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Marcia Muller is best known for her outstanding Sharon McCone PI series set in San Francisco. But she also has a series of standalones, set in the mythical Soledad County in California. CAPE PERDIDO is the latest of these. The eponymous town is a former lumber town. But the mill is long gone, and now the economy relies on tourists and people taking part in outdoor sports. The town's livelihood is threatened, though, when big business from North Carolina moves in and wants to set up a water harvesting operation. Some people may say that CAPE PERDIDO is measured and expertly unfolded. I found it rather too slow. There's also not that much in the way of excitement -- it's only in the last third of the book when one of the main characters is in danger that there's much in the way of tension. The main problem is that there are simply too many people to get to know, and they're all tied up rather neatly at the end. There are a few too many stereotypes as well -- the ambitious young businesswoman who wants to prove to her parents how wonderful she is, the obnoxious young lawyer, the hippie, the clever boy turned bad . . . What does work, though, is the setting, with too many people who know each other's secrets, and small town grievances lasting through the years. The book reminded me somewhat of Janet LaPierre's novels in that the atmosphere far exceeds the plot. The environmental angle is always topical and a sound idea for the remote and beautiful setting. CAPE PERDIDO is better than most writers' good stuff, but decidedly average for Muller. The problems are that multiple point of view and not enough suspense. It's a neat enough story, but has no depth. And I'm not sure Muller played fair with us over the clue. It becomes apparent about 50 pages from the end whodunit, but what sparked off the book's denouement isn't conveyed to the reader, despite what one of the characters says. I went back and checked, so unless the published edition had something the advance reading copy didn't, the reader couldn't have picked up on the alleged clue. So this is a quick and undemanding read. It's just a little pedestrian and laid-back by Muller's high standards.
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, August 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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