Showing A Walk Through the Fire by Marcia Muller

In the crowded genre of feisty female sleuths, it takes someone special to really make their mark. Introduced in 1979, protagonist Sharon McCone remains the first and arguably the best in the school of tough female private eyes. In A Walk Through The Fire, Sharon is contacted by documentary film maker Glenna Stanleigh to investigate suspected sabotage on a film set. Sharon accepts with alacrity; she's more than ready to travel to the sandy Hawaiian island of Kauia and (hopefully) mix business with pleasure. But her illusions are short- lived, as casual vandalism soon turns into dangerous violence with Sharon in more danger than in any of her previous adventures. As usual, dialogue is one of Muller's specialities and here it fairly crackles off the page with Sharon encountering the usual bizarre and colourful mix of suspects. --Barry Forshaw