Southern Cross

John Marshall Tanner #9

by Stephen Greenleaf

Aiding a friend who has received death threats in retaliation for his efforts on civil rights, private investigator John Marshall Tanner goes undercover as a white supremacist in South Carolina, where he discovers a closer-than-expected enemy

Genres: Mystery Thriller, Mystery

313 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

Stephen Greenleaf got a B.A. from Carlton College in 1964 and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkely in 1967. Stephen Greenleaf served in the United States Army from 1967 through 1969, and was also admitted to the California Bar during that period, with subsequent numerous legal positions.

Stephen Greenleaf studied creative writing at the University of Iowa in 1978 and 1979, (the Iowa Writers Workshop) with the subsequent publication of his first Tanner novel in 1979. Mr. Greenleaf has written fourteen John Marshall Tanner books to date, with his latest being Ellipse. All the novels are situated in San Fransico, and Stephen Greenleaf also lives in northern California with his wife Ann.

Series:
* John Marshall Tanner Mystery

Reviews

[Eric_W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I attended my 40th high school reunion a few years ago. It was a bit bizarre. I talked about it with my vet some weeks later who, in his inimitably deliberate way explained why he never went to his reunions. "I didn't like the people then, so why would I like them now." Greenleaf describes it well himself:

“For one thing, it was summer, so the flora was on its most verdant behavior rather than curled in the scruffy somnolence it suffered during most of the academic term. Tempers had flared and moods had plummeted during those dull gray months of winter—loves were lost, friendships severed, studies neglected, often irretrievably. The tardy lift of spring never quite made up for it, not even the year the baseball team went 26 and 5 and Gil and I were named all-league.
　　More troubling than the intemperate cycles of botany and meteorology was my sense—grounded in resentments I didn’t know' I had until I boarded the flight that morning—that the attentions lavished on the grounds and buildings, as well as on the pursuits that pulsed within them, contrasted markedly with the neglect of more essential needs. Lack of guidance, or even notable concern, on matters ranging from career choice to social deftness to symptoms of personal dysfunction had left many of my peers, including myself, in a fog that led us down wrong roads. On the day I graduated and went out into the world, I knew more about the Renaissance than I knew about myself.”

At the reunion, Tanner met up with his best friend from college, Seth, who asked him to come to South Carolina where he is an established lawyer and has a problem. He's made lots of enemies by defending Civil Rights type and most recently a black girl who wants to enter the Palisades, a thinly disguised Citadel. He’s received an audio tape threatening his life, but what really worries him is that the voice on the tape is that of his son. With minimal digging, Tanner soon realizes there are connections to events of the early sixties where youth, sex, jealousy, and idealism all collided to affect events twenty years later.

There are many different kinds of enjoyable mysteries: some emphasize action, others ideas, and some language. Greenleaf’s action is cerebral and displays it in marvelous use of language. I’ve read about eleven of his fourteen books. I’ll be very sorry to finish them.

[Seth Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this one, Tanner is on the road, first at his college reunion and then in Charleston, South Carolina, where he's helping an old college buddy sort out a threat to his livelihood and life. Once again, Greenleaf deftly weaves a theme throughout the story, in the case, the ways the past influences the present and how your views of yourself, your surroundings and your friends can change with time. The civil rights movement and those who stand and stood against it also plays a central role and the way Greenleaf writes about the characters and events is rather clunky and lacks nuance in retrospect.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this 30-year-old paperback at a library book sale. It’s part of a P.I. series. The protagonist is based in San Francisco, but this story takes place in Charleston, SC. Sadly, except for some dated cultural aspects, this story of racism and corruption could have been written last week. Until now, I was unfamiliar with Greenleaf’s writing. Apparently, he ended this series in 2000; I hope I can find more of his books because I like his writing style and I loved the pace of this book. Knowing the locale probably aided my enjoyment, too.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good Greenleaf book. Kind of a twisted finish-a little too complicated for me. His prose is great.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here Greenleaf tackles racism. Re-reading it, it's great that he is looking at these topics. But some of what he says would not be considered okay today.

[Maurean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new-to-me author, I rather enjoyed this soft-boiled mystery.
Set in South Carolina, we follow P.I. John Tanner to his 25th college reunion where he meets up with n old buddy, now an attorney, who is getting death threats from a supremist organization that has branded him a traitor to his race.

An entertaining storyteller; I'll read other "John Marshall Tanner" mysteries, if given the opportunity.

[Toesnorth's mom]

so-so