Ellipsis
John Marshall Tanner Investigation 14
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
When P.I. John Marshall Tanner is asked to act as bodyguard to glamorous novelist Chandelier Wells, he is initially hesitant. Tanner is inclined to think that Chandelier is exaggerating the danger posed by the anonymous death threats she has received.
But when a car bomb kills Chandelier's driver, Tanner soon regrets his laid-back approach to the case.
Chandelier writes romantic suspense novels, but her books take on tough issues; her new book attacks the cosmetics industry, and the next dissects the luxury cruise business. With an angry ex-husband, a jealous writer and a spurned lover added to the list of suspects, it's up to Tanner to discover whether Chandelier's research has made her dangerous enemies, or whether the threat lies much closer to home...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Still smarting from having been forced to shoot dead his best friend and rogue cop, Charley Sleet, in 1997's Past Tense, San Francisco PI John Marshall Tanner must protect a famous novelist in this high octane addition to a justly acclaimed sleuthing series. Imperious megaseller Chandelier Wells is at the receiving end of death threats. Naturally, her tempestuous lifestyle comes with the usual detritus: an embittered ex-husband who claims she owes him everything, a demented fan decked out in costumes taken from the author's pages, an insecure agent about to be left in the dust and a hapless unpublished author shouting accusations of plagiarism. Wells is mythically unpleasant, so Tanner takes a decidedly laid-back view of this gig, until a car bomb kills the author's driver, a former FBI agent. The subplots include Tanner's approaching 50th birthday, his elderly neighbor's attempts to cash in on a magazine's lofty sweepstakes claim and his romance with an assistant DA that seems to require selling out sources as tokens of affection. The solution is light by Greenleaf's usual high standards, but the plot has an irresistible momentum, and Tanner's emotional evolution continues to fascinate. Then there's the moment when a trio of publishing women eagerly watches as Tanner enters a restaurant. As Greenleaf puts it, "The three of them looked up expectantly, as if I were bringing an advance copy of Publishers Weekly."
