| Title | : | The Broken Promise Land (Sharon McCone #16) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0446604100 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780446604109 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 400 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1996 |
The Broken Promise Land (Sharon McCone #16) Reviews
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4 stars for a fast moving mystery. Sharon McCone is a Private Investigator based in San Francisco, California. Ricky Savage is a popular country music star. He is married to Sharon's sister Charlene. Ricky comes to Sharon because he has received several cryptic threatening letters. She agrees to take on the case, and persuades him to hire RKI, a security company specializing in protecting high profile people. It is run by Hy Ripinsky. Hy and Sharon are in a relationship.
Sharon does solve the case with help from her team. There are some twists and turns in the plot. I was not sure how it would end and who was behind the letters until the end.
I read this library book in 3 days. -
I began reading Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone novels long before I ever heard of Goodreads, and I know that I’ve read many more of her mysteries than I’ve given myself credit for. So, when I grabbed the Libby digital version of
The Broken Promise Land, I wasn’t sure whether I’d read it before or not. Now that I’ve finished it, I’m still not sure if this was the second time around or not. It was slow-moving at times, but when things got moving, it proved to be entertaining.
McCone, as her guy friend Hy Ripinski calls her – Shar to her family and other friends – takes on a case directly involving her brother-in-law, Ricky Savage. Ricky, a country singer, has been receiving threatening letters. Sharon convinces Ricky to hire Hy’s security agency to provide protection. He agrees but prefers to keep the details hidden from his band and associates. None of them understand and all are unhappy about the new restrictions. The “Little Savages,” Ricky’s kids and wife, are feeling the crunch as well. Shar and Hy insist, however. Given the nature of the threats, it is evident that the entire family is at risk.
Much of the book focuses on Ricky’s failing marriage and his new relationship. To readers who are familiar with the series, this may be a bit painful, or perhaps not, depending upon how you feel about the characters. Ms. Muller has done a fine job getting inside the heads and hearts of the characters. She also seemed to portray life on the road as a musician in a fairly realistic way, including the toll it takes on musicians and their crew members. And it’s not just Ricky and Charlene whose relationship is rocky. The stress of the case is taking its toll on others too.
I used to love this series, but it’s been so long since I’ve read any of these books that it felt rather bittersweet. Perhaps it was the “air” of the relationships, or perhaps it’s that my interests in reading have changed. I did like the story, but it dragged a bit too much for me. Still, I did feel that it was well written, and I’ve always appreciated McCone and her team of Mick, Rae, and occasionally Hy Ripinski. All in all, it’s still a worthwhile read for Muller fans.
3 stars -
I found that this went on too long and was somewhat boring. I didn't care about the protagonist, but did care about the antagonist...
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I finally had a chance to pick up with my rereading of the Sharon McCone series. I know I likely listened to this book on audio (cassette!) sometime in the early 2000s but had zero recall on it. Much like Eye of the Storm (which also centered around a mystery involving one of Sharon's family members...) I found the secondary characters rather distasteful for the majority. It was all just so ugly - which, I suspect was kind of the point given that the book is called The Broken Promise Land, a fictional song by Sharon's county music superstar brother-in-law about all the horrible ways people can inflict damage on each other.
Also, if like me you've never been a big Rae fan - this one will likely push you over the edge. I stopped reading the series years ago around book #20 and I'm at the point now where my recall is really sketchy - but I'm kind of hoping that we'll get less of Rae's dumpster fire shenanigans now that she's boinking Sharon's brother-in-law (one can hope).
So yeah. I didn't really like any of these people and found them rather gross. Sharon, Hy and Mick were the only ones I didn't want to strangle at some point. BUT - after a rocky first half of me hating nearly everybody, the book takes subsequent twists and turns that engaged me - and I ended up coming around. -
Private investigator Sharon McCone is in the thick of things again, but this time there is a heightened tension as the case involves her family. Her famous brother-in-law, country singer Rickie Savage has been getting threatening notes and faxes, and they target not only him but also his wife and children.
Worse still, his marriage is on the skids, so that their security is that much more difficult even with the involvement of McCone's love interest and his security firm.
While Hy Ripinsky and his team from his firm go into overdrive to keep the country singer safe and secure while beginning a new concert tour, the investigation into who is threatening Savage and why falls to McCone. But first she has to find out some things about her brother-in-law that is even more damaging than the usual drinking, drugs and casual sex for a musical star.
This seems to be a far more complicated story that Muller's past but she keeps her writing focused on the story line and it shows in the driving rhythm of the story and the building suspense as time begins to grow short and McCone seems to be coming up with very little in the way of solutions. Strong story and good dialogue result in an unstoppable, hard-to-put-down story where the answers take long to come together but when they do, its heart stopping. -
In this book P.I. Sharon McCone looks into the series of threatening notes that are aimed at her brother-in-law country music star, Ricky Savage.
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An essential read for those of us immersed in P.I. Sharon McCone's world. There is a lot of change for every one of the characters, equivalent to the second movie in movie trilogies.
Relationships are rupturing, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. The surprises really start when new relationships begin. Even McCone and Ripinsky are uncertain of each other, distance growing between them with each chapter. They stare at each other more coldly as the incidents pile up. Will they still be a couple by the time they discover who is threatening McCone's famous brother-in-law, Ricky Savage? -
Muller writes deep and compelling characters, and this book is one of her best because it's all about characters near and dear to our hearts: not just McCone and Rae, but also Mick's father, Ricky Savage. It's a tense and delightful story about these people and their changing lives. There's of course also a mystery here, and it's a compelling one. (And the California scenery is as always authentic.) All around, one of of Muller's top books.
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Update: Picked this up thinking I hadn't already read it, but I had. Didn't like it as well as in 2014; probably due to rereading too soon.
2014: Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone mysteries hold their interest pretty well over the years, so although this one was published in 1996, it still seemed fine in 2014. It's somewhat more of a thriller than a mystery, or perhaps straddled the two genres, but didn't suffer from the kind of tedious non-stop tension that often plagues thrillers. -
One of the better Sharon McCone mysteries as Shar must deal with threats against her brother-in-law who happens to be a CW music superstar. Mysterious letters, faxes, and other veiled threats against his family lead Shar to suspect an inside job, but she must use all of her investigative skills and bring in colleagues to help her. Takes place over 7 days, which are filled with non-stop action. Shar hardly gets any sleep. The 7th day, which involves a music concert in Albuquerque, is especially suspenseful as the assassination of the superstar seems imminent and Shar must figure things out before anyone dies. Shar's associate, Rae Kelleher, gets a major role in this book.
The investigative work, especially following up on seemingly insignificant clues, is interesting. Shar, Mick, Rae, and a friend, Jenny, all contribute to solving the case. -
Still on my reread of these books that I first read 20 years ago! I definitely remember much of this book --although I did not know who was threatening Ricky until everyone else knew... But the characters are much more like the ones I have grown familiar with. Sharon tries to blend and understand her diverse beliefs and actions --as do we all if we are thinking folks. She and Hy have an opportunity to work together, Rae meets the person she is meant to be with, Mick continues to grow.... For me the book is so much more about the characters and their relationships than just the mystery involved. And I do love those characters!
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So much happens in this novel - we see the end of Charlene and Ricky's marriage, as well as how Rae and Ricky come together. Someone is stalking Ricky, becoming increasingly more threatening.
Sharon brings in Hy to provide security as Ricky begins a tour with this unknown threat menacing from the darkness.
This was satisfying to read, even after reading later books, to see how things happened. -
Interestingly written story of a female Private investigator who has a mystery occur in her own immediate family and needs to solve it with the help of a security detail whose CEO is her current love. I needed a quick, compelling read and this story fit the bill. I am interested in reading more of her books with the same main character.
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I liked this book because it introduced the characters well, followed the action and kept the dialogue real. I will read more in this series for sure!
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this one drops a lot of one liners from previous stories so not really a stand alone novel, but still a good read
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One of my recent faves in this series. Really great characters.
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Read 2007
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Reliably entertaining
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A very entertaining, involving, and revealing read. Other members of Sharon's family and circle play major roles in this one.
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Ricky’s tale
This one takes you through McCone’s brother in laws story. A bit of a slow starter, but worth every minute. It grabs your attention and holds you thru to the end! -
Can't find the eBook so will be squinting on the fine print.
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Frankly I thought I was reading a Sharyn McCrumb and was disappointed with the book because it was so staid, not fun reading. One gets tired of women P.I.s after some years of reading mysteries. So actually this was my first Sharon McCone novel. McCone is hired by her soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law, Ricky Savage, famous country singer, because enigmatic notes begin appearing: "What Have You Done With My Song". McCone discovers that there is a real threat behind the notes, and brings in her lover Hy for bodyguard service.
There were two things I didn't like: I thought the perpetrator of the threats was not actualized very well, and that his actions didn't make a lot of sense. Also, McCone seems to rely on her bodily feelings a lot, on her senses, to detect dangers. While I believe in the power of intuition, I don't believe in a PI who relies on it as much as McCone does. -
About on a par with other books in the series - not great but not terrible.
There was a bit too much 'family' in this book because Sharon McCone is investigating threats to her brother-in-law, country superstar Rick Savage. The story is told from two perspectives - Sharon's and her employee, Rae Kelleher - with occasional asides in the form of newspaper articles. While they added to the story in some ways, they tended to slow its forward progress.
Also, I felt the guilty party came a bit too out of left field, as if Muller hadn't quite figure out 'whodunnit' until late in writing the story.
Still this book was good enough that I won't banish Muller from my 'to read' list, but not near the top. -
Like most series that go on as long as this one does, there are some books that are better than others. This one was one of the mediocre ones, I thought, mainly because it dragged on too long and was too detailed in some respects, and too light in others where more emphasis was needed. I also felt like some of the comfortable bits of the previous books were gone--PI Sharon McCone has moved from the old Victorian that All Souls Legal Co-op was in into her own snazzy office and she wasn't at home at all so her personal comfort zones were missing. Don't get me wrong...I also get peeved when characters don't ever change or evolve, but sometimes these transitions seem to be awkward.
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Another must read in the series. This is where Rae and Ricky meet up.... How I could almost be done with the series and have missed two of the most crucial storylines..... Really liked this one. Kept my interest!
Someone is bent on getting revenge on Ricky Savage, Sharon McCone's brother-in-law and a two-time Grammy Award-winning country singer. The danger escalates as Sharon realizes that more than one person has been playing underhanded games--and that the music industry is truly a broken promise land. -
Second time reading it. This time through, I was not thrilled with all the drama and Sharon seemed to be too caught up in the guarding part of her job and not doing her 'figure out the person threatening' part of her job. The pacing was not great either, so many irrelevant side stories, too many characters to keep straight, too many red herrings. Seemed totally unlike her other books, although I've not read all her other books. That said, if you are fascinated by the music world, this might be a good one for you.
