What do you think?
Rate this book
Sharon McCone #15.5
The McCone Files
The contemporary female private eye story began in 1977 when Edgar-nominee Marcia Muller published Edwin of the Iron Shoes, about Sharon McCone, investigator for the All Souls legal co-op. Sharon is a humane and sympathetic sleuth who makes a difference to her clients and to the world around her. The McCone Files contains the 13 previously uncollected short stories about McCone, including the Shamus Award winning "Final Resting Place", as well as two written specially for this volume.
248 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1995
8 people are currently reading
245 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 2, 2024
This book contains some of the finest hardboiled detective stories featuring a female P.I, from the person responsible for creation of such a fictional entity. Apart from a heartfelt 'Introduction', it contains the following tales~
1. The Last Open File;
2. Merrill-Go-Round;
3. Wild Mustard;
4. The Broken Men;
5. Deceptions;
6. Cache and Carry;
7. Deadly Fantasies;
8. All the Lonely People;
9. The Place That Time Forgot;
10. Somewhere in the City;
11. Final Resting Place;
12. Silent Night;
13. Benny's Space;
14. The Lost Coast;
15. File Closed.
Like all truly good stories, they are about changing times, politics, socio-economic pushes and pulls affecting the poor and the vulnerable, and how all that often leads to crime. Also, like the best of hardboiled tales, we find an uncompromisingly honest, fallible, yet empathic human being as the protagonist. She reminded me of Chandler when he was talking about the detective in his sublime essay, with a little change~
"If there were enough like her, the world would be a safe place to live in, without becoming too dull to be worth living in. Such is my faith"
Highly recommended.
1. The Last Open File;
2. Merrill-Go-Round;
3. Wild Mustard;
4. The Broken Men;
5. Deceptions;
6. Cache and Carry;
7. Deadly Fantasies;
8. All the Lonely People;
9. The Place That Time Forgot;
10. Somewhere in the City;
11. Final Resting Place;
12. Silent Night;
13. Benny's Space;
14. The Lost Coast;
15. File Closed.
Like all truly good stories, they are about changing times, politics, socio-economic pushes and pulls affecting the poor and the vulnerable, and how all that often leads to crime. Also, like the best of hardboiled tales, we find an uncompromisingly honest, fallible, yet empathic human being as the protagonist. She reminded me of Chandler when he was talking about the detective in his sublime essay, with a little change~
"If there were enough like her, the world would be a safe place to live in, without becoming too dull to be worth living in. Such is my faith"
Highly recommended.
October 14, 2018
A nice listen for fans. It was fun to place where in the series timeline each story takes place. Pleasant way to pass the time but nothing that lit my world on fire.
December 15, 2018
I'm usually not a fan of mysteries of this length; they tend to be too short to have much depth to them. But Muller manages to have about half of these stories rise up beyond those limitations.
"The Last Open File" and "File Closed" nicely bookend McCone's time at All Souls, creating a strong focus for this book (especially with its strong setting in San Francisco, something more recent novels have regrettably lost). "The Broken Men" does have good depth, but that may just be because it's the longest in the collection, at 40+ pages, but whatever the reason it's a strong read. "The Place That Time Forgot" has a strong emotional resonance. "Somewhere in the City" does a great job of telling a story about the Loma Prieta earthquake, something I'd always found missing in the novels. "Silent Night" does a good job of introducing Mick (through strangely under the name "Michael").
The other stories were enjoyable, though several were shallow, as I expected.
"The Last Open File" and "File Closed" nicely bookend McCone's time at All Souls, creating a strong focus for this book (especially with its strong setting in San Francisco, something more recent novels have regrettably lost). "The Broken Men" does have good depth, but that may just be because it's the longest in the collection, at 40+ pages, but whatever the reason it's a strong read. "The Place That Time Forgot" has a strong emotional resonance. "Somewhere in the City" does a great job of telling a story about the Loma Prieta earthquake, something I'd always found missing in the novels. "Silent Night" does a good job of introducing Mick (through strangely under the name "Michael").
The other stories were enjoyable, though several were shallow, as I expected.
August 2, 2014
Short stories featuring San Francisco private eye, Sharon McCone. The volume is a historical look at Sharon's career as the investigator for All Souls Legal Cooperative. It begins with a story written for this volume about her being hired by Hank Zahn at All Souls and her first case, which was never solved. It ends with another original story about the completion of her first case and with her leaving her office at All Souls and encountering Hank, doing the same. In between are 13 stories, chronologically arranged, concerning her career. The quality of the stories is uneven, which you can expect in a volume written over the course of 13 years. Although all the stories are attributed to first publication in magazines or anthologies, the material has also found its way into her novels.
Sharon McCone series - SS - The contemporary female private eye story began in 1977 when Edgar-nominee Marcia Muller published Edwin of the Iron Shoes, about Sharon McCone, investigator for the All Souls legal co-op. Sharon is a humane and sympathetic sleuth who makes a difference to her clients and to the world around her. The McCone Files contains the 13 previously uncollected short stories about McCone, including the Shamus Award winning Final Resting Place, as well as two written specially for this volume.
Sharon McCone series - SS - The contemporary female private eye story began in 1977 when Edgar-nominee Marcia Muller published Edwin of the Iron Shoes, about Sharon McCone, investigator for the All Souls legal co-op. Sharon is a humane and sympathetic sleuth who makes a difference to her clients and to the world around her. The McCone Files contains the 13 previously uncollected short stories about McCone, including the Shamus Award winning Final Resting Place, as well as two written specially for this volume.
May 8, 2015
Nice little set of stories. Fills in some blanks. Real short. Quick read. Good short stories...
The contemporary female private eye story began in 1977 when Edgar-nominee Marcia Muller published Edwin of the Iron Shoes, about Sharon McCone, investigator for the All Souls legal co-op. Sharon is a humane and sympathetic sleuth who makes a difference to her clients and to the world around her. The McCone Files contains the 13 previously uncollected short stories about McCone, including the Shamus Award winning "Final Resting Place", as well as two written specially for this volume.
The contemporary female private eye story began in 1977 when Edgar-nominee Marcia Muller published Edwin of the Iron Shoes, about Sharon McCone, investigator for the All Souls legal co-op. Sharon is a humane and sympathetic sleuth who makes a difference to her clients and to the world around her. The McCone Files contains the 13 previously uncollected short stories about McCone, including the Shamus Award winning "Final Resting Place", as well as two written specially for this volume.
May 24, 2011
I have enjoyed this series over the years, but somehow this short story collection did not satisfy.
July 20, 2024
This is a short-story collection that traces the fictional Sharon McCone from her first days at the legal co-op until she opens an independent new office.
In “The Last Open File,” Sharon deals with a young woman whose boyfriend conned her. Sharon never did find the guy in this story at least, and the extremely naive young woman remained in love with him despite his efforts at bilking her.
“Merrill-Go-Round” is a great story worth your time that looks at child kidnapping and parental custody. It’s way short, but I enjoyed it.
“Wild Mustard” focuses on an aging Japanese woman with whom McCone strikes up a casual acquaintance. When the old woman suspiciously dies, McCone looks deeper into the death. It’s a decent story that looks at the complexities of death and human nature.
“The Broken Men” is an interesting story about murder among clowns.
In “Deceptions,” Law Student Vanessa leaves a suicide note in her car, which is parked near the Golden Gate bridge. But they can’t find a body, and they can’t find a witness who saw her jump. This story has a grim, nasty ending that could be disturbing to the highly sensitive among us, but it was an excellent story.
“Cache and Carry” is super short and features a collaboration between McCone and Bill Pronzini’s “Nameless Detective.”
I wasn’t impressed with the staying power of “Deadly Fantasies.” As of this writing, I can’t tell you much about the plot.
“All the Lonely People” is a great story in which McCone investigates a dating/matchmaking service pre-Internet.
“The Place That Time Forgot” is a sad story about a granddaughter’s estrangement from her grandpa and McCone’s attempts to reunite them.
In “Somewhere in the City,” Muller takes you back to the earthquake that struck the San Francisco area in October 1989. It’s my second favorite story in the collection because you get an almost-visceral look at the damage the quake had on people, not just things. You also see how goodness and decency triumph.
“Final Resting Place” is another story that didn’t long stay with me.
“Silent Night” is my favorite story in the book. It’s a Christmas mystery in which McCone must use her detective skills to find a troubled teenage relative on Christmas Eve and into early Christmas morning. The story will put you in the spirit of the season no matter what time of year you read it. It gets my personal favorite award.
“Benny's Space” is a short but up-close look at gang violence and the unreliability of witnesses.
“The Lost Coast" is a story that looks at marriage, murder, and politics.
In “File Closed,” McCone finds the couple from the first story as she is moving out of her office at the co-op. It’s a nice way of circling back to do unfinished business from story one.
With a couple of rare exceptions, this is a solid short-story collection you can invest time in and feel good about the investment.
In “The Last Open File,” Sharon deals with a young woman whose boyfriend conned her. Sharon never did find the guy in this story at least, and the extremely naive young woman remained in love with him despite his efforts at bilking her.
“Merrill-Go-Round” is a great story worth your time that looks at child kidnapping and parental custody. It’s way short, but I enjoyed it.
“Wild Mustard” focuses on an aging Japanese woman with whom McCone strikes up a casual acquaintance. When the old woman suspiciously dies, McCone looks deeper into the death. It’s a decent story that looks at the complexities of death and human nature.
“The Broken Men” is an interesting story about murder among clowns.
In “Deceptions,” Law Student Vanessa leaves a suicide note in her car, which is parked near the Golden Gate bridge. But they can’t find a body, and they can’t find a witness who saw her jump. This story has a grim, nasty ending that could be disturbing to the highly sensitive among us, but it was an excellent story.
“Cache and Carry” is super short and features a collaboration between McCone and Bill Pronzini’s “Nameless Detective.”
I wasn’t impressed with the staying power of “Deadly Fantasies.” As of this writing, I can’t tell you much about the plot.
“All the Lonely People” is a great story in which McCone investigates a dating/matchmaking service pre-Internet.
“The Place That Time Forgot” is a sad story about a granddaughter’s estrangement from her grandpa and McCone’s attempts to reunite them.
In “Somewhere in the City,” Muller takes you back to the earthquake that struck the San Francisco area in October 1989. It’s my second favorite story in the collection because you get an almost-visceral look at the damage the quake had on people, not just things. You also see how goodness and decency triumph.
“Final Resting Place” is another story that didn’t long stay with me.
“Silent Night” is my favorite story in the book. It’s a Christmas mystery in which McCone must use her detective skills to find a troubled teenage relative on Christmas Eve and into early Christmas morning. The story will put you in the spirit of the season no matter what time of year you read it. It gets my personal favorite award.
“Benny's Space” is a short but up-close look at gang violence and the unreliability of witnesses.
“The Lost Coast" is a story that looks at marriage, murder, and politics.
In “File Closed,” McCone finds the couple from the first story as she is moving out of her office at the co-op. It’s a nice way of circling back to do unfinished business from story one.
With a couple of rare exceptions, this is a solid short-story collection you can invest time in and feel good about the investment.
March 27, 2017
Collection of short stories, covering the years Sharon McCone worked with All Souls. These were lovely to read, to get bits filled in between the novels.
One thought that struck me: on entering a room, how would Sharon know a comforter is goose down? Only thing I have thought of is perhaps synthetic filled comforters had polyester exteriors in that time period in terms of what was typically on the market in California, with goose down being covered in cotton? Or possibly it was a down filled duvet without cover on it?
Internal misgendering (two sentences) within one story, Silent Night, (of the “which pronoun do I use?” variety), as well as use of term transvestite. Consider time period depicted and when these stories were written.
One thought that struck me: on entering a room, how would Sharon know a comforter is goose down? Only thing I have thought of is perhaps synthetic filled comforters had polyester exteriors in that time period in terms of what was typically on the market in California, with goose down being covered in cotton? Or possibly it was a down filled duvet without cover on it?
Internal misgendering (two sentences) within one story, Silent Night, (of the “which pronoun do I use?” variety), as well as use of term transvestite. Consider time period depicted and when these stories were written.
March 26, 2019
Short story collections are so difficult to review. In almost all cases, you like some stories really well, some stories so-so, and some even less. This collection's no exception.
Longtime fans of the series will appreciate extra time with some of their favorite characters and periods in McCone's life (Don Del Boccio ftw!) and there are, as always, wonderful chewy bits of San Francisco scenery and history to snack on. They occupy tiny niches in the McCone timeline, and that's good enough for me.
Longtime fans of the series will appreciate extra time with some of their favorite characters and periods in McCone's life (Don Del Boccio ftw!) and there are, as always, wonderful chewy bits of San Francisco scenery and history to snack on. They occupy tiny niches in the McCone timeline, and that's good enough for me.
Want to read
March 29, 2025Read so far:
The Last Open File
*Merrill-Go-Round
*Wild Mustard
*The Broken Men
*Deceptions
*Cache and Carry
*Deadly Fantasies
*All the Lonely People
*The Place That Time Forgot
*Somewhere in the City
*Final Resting Place
*Silent Night
*Benny's Space
*The Lost Coast
File Closed
***
*The Wall
*Solo
*The Holes in the System
*Recycle
The Last Open File
*Merrill-Go-Round
*Wild Mustard
*The Broken Men
*Deceptions
*Cache and Carry
*Deadly Fantasies
*All the Lonely People
*The Place That Time Forgot
*Somewhere in the City
*Final Resting Place
*Silent Night
*Benny's Space
*The Lost Coast
File Closed
***
*The Wall
*Solo
*The Holes in the System
*Recycle
August 18, 2017
A good collection of short stories that charts the progress of both Marcia Muller as a writer and Sharon McCone as a character. I enjoyed this stroll down memory lane, seeing McCone in her early days with All Souls Legal Cooperative all the way to her stepping out to start her own PI firm.
June 23, 2019
The McCone Files by Marcia Muller is a collection of short stories set in San Francisco 1977-1992. Stories range from Sharon McCone's first job as a private investigator for Hank Zahn at All Souls Legal Co-op, to closing her last case before starting her own P.I. firm. Sharon knows and loves all the neighborhoods of SF and surrounding communities. She's always in favor of the underdog, in any situation. She goes beyond locating a stalker to empathizing with him, putting herself in jeopardy to save his life during the Loma Prieta earthquake. She doesn't stop when she finds missing people; she persuades them to reunite with their estranged families. Sharon mourns the loss of historic buildings as they are replaced with modern structures, and once-ethnic neighborhoods that are no longer affordable for the original residents.
As always, I recommend reading the Sharon McCone series in order. These short stories provide welcome reminders of earlier times in the series.
As always, I recommend reading the Sharon McCone series in order. These short stories provide welcome reminders of earlier times in the series.
Read
September 14, 2022Solid.
Read
December 7, 2010This is one of two volumes of short stories featuring Sharon McCone that I've been saving for rainy days. I finally finished all the stories and whilst I'm rarely very impressed with short stories in general and these are no exception to that rule there are two stories here that work really well.
This volume of stories covers the time that Sharon spent as the staff investigator at All Souls Legal Cooperative in San Francisco. It's fun to dive back into these days and see the old characters from the books again. The two stories I love could be considered to be just one story. The opening story covers the day that Sharon is hired by the cooperative, then a group of young and idealistic lawyers, and the closing story covers the day she leaves as the cooperative turns corporate. A single case binds these two stories together and it's good to see an author using two stories to tell a story that wouldn't have worked without the time lapse.
January 6, 2014
A collection of short stories covering various parts of Sharon McCone's time at the All Soul's Legal Cooperative, The McCone Files is somewhat uneven. However, it was delightful to go back to the beginning of this series and fill in some gaps as to how Sharon got started. It did make me nostalgic for the early days when the cast of characters was driven more by ideals than the cases themselves.
September 29, 2016
A collection of short stories set between 1977 and 1992. A little dated without any instant communication and GPS but very enjoyable. Sharon Mccone is a sympathetic and caring private investigator and her stories are a nice break from the rough and tumble crime stories.
Read
June 23, 2012Marcia Muller is one of my favorite authors!
Read
April 6, 2014Love Sharon McCone and her colleagues. This author never disappoints.
April 10, 2016
How did I not know about this sleuthy series in the bay?!
September 29, 2019
Right up my alley, but just not very well written.
December 6, 2011
Very good assortment of cases, very enjoyable, entertaining, and attention holding stories.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews