The bestselling author of "The McCone Files" teams up with the creator of the "Nameless Detective" for a collaborative mystery that bridges the San Franciscos of 1894 and 1986. Muller and Pronzini masterfully parallel the investigations of turn-of-the-century detective Quincannon and Chicana amateur sleuth Elena Oliverez.
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3.6 out of 5 stars
5 reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Double your fun when Pronzini and Muller team up
31 Oct 2001
By Kinsey Millhone
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The best thing about being a Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini fan is that there always seems to be a book by one of them that I somehow missed. Sure, I've read every Sharon McCone and Nameless Detective novel, their short story collections, and many of Pronzini's stand-alones; however, these married authors have written and edited DOZENS of books, including many that are out of print. What a treasure trove for the discerning reader of suspense!
As far as I can determine, Muller and Pronzini have collaborated on three novels: LIGHTHOUSE, a stand-alone thriller; DOUBLE, a Nameless/McCone mystery; and BEYOND THE GRAVE, featuring two of the authors' lesser-known series characters, Muller's art museum director Elena Oliverez and Pronzini's late-19th-century San Francisco detective John Quincannon. As in DOUBLE, the authors alternate -- first, we get a few chapters told from Oliverez's point of view, and then we switch to Quincannon. What makes this collaboration noteworthy is that the Quincannon chapters take place in 1894, Oliverez's in the 1980s.
Oliverez has bought a Mexican wedding chest at auction for her art museum, and when she's examining it, she finds an old report written by Quincannon inside a hidden compartment. He had been on the trail of some lost religious artifacts, but apparently was never able to find them. By using Quincannon's report, Oliverez hopes to recover the valuable pieces. In the process of searching, both characters encounter murder and face danger.
The story flows seamlessly between past and present. While these may be the authors' second-string characters, this book is definitely never second rate.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing effort by talented storytellers
9 April 2007
By viewer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Marcia Muller and especially Bill Pronzini are each great storytellers and two of my favorite mystery writers. While less impressive on plot, they are generally strong on characters, dialogue, and setting (in particular, their descriptions of the varied parts of California). They collaborated to decent effect in "Double," a fairly absorbing mystery. Muller has written passable books featuring different detectives. But, contrary to the other, happy-talk reviews, the sad reality is that Beyond The Grave is a very disappointing effort.
The transition in narration from the present (Muller's modern curator) to the past (Pronzini's dusty detective) is not smooth. It grinds the story to a halt every time. It leaves too little room for development of either the modern or the historical characters and situations. The historical story is incredibly slow-paced, drawn-out, and cliche-ridden. The ending is anticlimactic. The curator is far too slow on the uptake and her "detective work" is minimal and unimpressive. Key events that provide the only sense of menace or suspense in the present turn out to depend on the tired plot device of an old, delusional drunk. The solution to the puzzle of where old Mexican treasure was hidden also turns out to be simplistic and implausible. The reader deserves a lot better from these talented authors than trudging through hundreds of pages of dry, turgid, tired material to an uninspired, let-down ending.
The transition in narration from the present (Muller's modern curator) to the past (Pronzini's dusty detective) is not smooth. It grinds the story to a halt every time. It leaves too little room for development of either the modern or the historical characters and situations. The historical story is incredibly slow-paced, drawn-out, and cliche-ridden. The ending is anticlimactic. The curator is far too slow on the uptake and her "detective work" is minimal and unimpressive. Key events that provide the only sense of menace or suspense in the present turn out to depend on the tired plot device of an old, delusional drunk. The solution to the puzzle of where old Mexican treasure was hidden also turns out to be simplistic and implausible. The reader deserves a lot better from these talented authors than trudging through hundreds of pages of dry, turgid, tired material to an uninspired, let-down ending.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, not bad at all.
1 Oct 2002
By Robert P. Beveridge
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, Beyond the Grave (Carroll and Graf, 1986)
Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini team up for a novel that takes place in two times focusing on the same mystery. Elena Oliverez, in the present day, accidentally stumbles upon a piece of the report of one Detective Quincannon, hired to find the stolen treasures of a Mexican ranchero in the 1890s. As Oliverez gets absorbed in Quincannon's story, she finds herself looking to solve the mystery Quincannon wasn't able to uncover eighty years previously.
The two stories interlock without a hitch, and both Oliverez and Quincannon are engaging protagonists. This is quick, easy beach fare; fast-paced, homey, digestible, and well worth the time for mystery fans. Those who haven't yet discovered either Muller or Pronzini, this is one of many good starting points...
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3.6 out of 5 stars
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