A new Marcia Muller book is always cause for celebration, and in this brooding, melancholy thriller she introduces a compelling new heroine. Rhoda "Rho" Swift is a deputy sheriff in California's fictional Soledad County. She is still tormented by a 13-year-old multiple murder in Cascade Canyon, where two counterculture families and their children were slain by an unknown killer. And when the body of an unidentified woman washes up in the waters off nearby Point Deception and two other local women go missing, Rhoda fears that the anniversary of the Canyon murders has unleashed another killing spree. She's not alone. The scared, suspicious townspeople are wondering the same thing. They're also unhappy that Guy Newberry, a New York writer whose bestselling books have exposed the secrets of other small towns, has turned up in Soledad trying to ferret out theirs. But Rho and Guy have something in common besides trying to learn why trouble has come back to Point Deception: they're both running from their own demons, and even the attraction that's starting to grow between them can't change the past.

Muller's intricate plotting and strong narrative flow have won a dedicated fan base for her Sharon McCone series, and both qualities are on full display here. She's skilled at evoking the landscape and atmosphere of her native California, and even her minor characters (like Wayne Gilardi, Rho's fellow cop, and Jack Swift, her father) are complex and interesting enough that their sketched-in back stories are worth telling. A terrific read from a master of the genre, Point Deception is Muller at her best. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
You can taste the fog and smell the seaweed along Highway 1 in Boucher Award-winner Muller's Soledad County even though it's a fictional entity pasted between the real Mendocino and Humboldt Counties on California's northern coast. You can also feel the despair and frustration that hover over the area, scene of some particularly brutal murders 13 years before. Taking a break from her justly praised Sharon McCone series, Muller creates a compelling (if somewhat predictable) story of a community and its inhabitants whose faith in themselves and in each other has been poisoned by the past. Sheriff's Deputy Rhoda Swift, now in her mid-30s, was a rookie cop who made some mistakes on her first big job investigating the shooting deaths of six adults and two children in a post-hippie commune in Cascada Canyon. After driving past a young woman standing next to her disabled sports car at the Point Deception turnout, Rho turns back to help, but a sudden emergency call takes her elsewhere. The disappearance and later murder of the stranded motorist sets off another round of violence and guilt. Guy Newberry, a successful New York-based writer of true-crime books, tries to break out of the slough of despond caused by the death of his wife by digging up the Cascada Canyon graves. He and Rho forge a touchy, believable bond, and Muller's circle of secondary characters is wide and deep, but most readers will come away from this one humming the scenery instead of the plot. (July 31)Forecast: Lots of McCone fans should be drawn to their favorite author's first stand-alone mystery.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Marcia Muller without Sharon McCone? Though Muller has other heroines (e.g., art curator Elena Oliverez and art security expert Joanna Stark), McCone is her star, and her most recent effort marks a departure after more than 20 McCone books. Details from an unsolved 13-year-old multiple murder surface after a body is recovered at Point Deception, CA. Soledad County Sheriff's Deputy Rhoda Swift, an appealing mix of vulnerability and competence, joins New York writer Guy Newberry on the Golden State's coast to research the old case and connect recent and past murders. Reopening a crime of yore is a familiar plot device, but Muller moves smoothly from the voice of the murdered woman to Rhoda and Guy, pulling together strands from past and present as evidence is uncovered. In addition to increasing plot complexity, she maintains her ability to develop strong characters that readers care about. For all mystery collections. Ruth H. Miller, Rice Lib., Univ. of Southern Indiana, Evansville Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Sharon McCone may be on vacation, but Marcia Muller is in peak condition with this story featuring Rhoda "Rho" Swift, a deputy sheriff in a small northern California coastal town. A woman standing by the edge of a winding cliffside road hopes that someone will stop to help her, but no one does. When she turns up dead, many will feel guilty for what they did or failed to do. When her death appears to be related to an unsolved mass murder that occurred in an isolated canyon near the town, and a writer from New York appears with plans to write a book about the crime, the horrible memories that resurface cause anxiety and hostility, polarizing the citizens. When two more women disappear, Rhoda realizes that these crimes may offer a second chance to prove herself as a detective, and the writer discovers a way to put his personal ghosts to rest. This is a page-turner of the highest quality, fueled by a well-constructed, suspenseful plot. Muller addresses the issue of domestic violence with sensitivity and insight, and, as always, her take on human relationships reflects complexity and feeling. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

Signal Port, California, has seen its share of tragedy. But when the body of an unidentified woman washes up at nearby Point Deception, its nightmare begins again. Who is the unfortunate victim, and will her murder go unsolved, just like the murders of two local families more than 13 years ago? To journalist Guy Newberry, it's more than another story. To sheriff Rhoda Swift, it's the final straw that could destroy her town. Then more women are murdered, and suddenly Newberry and Swift have no choice but to pool their resources, racing against the clock to catch a killer whose motives are not as random as they seem.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Rhoda Swift, sheriff's deputy in California's Soledad County, lives with her haunting dreams of an unsolved mass murder thirteen years earlier. In a remote spot on the rocky Pacific coast two families were found riddled with bullets. Two children lay among the dead. And rookie Rhoda Swift was first at the scene. Unjustly blamed for losing the blood samples that might have cracked the case, Rhoda watched her reputation and marriage crumble. It's taken her all this time to prove herself a damn good cop." "But another death is about to shake Rhoda's world. The body of a young woman, pretty in a way that says trouble, is found in the sea off Point Deception. Coming almost on the anniversary of the massacre, the new killing revives a community's fears and suspicions that a monster still walks among them. Further stirring the brew is Guy Newberry, a best-selling New York author and journalist determined to write about the unsolved crime and its dark legacy." "Soon Newberry's digging is dividing a town between those who want the truth and those who want to forget it. Like an incendiary device, the new Point Deception murder is inflaming memories and strong feelings for both Rhoda and Newberry, a man with secrets of his own. They cautiously join forces during the investigation, sharing leads and troubling conclusions."--BOOK JACKET.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Marcia Muller without Sharon McCone? Though Muller has other heroines (e.g., art curator Elena Oliverez and art security expert Joanna Stark), McCone is her star, and her most recent effort marks a departure after more than 20 McCone books. Details from an unsolved 13-year-old multiple murder surface after a body is recovered at Point Deception, CA. Soledad County Sheriff's Deputy Rhoda Swift, an appealing mix of vulnerability and competence, joins New York writer Guy Newberry on the Golden State's coast to research the old case and connect recent and past murders. Reopening a crime of yore is a familiar plot device, but Muller moves smoothly from the voice of the murdered woman to Rhoda and Guy, pulling together strands from past and present as evidence is uncovered. In addition to increasing plot complexity, she maintains her ability to develop strong characters that readers care about. For all mystery collections. Ruth H. Miller, Rice Lib., Univ. of Southern Indiana, Evansville Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews