They're a couple of PI novels from San Francisco in the late 70s, early 80s. I’ve enjoyed more than a few from another San Franciscan PI series – Bill Pronzini's Nameless, so I’ll be interested to see if Greenleaf and Tanner give him a run for his money.
There’s 14 books in the series in total, with Ellipsis the last one published in 2000. Greenleaf also has a handful of non-series books to his name.
There's an interesting article on the series over on The Thrilling Detective Web Site .....
Death Bed, in particular, has always struck me as one of the most powerful P.I. novels I've read, and the murderer's M.O. is one of the nastiest imaginable.
Grave Error (1979)
The first novel in Stephen Greenleaf's classic series featuring John Marshall Tanner, San Francisco ex-lawyer turned private detective.
When her husband begins acting strangely, the wife of a famous legal crusader hires San Francisco P.I. John Marshall Tanner to find out why. Tanner is convinced the case is a simple matter of blackmail. Certainly a man like Roland Nelson has made his share of powerful enemies in a career devoted to exposing fraud and corruption among the mighty.
But Tanner's investigation soon takes a tragic and personal turn. Suddenly Tanner finds himself on a trail of buried secrets, frustrated passions, and smoldering revenge as he races to stop a killer.
Death Bed (1980)
Hired by dying millionaire Maximillian Kottle to locate Kottle's estranged son, San Francisco private eye John Marshall Tanner begins a quest to locate the former sixties radical who is also wanted for murder
These sound interesting, Col, and I do like the setting. I hope you'll post reviews when you get to these, as I think our tastes may meet each other here.
ReplyDeleteI hoped they might grab you Margot, seeing as you like Pronzini's Nameless and a San Fran back drop.
DeleteI have Grave Error and a later one in the series, Book Case. I would like to read the first one soon, but I could say that about a lot of my books. I had forgotten they have the San Francisco setting.
ReplyDeleteI think I have the third as well, but no more than that. I'll see how I get on with them.
DeleteThat name sounds familiar, I wonder if I read one back in the day? they sound a bit generic, but doesn't mean they're not good!
ReplyDeleteI probably think they might feel that way if you read them one after the other. It is a set-up or formula I like though, more so than a police procedural.
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