Part of Series
A Short Story by New York Times Best-Selling Author Marcia Muller “Merrill-Go-Round” is McCone’s first recorded short case—a private-eye story that is also a “woman’s story,” in the best sense of that term. Excerpt I CLUNG to the metal pole as the man in the red coat and straw hat pushed the lever forward. The blue pig with the bedraggled whisk-broom tail on which I sat moved upward to the strains of "And the Band Played On." As the carousel picked up speed, the pig rose and fell with a rocking motion and the faces of the bystanders became a blur.
Author
A native of the Detroit area, Marcia Muller grew up in a house full of books and self-published three copies of her first novel at age twelve, a tale about her dog complete with primitive illustrations. The "reviews" were generally positive. In the early 1970s, having moved to California, Muller found herself unemployable and began experimenting with mystery novels. In the ensuing thirty-some years, Muller has authored over 35 novels—three of them in collaboration with husband Bill Pronzini—seven short-story collections, and numerous nonfiction articles. Together she and Pronzini have edited a dozen anthologies and a nonfiction book on the mystery genre. Muller received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievement award) in 1993. In 2005 Muller was named a Grand Master by Mystery Writers of America, the organization's highest award. Pronzini was named Grand Master in 2008, making them the only living couple to share the award (the other being Margaret Millar and Ross Macdonald). The Mulzinis, as friends call them, live in Sonoma County, California, in yet another house full of books.
