"Are you sure they'll clear the bank?" Ted Smalley, All Souls's office manager, held the check that I'd just handed him up to his desk lamp and squinted at it. I folded my arms and tried to look severe. "Do I know this person?" he asked himself. "She looks like the old Sharon, in spite of the haircut. She talks like her too. But McCone Investigations? A separate business checking account? Rent for an office suite? Pretty strange stuff, if you ask me."

This was on the book exchange shelf at the local Y and I was looking for a mystery to read. As far as I know, I've not read any of this series before. I did feel a bit lost at times. It was a bit of a shock to read that Sharon and Hy are together but not married.

I agree with another reviewer that Sharon McCone's situation is a bit reminiscent of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone--a female PI who splits off from her corporate employer to go into business for herself but still takes some cases from the former corporate employer. I enjoyed Kinsey more than Sharon (at least as far as this book is concerned).

In this book, Sharon is hired by a friend-from-college to find out who is trying to kill him and/or sabotage his latest turn-around project.

What I liked: Sharon tries to help her nephew; Sharon tries to help her friend-from-the-past; the fact that Sharon's former employer has on-site housing options for those that need them.

What I disliked: Sharon gets put between her nephew and his parents and what each of them wants for him; Sharon and Hy are in an intimate relationship without being married--as I think are TJ and Anna; drugs; the situation in Monora, PA; the secrecy of Hy about his whereabouts and business, especially to the woman he supposedly loves. ( )

She really has become one of my favorite mystery writers. A strong, yet flawed, female character, well-crafted plots, believable characters and relationships ... it's easy to get lost in one of her books. This one was gritty, poignant and action-packed. Sharon McCone is growing and evolving as a character and it's fun to watch. ( )

I've been reading Marcia Muller for years but in no particular order. Whenever I see one of her Sharon McCone series books at a book sale that I haven't read, I buy it. I still have one more in my TBR stack. The reason is that they always are entertaining and I like McCone.

Till the Butchers Cut Him Down is the first one I've read that disappointed me. I'm not sure why. I still like McCone and I find her life interesting. I enjoy her trials and tribulations with her nephew Mick. This story is set when McCone first opens her own business, renting an office from her previous employer, All Souls Legal Cooperative. Her sister has sent Mick to stay with her because they aren't getting along. He's 17 and a computer wizard, which is convenient because McCone has decided to finally enter the computer age. Her boyfriend Hy is off on mysterious business in this one and she's wondering if they will last.

With all of this going on, the last thing she needs is for her first client to be a man out of her past who is anything but likeable or easy to get along with. T. J. Gordon is known to her as "Suits," shortened from Suitcase because when McCone was in college he traveled around with a ratty old suitcase and sold pot. Now he's a multimillionaire who takes companies in big trouble and turns them around, usually successfully.

The story is set in California, a place fittingly called Lost Hope, Nevada, and a former steel town in Pennsylvania called Monora. Then there is Suits' mansion and guest house on the northern California coast. Maybe that's the problem. It jumps from place to place, Suits is a very jumpy person with absolutely no consideration for others, and I was simply uncomfortable reading about him. The story didn't hold my interest like Muller's novels normally do.

This is not to say that it's bad. Not at all. It just didn't fit my mood or something, but you may really like it. I always recommend Muller for a good read, even if like me you read the series out of order. ( )

I enjoyed this novel tremendously. It was my first introduction to Sharon McCone, and I found her to be a delightfully well written character with whom I identify pretty strongly. The intricacies of her relationships with the various other characters in this book made it come together beautifully. ( )