a pleasure to read. Elwood Farmer, who gives her the picture, is pleasantly independent and eccentric and makes one hope to meet him again. Will Camphouse, not-so-accidentally met in a bar, has the makings of an interesting and challenging friend. The real estate developer, Austin DeCarlo, is given a well rounded development as a human being, not colored by his professional stance. By contrast, his father Joseph DeCarlo is the least successful character in the book: most of his dimension is created by variations in his level of hostility. Most tantalizing is attorney Saskia Blackhawk, whom we have no opportunity to see at her best because she has just been the victim of a hit and run. Her children, sister and brother Robin and Darcy Blackhawk, have an enjoyably intriguing relationship with Sharon McCone. I will hope for a chance to get to know the Blackhawk family better in a later book.
LISTEN TO THE SILENCE is an insightful study of family feeling in its different forms. Sharon's brothers and sisters are simply her brothers and sisters, and she doesn't look at them any more than we usually look at our own. She just loves them and leans on them. Her relationships with each of her parents are unique and valuable, each in its own way. We see extremes of family from the multiple network reaching beyond Fort Hall Reservation to the dominance of Joseph DeCarlo over Aaron. Whether tender or nerve-wracking, the family moments that Muller lets us see include something that each of us will recognize from our own lives.
This book is blessedly free of politics. Along the way Muller handles subjects that have a definite politically correct position, but she looks at them from a purely human viewpoint. There are no diatribes about the death of Native American culture, no polemics about developing wilderness areas. Instead there are musing chats with Modoc tribe councilmen about plans for their city, and an encounter with a troublemaker for sale to the highest bidder. The sensible Will Camphouse comments that he prefers to say he's an Indian because it's shorter than Native American. Muller shows us people, not causes.
LISTEN TO THE SILENCE is an absorbing read, moving from one gripping physical or psychological event to another so closely that there is no place where it is possible to stop. It is preceded in the 20-book Sharon McCone series by A WALK THROUGH THE FIRE, but is excellent as a stand-alone. Marcia Muller has won multiple mystery awards and this book is sure to meet her fans’ high expectations.
July 2000 Review Originally Published on the Independent Reviews Site
Co-Favorite Contemporary Mystery Reread of 2010
June 12, 2018
Great title, decent story.
I mean, Listen to the Silence is so delicious it could be trademarked.
But the actual story is okay, not great. I was thrown off-kilter when Saskia was hit by a car. That was just tossed in there as a gateway to add in more places Sharon could go to. The Jimmy D scandal felt off, and everything after him was rushed. Sharon went to so many places in so little time, it got confusing and none of the settings past the reserve Fenella visited were vivid.
I mean, Listen to the Silence is so delicious it could be trademarked.
But the actual story is okay, not great. I was thrown off-kilter when Saskia was hit by a car. That was just tossed in there as a gateway to add in more places Sharon could go to. The Jimmy D scandal felt off, and everything after him was rushed. Sharon went to so many places in so little time, it got confusing and none of the settings past the reserve Fenella visited were vivid.
January 14, 2021
Sharon McCone's world has been thrown end over end when her father dies and among some papers she finds adoption papers — her own.
And, of course, because this book has to be mystery, McCone goes over the deep end about her "parents' lies" about her paternity — and sends her off to try and find out who her real parents are and how she ended up an adopted child. Can you tell how frustrated that makes me — a 40-year-old woman who emotionally throws away — or nearly so — all those years of being part of a family with caring parents. I frankly would expect that if she was 16, even in her early 20s, but 40?
But we wouldn't have a story if she didn't act that way. And most of the book is her tracing her families connections to the woman who gave her baby away 40 years before — and the reasons she did so. Both are involved in what she discovers is happening now, her biological mother nearly killed in a hit and run, a proposed resort that is being fought by a small band Modoc Indians in Northern California, and what happened at Cinder Cone?
If you can get past the crazy personal antics of McCone, this is an interesting story and I did indeed enjoy it. But I've been far too often frustrated by the McCone character. There are times where I think she's maturing and the rhythm of the books have focused on the mystery and not McCone's love life, personal relationships, etc. The books don't need it and I think the stories would be stronger without all the added drama.
And, of course, because this book has to be mystery, McCone goes over the deep end about her "parents' lies" about her paternity — and sends her off to try and find out who her real parents are and how she ended up an adopted child. Can you tell how frustrated that makes me — a 40-year-old woman who emotionally throws away — or nearly so — all those years of being part of a family with caring parents. I frankly would expect that if she was 16, even in her early 20s, but 40?
But we wouldn't have a story if she didn't act that way. And most of the book is her tracing her families connections to the woman who gave her baby away 40 years before — and the reasons she did so. Both are involved in what she discovers is happening now, her biological mother nearly killed in a hit and run, a proposed resort that is being fought by a small band Modoc Indians in Northern California, and what happened at Cinder Cone?
If you can get past the crazy personal antics of McCone, this is an interesting story and I did indeed enjoy it. But I've been far too often frustrated by the McCone character. There are times where I think she's maturing and the rhythm of the books have focused on the mystery and not McCone's love life, personal relationships, etc. The books don't need it and I think the stories would be stronger without all the added drama.
February 4, 2021
This is the first book I've ever read from Marcia Muller and so far, I like the way she writes. She doesnt beat around the bush and unnecessary fillers and word count extenders don't make much of an appearance here. It's quite an easy read overall.
Some spoilers ahead, but I found it ingenious how Sharon McCone, a private investigator who just discovered that she was adopted, listened to the silences of the people around her to uncover the truth of her origins. She listened to what they didn't and couldn't say, to the sighs, moments of hesitation, and their long pauses. I personally didn't like the main character too much, but since this is the 20th out of 33 books in a mystery series, I couldn't properly gauge Sharon's character development.
The book's insight on family dynamics, the effects of bigotry and contempt, removing indigenous people from their ancestral lands, and the promises that governments can make but never fulfill seemed timely to me despite it being published in the year 2000.
As an Asian, I can't exactly say whether the information here on Native Americans is completely accurate. It's still a 4/5 rating for me, but I'm really generous with ratings anyway though.
Some spoilers ahead, but I found it ingenious how Sharon McCone, a private investigator who just discovered that she was adopted, listened to the silences of the people around her to uncover the truth of her origins. She listened to what they didn't and couldn't say, to the sighs, moments of hesitation, and their long pauses. I personally didn't like the main character too much, but since this is the 20th out of 33 books in a mystery series, I couldn't properly gauge Sharon's character development.
The book's insight on family dynamics, the effects of bigotry and contempt, removing indigenous people from their ancestral lands, and the promises that governments can make but never fulfill seemed timely to me despite it being published in the year 2000.
As an Asian, I can't exactly say whether the information here on Native Americans is completely accurate. It's still a 4/5 rating for me, but I'm really generous with ratings anyway though.
August 20, 2012
Another bridge book. This one concerns learning about her being adopted and meeting her new family. Seems I missed all the milestone books. Always like books/plots that fill in areas of her past.
For PI Sharon McCone, when one door opens, another shuts. In the midst of celebrating a joyous wedding, she gets word that her father has died. The news leads her to the rituals of death: the scattering of ashes, the sharing of grief, the sorting of a loved one's belongings. But the last of these acts leads to a shocking discovery that will flip her life upside down. Soon, McCone is drawn into a conspiracy that includes the attempted murder of an activist lawyer and threats on her own life. No one is talking, and to discover the truth, Sharon McCone must learn to listen to the silence -- before a killer's bullet silences her.
For PI Sharon McCone, when one door opens, another shuts. In the midst of celebrating a joyous wedding, she gets word that her father has died. The news leads her to the rituals of death: the scattering of ashes, the sharing of grief, the sorting of a loved one's belongings. But the last of these acts leads to a shocking discovery that will flip her life upside down. Soon, McCone is drawn into a conspiracy that includes the attempted murder of an activist lawyer and threats on her own life. No one is talking, and to discover the truth, Sharon McCone must learn to listen to the silence -- before a killer's bullet silences her.
December 4, 2012
Important Sharon McCone mystery in that Sharon discovers her real family, but overall, a poorly written story in that it would have been better as a tight novella or perhaps a longer, more fleshed out novel. It's hard for a practiced genre author to mess up the writing, but easier to mess up if you are playing too many writer tricks with the writing. Muller played up atmosphere over substance, was a little lazy in plotting and characterization (relying on exposition by incredibly confessional characters), but did her homework on the historical facts regarding how the USA handled the forcing of American Natives onto Reservations and then starved them of resources, including food.
Sadly, despite the importance of the story to learning about the fictionalized history of McCone, this book is not that good, a two and a half star rating in my opinion.
Sadly, despite the importance of the story to learning about the fictionalized history of McCone, this book is not that good, a two and a half star rating in my opinion.
July 30, 2017
Listen to the Silence by Marcia Muller is the 20th book of the Sharon McCone mystery series set in contemporary Northern California. Sharon is in for the shock of her life when her father dies...and she is the one designated to go through his legal documents. When her mother refuses to explain the past, Sharon puts her San Francisco career on hold, and goes to Montana as well as rural Northern California to ferret out her family's well-hidden secret. She needs all her investigative skills, as well as plenty of courage, and she must develop a new skill.....to listen to the silence: imagine what may be left unsaid, in her conversations with family and friends, and her interviews with strangers. Sharon's significant other Hy is a rock she can depend upon throughout, supporting her quest for the truth, coming to her rescue when it gets most dangerous.
July 1, 2025
I'm now past the reread portion of my slow burn Sharon McCone series glom, this being the first book that's "new to me" having not read it years ago when it was first published. This was "OK" for me in the first half but picked up steam in the second half, leading to the 4 star rating. After her father dies Sharon finds out that she's adopted, her parents having lied to her for the past 40 years. The mystery doesn't really cook until Sharon heads to Montana to connect with her birth mother and the woman is mowed down by a hit-and-run driver before Sharon can talk to her. That's when the pace picked up considerably, leading Sharon to a luxury resort project stuck in litigation and a deserted ghost town in northern California.
Good, solid entry in the series.
Good, solid entry in the series.
December 1, 2007
Another flawless Marcia Muller mystery with the perfect blend of personal life and mystery. This entry in the Sharon McCone series offers a deeper look into McCone's past, including some earthshattering news she discovers after the death of her father.
I like how Muller's books further every facet of her characters' personalities, instead of ignoring the personal in favor of the professional (a la Sue Grafton's latest books) or vice versa (as many of the "cozies" do).
Great plotting, seamless storyline, great, unique characters. A terrific book as either a standalone mystery or an entry in the series.
I like how Muller's books further every facet of her characters' personalities, instead of ignoring the personal in favor of the professional (a la Sue Grafton's latest books) or vice versa (as many of the "cozies" do).
Great plotting, seamless storyline, great, unique characters. A terrific book as either a standalone mystery or an entry in the series.
June 28, 2010
This is the 10th book by this author that I have read. Most of them have been about Sharon McCone, a private detective in the San Francisco area. I haven't read them in any particular order, so I was excited to find this one. In the other books there are references to Sharon's Native American background and her finding her biological parents late in life....this book is about how she finds out that she was adopted and how she traces her family, with mystery and murder thrown in, of course. I always enjoy these books, but this was especially good because of the family thing.
December 15, 2016
This is the second book I've read written by Marcia Muller with the main character Sharon McCone.
Reading this book gave me more insight into Sharon's background and Sharon as a person. For whatever reason, the Sharon McCone character reminds me of the main character in the Sue Grafton novels. This book included mystery and intrigue. It held my interest to the end and was easy to read. The two books I read were loaned to me by a friend. I enjoyed reading them, but I really don't know if I would buy or borrow any of the other Marcia Muller's novels.
Reading this book gave me more insight into Sharon's background and Sharon as a person. For whatever reason, the Sharon McCone character reminds me of the main character in the Sue Grafton novels. This book included mystery and intrigue. It held my interest to the end and was easy to read. The two books I read were loaned to me by a friend. I enjoyed reading them, but I really don't know if I would buy or borrow any of the other Marcia Muller's novels.
February 9, 2011
My sister recommended this author because of the San Francisco location and also she knows I like a mystery. The lead is PI Sharon McCone and she is in search for her true identity after the death of her father. The story is an easy read and most interesting. Take to the beach or bath, and you'll be entertained.The Skye in June
December 14, 2012
I just found this on my shelf again. Just moved and seeing/looking at books for the second and third time. This is my favorite Sharon McCone book. Her sense of listening to the silence and how it related to my life, and others I presume, was so meaningful to me. She had many discoveries in this book, and from what I remember, the murder plot was secondary. It's been a while folks, so don't through eggs if you disagree. It was a feeling, and I loved this book.
July 31, 2015
I read this book to relax me. Sharon Mccone 's father has died and she is responsible to settle his affairs. He left papers of her adoption. This news to her. Sharon begins to search her background. Hy tells her to listen to the silence when people talk to her about the time she was born. Her search takes her to Indian Reservations in Idaho and Montana. Will Sharon find her birth parents before she looses her life? I recommend all of this series.
July 25, 2017
The death of her father sets Sharon McCone on a search for her identity after she finds adoption papers among his things.
Discovering along the way that family and relations can be far more flexible concepts, and that silences can speak louder than words, she slowly unravels the mystery of her birth.
Discovering along the way that family and relations can be far more flexible concepts, and that silences can speak louder than words, she slowly unravels the mystery of her birth.
December 19, 2017
Muller's McCone mysteries are always at their best when Sharon is close to the mystery, and you can't get much closer than this, when McCone is delving into her own family's past. it's a good mystery that covers a lot of ground and has some nice twists and turns. Muller's touching upon native American cultures is also a nice expansion of her usual storytelling.
March 28, 2013
OMG people whats with the spoilers?? For those who have never read Muller, this is NOT the one to start with. It is well written and Sharon has some major life changes. This is one of my faves of Muller's because of these life changes. I am angry no one put spoiler alerts on their reviews.
July 20, 2012
Better than the last one. Sharon finds out she's adopted and goes off in search of her birth parents after her Dad dies. Her biological mother turns out to be an attorney who takes on Indian causes & is a Shoshone herself. Not bad, but a little coincidental in parts.
March 12, 2013
Listen to the Silence- Marcia Muller: A quick, enjoyable mystery featuring Sharon McCone. Searching through her deceased father's papers, Sharon discovers she was adopted and sets out on a 40 year old truth seeking mission.
September 17, 2008
My girl Sharon is back for another mystery. As usual, I'm going to dish what you can read on the dust jacket. Also I don't want to say anything spoilerish.
Want to read
January 10, 2009Part of my 2009 TBR challenge
September 8, 2009
Very Good; Continuing character: Sharon McCone; PI discovers she was adopted and goes looking for her birth parents and find intrigue and murder.
November 14, 2009
my new favorite character and author
March 31, 2011
fast-paced emotional journey
October 17, 2011
and 1/2
October 20, 2012
It was a good story although it just barely qualifies as a murder mystery. Nice twist at the end.
One of the things I like about this series is how the background story ties the books together.
One of the things I like about this series is how the background story ties the books together.
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