REVIEW
The Broken Promise Land by Marcia Muller
The Women's Press £5.99
Marcia Muller continues to produce some of the best female PI novels around. In The Broken Promise Land, Sharon McCone enters the highly strung, cut-throat world of the rock business in an attempt to help top country star, Ricky Savage, who appears to be the victim of sabotage - both of his career and of his 18 year old marriage to Sharon’s sister Charly. Ricky has been getting notes, all with the same message, "what have you done with my song", but with unnerving regularity, and increasingly bizarre emphasis.
Ricky hasn’t led a blameless past and he’s just broken with his former label to set up on his own at a point which could turn out to be the high point of his career, so there are many possible sources of the notes. The motivation could be either personal or professional jealousy or revenge.
Ricky asks for Sharon’s help precisely because she is family, and he feels he can trust her. But strain in the relationship within Ricky’s entourage, particularly between Ricky and Charly mean that Sharon’s job becomes more difficult. And when Sharon’s best friend and colleague, Rae, becomes personally involved, it’s hard to see how the people she most cares for can come out of this unscathed. Muller deals as well with personal relationships as with the telling of a story. There are no simple solutions for either. The plotting of the story is spot-on; characters are well-drawn and convincing, tension builds steadily until the final climax, on-stage at the height of Ricky’s tour.
The culprit is finally unmasked, but we’re not given the comfort of a "twisted" mind as explanation for the bizarre and vindictive behaviour. Instead, Muller leaves us to ponder on the responsibility individuals have for their actions and the effects they have on others, and to recognise that the instigators of desperate acts are often as much a victim themselves. (EAL)