Muller, Marcia (1944-…), is a popular and influential American writer of detective fiction. Muller created private detective Sharon McCone, introducing the character in the novel Edwin of the Iron Shoes (1977). McCone is considered the first modern realistic American female private detective to appear in a book. Muller’s success with McCone influenced such American detective writers as Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky. Both created popular women detectives who reflected McCone’s toughness and independence.
Critics and readers have praised Muller for her vivid descriptions of northern California and for the realism of the supporting characters in her novels. Her character McCone works in the San Francisco area. She is particularly committed to investigating the causes of a crime and how a criminal thinks. She is unmarried, but often falls in and out of love in the earlier novels. In the later novels, she forms a permanent romantic relationship with private investigator Hy Ripinski.
Muller was born in Detroit and began writing detective fiction after receiving B.A. (1966) and M.A. (1971) degrees from the University of Michigan. Muller has also created two other female detectives—Joanna Stark, a partner in a California art-security firm, and Elena Oliverez, a California museum curator. Muller is married to mystery writer Bill Pronzini. They have coedited many collections of crime and suspense stories. They have also co-written two detective novels set in San Francisco in the 1890’s, The Bughouse Affair and The Spook Light Affair (both 2013).
