Sharon McCone mysteries
To tourists, bay-windowed Victorian mansions are quaint, peaceful symbols of old San Francisco, but on the secluded hill above Steiner Street, the gingerbread has sparked a bitter battle. Ambitious developers are pushing for restoration, and residents are fighting for their homes—until a controversial restorationist is found dead on the job, awash in garish house paint.
Private investigator Sharon McCone is called in only to discover
...Picture Salmon Bay: an isolated, run-down northern California village, home to an idle fleet of fishing boats, a deserted amusement park, and a handful of secretive, even hostile residents. When private investigator Sharon McCone arrives in search of one of the town's wayward daughters, the trail leads to the thriving resort of Port San Marco.
McCone believes that the missing woman, a former social worker named Jane Anthony, was involved
...Amid the shifting world of San Francisco flea markets, shady vendors sell junk, precious antiques, and stolen goods side by side. Somewhere in the mix, a priceless collection of sacred Torah scrolls is gathering dust—and attracting a group of fanatical killers. When private investigator Sharon McCone helps one flea market kingpin fend off a stalker, she's drawn into the netherworld of deal-making and thievery, a dangerous milieu seldom seen
...Appleby Island, once the magnificent home of a tycoon and planter, is a place of history and mystery in the Sacramento delta. Its story includes hints of tragedy, fueling rumors that ghosts still walk its derelict orchards. Now Patsy McCone, her new lover, and a group of investors are turning the old mansion into an elegant bed and breakfast.
Summoned by her eccentric younger sister, San Francisco's number one PI Sharon McCone arrives in
...It's a cold Sunday in San Francisco. Sharon McCone's alone on a routine surveillance job, following a man named Frank Wilkonson through the city's lush horticultural hot spots to the sere foothills of the Diablos. But when she returns to find her kindly, old client in a pool of blood, nothing she's learned explains it. The search of answers takes her from Wilkonson's sullen brood on Burning Oak Ranch, to the eccentric havoc of a household in the
...Since the Gold Rush, California prospectors have siphoned off the waters of isolated Tufa Lake, exposing the fragile, otherworldly mineral formations of the lake basin. Now a local environmental group seeks to block the latest incursion by developers—a massive mining operation funded by TransPacific, a US-Hong Kong interest that seems to be behind a series of break-ins, disappearances, and shady land deals. Into this stark, lunar landscape
...It looked like a lost cause. Convicted of a brutal society murder in 1956, Lis Benedict had served a long sentence and just been released from jail. Then in a last desperate attempt to clear the Benedict name, her daughter Judy convinces All Souls Legal Cooperative to take her mother's case before the Historical Tribunal.
Sharon McCone loves a challenge but has little affection for the cold and unlikable Lis. Then, suddenly, the woman in
...Sharon McCone's flight instructor Matty confides that her boyfriend, John Seabrook, is missing and asks Sharon to find him. Shortly afterwards, Matty is killed in an "accidental" plane crash. More determined than ever, Sharon discovers that, a decade ago, Seabrook was placed...
Sharon McCone, weary of San Francisco's persistent rainy weather, jumps at the chance to investigate sabotage on the set of a documentary film being shot on the island of Kauai. Based on the writings of Hawaiian scholar Elson Wellbright, the film has incited major controversy among some...
21) Dead Midnight
Sharon McCone has decided to throw herself into work so she can get past her brother's suicide, but the wrongful-death suit she is working on hits too close to home. It's a civil case in which the family of a young 'zine employee claims his suicide was the result of his company's...
Sharon McCone’s detective agency is growing and the future is looking bright. But when one of her employees—the streetwise and savvy Julia Rafael—is arrested for stealing a credit card from a client, the entire firm’s reputation could be ruined. Although the evidence against her...
23) Vanishing Point
A generation ago, Laurel Greenwood, a housewife and artist, inexplicably vanished, leaving her young daughter alone. Now, new evidence suggests that the missing woman may have led a strange double life.
But before McCone can penetrate the tangled mystery, she must first...
25) Burn Out
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...
26) Locked In
Shot in the head by an unknown assailant, San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone finds herself trapped by locked-in syndrome: almost total paralysis but an alert, conscious mind. Since the late-night attack occurred at her agency's offices, the natural conclusion was that it was connected...
27) Coming Back
In Locked In, San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone was shot in the head and suffered from locked-in syndrome: almost total paralysis but with an alert, conscious mind. Now, as Sharon struggles to regain control over her body, she wants everything to go back to normal, but realizes...
28) City of Whispers
Private eye Sharon McCone receives an e-mail asking for help from her emotionally disturbed half brother Darcy Blackhawk. She replies . . . but gets no response. As Sharon digs deeper, she discovers that Darcy sent his message from an Internet cafe in San Francisco, a city he's never been...
Three years ago, Caro Warrick was acquitted for the murder of her best friend Amelia Bettencourt, but the lingering doubts of everyone around Caro are affecting her life. Sharon McCone is confident that she can succeed where other detectives have failed (though at times it's hard to shake...
When new clients Jay and Camilla Givens come to Sharon McCone with Camilla's stories of devil worshippers performing human sacrifices in San Francisco, the detective is skeptical, to say the least. However, when she discovers that Jay is involved with the treasure hunting group The Night...
The Color of Fear
When a knock on the door in the middle of the night wakes Sharon, she's wholly unprepared for the horrifying news: her father has been the victim of a vicious, racially-motivated attack.
A nationally recognized Shoshone artist, Elwood had been...
33) The breakers
Sharon gets a request from her former neighbors the Curleys. Their usually dependable daughter, Chelle, hasn't answered their calls in over a week. Would Sharon check on her?
Chelle, a house flipper,...
34) Ice and stone
In this twisting mystery in a New York Times bestselling series, pranks escalate into a deadly scheme that Private Investigator Sharon McCone must unravel—before they claim her life.
San Francisco is home to more than 200 privately owned streets. Most are alleyways, but a select few look torn straight from the pages of a magazine. Lined with mansions and elaborate gardens, the properties are luxurious