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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780446581073
ISBN number: 0446581070
Label: Grand Central Publishing
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: October 27, 2008
Publishing house: Grand Central Publishing
Sale Popularity Level: 9821
Studio: Grand Central Publishing
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Traumatized by a recent life-or-death investigation, Sharon McCone flees to her ranch in California's high desert country to contemplate her future. Deep depression shadows her days and nights, and a chance encounter with a troubled, highly secretive Native American woman begins to haunt her dreams. Even though she is determined not to investigate anything during her stay--and perhaps not ever again--McCone is drawn into the plight of the young woman and her dysfunctional family. A murder and traces of violence at a deserted resort lead her across the desert and into Nevada, and finally to a remote and isolated ranch, where danger lies closer that she expects and where her future and life itself may hang in the balance.
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Rated by buyers 
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First Sentence: I sat on the bluff's edge, facing southeast, where a newly risen full moon cast a shimmery path over the waters of Tufa Lake.
After the last couple cases, Sharon McCone is seriously questioning whether she wants to continue with her business and is taking a vacation at her husband Hy's ranch. She sees a young woman who appears to be in trouble but refuses Sharon's offer of help. When the woman later turns up murdered, Sharon can't help but get involved in the investigation for her killer.
Once before, with "Wolf in the Shadows," Muller made a pivotal advancement in both her writing and in the character of McCone. Muller's ability to have McCone grow and change has made her one of the best female PI characters being written. Even though Hy is rarely on the scene, even their relationship has developed through the series. In this book, it's nice to see McCone being introspective and questioning her future while being self-deprecating. At the same time, she stays true to her instincts.
The story is tightly plotted with lots of twists along the way, few of which I saw coming. Involving McCone's Indian heritage and the information on the "moccasin telegraph" added an extra layer to the story. As always, Muller provides a very strong sense of place and believable dialogue.
I'm always afraid I'll get tired of this series. To her credit, Ms. Muller's writing brings me back and keeps me involved with each new book.
Rated by buyers 
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i just recently reread all the Mccones in order so it was timely when this last one was delivered to follow up from the Ever Running Man i've been reading Muller since 1995 or so, i've liked them all and reread them pretty much yearly. this one i will be looking forward to reread. it kept me entertained. good pacing, i like that she keeps giving updates on old characters and developing the loved ones. Excellent read!
Rated by buyers -
Marcia Muller
Grand Central Publishing, 2008
ISBN number: 0446581070
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for [.....], 11/08
5 stars
Burn Out was the perfect sequel to Ever Running Man. However, Burn Out does stand well alone. Marcia Muller has a talent for developing characters and keeping them sharp.
Sharon McCone was a strong woman that needed rest. Following her brush with death, she retired to her husband's ranch to recoup. After her ordeal in Ever Running Man, she is considering closing her practice and retiring. We cannot have that happen. We would miss our favorite detective.
The change of scenery must have been good for Sharon, because right away she was drawn into another investigation. One of the ranch manager's nieces was found murdered, and the other is missing along with her mother. Sharon is determined to find the missing girl. The investigation takes Sharon into the Nevada desert. Before the story ends, she is searching her Shoshone roots. Marcia Muller never disappoints her readers. Her plot is plausible and captured my interest. I kept turning the pages, eagerly await the subsequent bit of story. Fans of mystery will enjoy Burn Out.
Rated by buyers -
When Sharon McCone started the All Souls Detective Agency in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, its purpose was altruistic. Her team of family and friends set a goal to help people who fell through the cracks of the criminal justice system. They tracked down the bad guys the old-fashioned, gumshoe way: door knocking, rummaging through public records, mind- and butt-numbing stakeouts in unsavory places. Her clients tended to fly below the radar of the media and often the police.
Over the years Sharon's reputation grew until she attracted a clientele who actually paid their bills. Her sucess coincided with the gentrification of San Francisco's waterfront until she now headed a large, high-tech agency out of a classy Pier office condominium. Listening devices, tracking sensors and a staff of computer geniuses who could hack into private systems were at her beck and call. They had hung up their gumshoes for night vision glasses and laptop computers connected via satellite. Her recent marriage to Hy Ripinsky, a former CIA operative with a worldwide clientele of his own, was partially responsible for the expansion. Business was booming, but did the personal risks outweigh the thrill of success?
Their most recent breaking news, TV bulletin, media event capture of The Burning Man left her burned out. The terrorist bomber had killed one of her employees, destroyed her home and office, and she almost lost her own life. The incident also nearly ended her marriage.
Depressed and suffering from nightmares, Sharon retreats to the peace and isolation of her ranch in the High Sierras, where she can come to terms with her future. She finds that the ranch caretakers, Ramon Perez and his wife, are facing a family crisis. Their drug-addicted niece, Hayley, disappears, then is found murdered. Hayley's promising younger sister also vanishes, and their mother commits suicide. Sharon offers to help find Amy and immediately is pulled into a dangerous situation that is much more complex than it seems.
This time, she doesn't need her high-tech employees to help Ramon and his family. When two more local people die mysteriously, Sharon calls upon family members from her American Indian roots, and through the "moccasin highway" she finds the connection between these lost souls and the wealthy property owners near her ranch. The trail leads from Las Vegas to the vast reaches of the Toiyabe National Forest as Sharon finds herself right back in harm's way.
Award-winning author Marcia Muller's tightly plotted mysteries continue to please her fans. BURN OUT shows us a favorite heroine uncharacteristically out of control at a stage in life nearly all of us reach at some point. She is able to return to her roots of helping people who would otherwise fall through those same cracks, whose lost lives might go unnoticed except by those closest to them. We might not have the resources to bounce back through such an adventurous re-entry into reality, but it certainly makes for a great escape for mystery lovers everywhere.
--- Reviewed by Roz Shea
Rated by buyers 
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Reviewed by Danielle Feliciano for Reader Views (11/08)
"Burn Out" is a mostly-forgettable book starring Sharon McCone, she of Muller's other novels. Sharon is a private investigator who owns her own firm and is married to Hy Ripinski, a corporate security specialist. After a particularly harrowing case (previous novel "The Ever Running Man"), Sharon is burned out and isn't sure if she wants to continue as a PI. Struggling against depression and disillusionment, she heads off to her desert ranch to escape and try to heal. She has vowed to take this time to herself and not to take on any new cases. Predictably, she gets herself involved in a case pretty quickly.
Her ranch hand Ramon's niece Hayley has been brutally murdered, although nobody even knew she was back in town. Hayley's sister and mother are missing and Sharon offers to help out of loyalty to Ramon. While her intentions are admirable, it seemed too easy to have her wander into something while taking a break.
The more Sharon followed the case and tried to figure out what was going on, the more I grew to dislike her. As a character, I find her to be extremely annoying. The way she is written, she over thinks everything as a way to narrate the story. This is distracting and unnecessary. While it is understood that this is a series of books with the same character, it would be helpful to the reader to explain a bit more about her background (her heritage and adoption that seem to play so much a part of her self-image). Not everyone will be reading these books in order and need some background information. Also, her marriage with Hy is a joke in my opinion. Sharon claims they have a "psychic connection" and goes out of her way to show the reader how close they are, but I never believed it. They are apart more than they are together and when they are together, the conversation and connection feels forced to me.
Overall, this book is good enough if you have some free time over a weekend and want to curl up with a something that is a light read. It took no thinking at all to follow the storyline and if you can get past Sharon, it is easy to get caught up in the story and the other characters. "Burn Out" by Marcia Muller is easy to read but just as easy to forget.
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