Dark Star

Joanna Stark #3

by Marcia Muller

Things seem to be going smoothly for Joanna Stark; she is beginning to get over the fear that has haunted her since her near-fatal encounter (in There Hangs the Knife) with Antony Parducci, former lover, art forger, thief. But arriving home after lunch at her son's winery-to-be in their town of Sonoma, Joanna finds her house broken into and a painting—one of no value but of great significance to Joanna—has been stolen.The painting has been taken, and other subtle clues left, she knows, on purpose in order to frighten her. She is convinced that Parducci, whom she had left for dead in England, has been there, has come to kill her.Joanna is alone with her fear. Her stepson, E.J., convinced the man is certainly dead, will urge her to put him out of her mind; it's unhealthy, he's told her, to dwell on past fears. Moved to confide in a woman friend, Joanna is drawn into another mystery—the provenance and ownership of two very valuable paintings that no one had known about. Oddly, mysteries and anomalies begin to match, one with the other; and, like a giant spider, Parducci seems to be at the center of it all.This final novel in Muller's three-part work about her interesting character, Joanna Stark, brings the strongly independent woman to a final confrontation with the man who hates her for betraying him, and provides an exciting climax both to the novel and the series.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1989

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

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joanna Stark is an art security expert who has more twists and turns in her personal life that she is likely ever to face as an amateur sleuth. She got pregnant by an art thief when she was young, somehow her son gets adopted by a man who becomes Joanna's lover and then his wife. He has since died, the son has found out about the relationship and she has withdrawn for the most part to an old farmhouse that she has renovated in Sonoma.

The art thief continues to steal, which keeps him on Joanna's mind as part owner of an art security firm. In the second book of this series, she almost dies trying to capture him.

In this, the third in the series, Joanna is still concerned with her old lover and she's once again focused on trying to finally run him to ground. While she foils his latest effort to steal a Van Gogh, he also ends up dead and the main suspect is ...

Anyway, smart Joanna may be, but the story is still unrealistic and her as a character is not too likable. And the ending is too, too neat. But then this story was written in 1990 and Muller hasn't written any others, so perhaps the neat little bundle is her farewell to this character.

This is an OK mystery, not many twists and turns, and for many mystery writers, I'm sure they will like Joanna more than I did.

[Martha Fiorentini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and entertaining.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright. More details could have been added. Still a decent read.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another 1990's tale. Good story.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Joanna Stark series. The final episode of a trilogy about Joanna Stark, a 43 year-old security expert who specializes in art theft, and Antony Parducci, her former lover and a broker of stolen art works. This is definately the end of the series - I have never encountered an epilogue that more neatly wrapped up all loose threads and also assured no sequels. An enjoyable series, this episode was an improvement on episode two, but I felt that the protagonist made some unwarranted leaps of logic based on reading old newspaper accounts.

Joanna Stark series - Returning home from lunch at her son's winery in Sonoma, Joanna Stark finds her house broken into and a painting--one of no value but of great significance to Joanna--has been stolen. ...She believes Antony Parducci, her former lover and an art forger, is behind this.

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reread, but I can't remember any of the details from last time around. I just recall vaguely thinking that the book didn't make a lot of sense when I read it by itself. As the third volume of a series it makes more sense. Mostly I've enjoyed these three books for being a chance to curl up with one of my favourite authors again. The books aren't as good as the McCones but as a trilogy they make a better story than as individual books. The ending of this one feels a bit like Muller had decided not to writer any more books about Joanna and decided to put 'and they lived happily ever after' on the last page. Nothing wrong with that really, a bit of closure never hurts.

[Amelia in PDX · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realize that the time frame that this book was written in, this book was probably more of a "cutting edge" mystery then, but I felt like the "heroine" was almost too self-motivated about everything. She owns a business with a partner, but then withdraws from the daily running of it, even when the partner is trying to pin her down, she's distracted. I had a hard time getting through this book. I've read other books by this author that I've enjoyed, but this one is more 50/50 on my enjoyment.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of a trilogy set in the art world, and I loved every one.
They are out-of-print and hard to find but worth the search and the wait.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

she certainly tied up that series!

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not Marcia Muller's best work. I was disappointed.