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Rebecca Schwartz #3
Tourist Trap
You just know the Easter sunrise service is going to be a bummer when the San Francisco fog lifts to reveal a body nailed to a landmark cross. Next: mass shellfish poisoning at Pier 39. A very different kind of serial killer is operating here—one who seems to have a grudge against the whole city.
And this is a very different kind of serial killer tale—a funny one. Well, actually, what serial killer’s funny? But lawyer sleuth Rebecca Schwartz is warm and witty, never takes herself too seriously, and on one occasion offers closing testimony with green hair. A highly embarrassing moment, but the bright chartreuse is all in the service of making her case. No way does she believe her client would nail somebody — especially to a cross. And the things she has to do to prove it are hilarious and often unorthodox, yet always professional. Sometimes hyper-professional--the average lawyer simply can’t be bothered spraying herself with Thunderbird to fit in with her witnesses!
And this is a very different kind of serial killer tale—a funny one. Well, actually, what serial killer’s funny? But lawyer sleuth Rebecca Schwartz is warm and witty, never takes herself too seriously, and on one occasion offers closing testimony with green hair. A highly embarrassing moment, but the bright chartreuse is all in the service of making her case. No way does she believe her client would nail somebody — especially to a cross. And the things she has to do to prove it are hilarious and often unorthodox, yet always professional. Sometimes hyper-professional--the average lawyer simply can’t be bothered spraying herself with Thunderbird to fit in with her witnesses!
218 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1986
286 people are currently reading
1007 people want to read
About the author
Julie Smith
263 books404 followersAuthor of 20 mystery novels and a YA paranormal adventure called BAD GIRL SCHOOL (formerly CURSEBUSTERS!). Nine of the mysteries are about a female New Orleans cop Skip Langdon, five about a San Francisco lawyer named Rebecca Schwartz,two about a struggling mystery writer named Paul Mcdonald (whose fate no one should suffer) and four teaming up Talba Wallis, a private eye with many names, a poetic license, and a smoking computer, with veteran P.I. Eddie Valentino.
In Bad GIRL SCHOOL, a psychic pink-haired teen-age burglar named Reeno gets recruited by a psychotic telepathic cat to pull a job that involves time travel to an ancient Mayan city. Hint:It HAS to be done before 2012!
Winner of the 1991 Edgar Allen Poe Award for best novel, that being NEW ORLEANS MOURNING.
Former reporter for the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE and the San Francisco CHRONICLE.
Recently licensed private investigator, and thereon hangs a tale.
Resident of New Orleans, Louisiana
In Bad GIRL SCHOOL, a psychic pink-haired teen-age burglar named Reeno gets recruited by a psychotic telepathic cat to pull a job that involves time travel to an ancient Mayan city. Hint:It HAS to be done before 2012!
Winner of the 1991 Edgar Allen Poe Award for best novel, that being NEW ORLEANS MOURNING.
Former reporter for the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE and the San Francisco CHRONICLE.
Recently licensed private investigator, and thereon hangs a tale.
Resident of New Orleans, Louisiana
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
January 16, 2017
This book wasn't great, and it wasn't terrible.. hence the 3 star rating. There wasn't a ton of mystery in it. I found the overly inflated sense of ego about San Francisco extremely odd. It would have been odd no matter what city it was about. Maybe the author felt like she owed that to the city since she created a serial killer who hated it?
July 12, 2017
I love this series.
Rebecca is a criminal lawyer, and a sleuth on the side, and she's backed up with a wild assortment of interesting characters- including her dad, who preceded her as a brilliant criminal lawyer; her partner in their firm, another skilled lawyer with her own issues; their secretary, who is snarky and not necessarily competent but who makes great comic relief; and her boyfriend- a reporter that has a practice of disappearing right at the most inconvenient times. All these people are drawn precisely and with humor, and they have very individual voices.
The plot here was wonderfully twisty, and the ending pretty unexpected in its final twist.
Mostly, though, I just love spending time with these characters!
I'll be continuing with this series, definitely!
Rebecca is a criminal lawyer, and a sleuth on the side, and she's backed up with a wild assortment of interesting characters- including her dad, who preceded her as a brilliant criminal lawyer; her partner in their firm, another skilled lawyer with her own issues; their secretary, who is snarky and not necessarily competent but who makes great comic relief; and her boyfriend- a reporter that has a practice of disappearing right at the most inconvenient times. All these people are drawn precisely and with humor, and they have very individual voices.
The plot here was wonderfully twisty, and the ending pretty unexpected in its final twist.
Mostly, though, I just love spending time with these characters!
I'll be continuing with this series, definitely!
August 4, 2015
I love Julie Smith's writing. There is humor, mystery, suspense and always some romance. Her Skip Langdon series is the best!
This was my first of the Rebecca Schwartz series. It was #3 so I didn't learn much of the back story about the main characters. However, it worked as a stand-alone book. I enjoyed the San Francisco setting, but the Skip Langdon setting of New Orleans is much more evocative. Skip is also a more developed character. But I like Rebecca and will likely read more in this series.
This was my first of the Rebecca Schwartz series. It was #3 so I didn't learn much of the back story about the main characters. However, it worked as a stand-alone book. I enjoyed the San Francisco setting, but the Skip Langdon setting of New Orleans is much more evocative. Skip is also a more developed character. But I like Rebecca and will likely read more in this series.
May 10, 2014
A good read. Based in San Francisco, a familiar place for me. I have sailed my boat into Pier 39 more than once. I found only one error, "so for" in place of "so far". I like authors that actively solicit errors from their readers. It is unusual to find a book with only one error.
April 30, 2014
Only read a little. Just couldn't get into it
November 10, 2022
Not bad. Someone decides to take his angst out against the citizens of San Francisco, a place he thinks is little better than Sodom and Gomorrah. So, he begins targeting tourists. His first hit is a gay man he picks up in a bar and whom he nails to a cross just before Easter. Rebecca Schwartz, Jewish, feminist lawyer, and her journalist boyfriend, Rob, come upon the scene, finding a crazy lady already there. When the cops show up, the crazy lady has escaped, but Rebecca's least favorite cop, picks her up for questioning.
Reasonably fun.
Reasonably fun.
April 22, 2023
Suspense right up to the end. Good story. With this being the third book in the series, I have become accustomed to the way regular characters act and respond to situations. Quirky and predictable, but the main character, Rebecca Schwartz, surprised me in this story. I expected her to be more careful, but here she wasn't. It added some spice to the story. Some unpredictability. Her perseverance paid off in the end It will be interesting to see how situations continue to develop in subsequent books.
February 24, 2018
I forced ;myself to finish this book. Reading about San Francisco was ok, but the cop who hates her is a ridiculous character. I know writers like to build contention among characters and make things hard on the protagonist, but this just wasn't interesting. I agree with one review that the end seemed rushed and just dropped off a cliff. There wasn't anything here to make me want to read another one.
March 5, 2022
Crazy for this wise and humorous criminal attorney working as an unpaid sleuth! Rebecca and her sidekick, Rob Burns Chronicle News Reporter, race to save lives in this page-turner mystery. Rebecca, witty, compassionate, and curious, as the main character continues to enthrall. The side characters get Rebecca and the reader embroiled in seeking the CRAZY individual killing tourists in San Francisco.
January 20, 2024
Tourist Trap is a Wild Ride
This book had a lot going on with all of the suspense and misdirection. At times it felt as if it was going on to long without answers, but I didn't "lose my will to live" like one reviewer stated. By the way, that was hilarious. Rebecca and Chris did their usual investigating, but not without a lot of danger and found the truth. All revealed in the wrap up at the end.
This book had a lot going on with all of the suspense and misdirection. At times it felt as if it was going on to long without answers, but I didn't "lose my will to live" like one reviewer stated. By the way, that was hilarious. Rebecca and Chris did their usual investigating, but not without a lot of danger and found the truth. All revealed in the wrap up at the end.
July 17, 2024
This book is difficult to review. I thought the mystery was great- increased stakes, more drama without making it too explicit or violent- it was a great mystery. However, I felt, at times, it destroyed Rebecca’s character. She would be frustrated with her partner only to completely throw that out the window when she saw him. I feel like she started to be less of a strong character which annoyed me. She’s solving a serial killer mystery and yet can’t have an argument with her boyfriend...
October 10, 2018
Interesting mystery
Story was a little drawn out but also had big skips in time that could have been better drawn together. Also wishy-washy live interest was a distraction. Overall enjoyable and well written. Did need to have some explanation of the Jewish girl eating bacon on her salad.
Story was a little drawn out but also had big skips in time that could have been better drawn together. Also wishy-washy live interest was a distraction. Overall enjoyable and well written. Did need to have some explanation of the Jewish girl eating bacon on her salad.
June 26, 2024
I read all five books. I have no idea why, they were not that good and a little confusing. Rebecca falls in and out of love a lot; which is actually typical for a 20 something. But I just did not care for her character. For a smart person, she does a lot of dumb things. Anyway, I did read all 5 books. Will probably not read any more.
July 11, 2024
This was probably my least favorite of the first three Rebecca Schwartz books, but it was certainly readable. It just lacked some of the panache of the first few novels, and was probably the least focused on Rebecca's Jewishness, though there was an entertaining courtship with a new SJM.
If you want to continue the series, go ahead and read it. Definitely don't start here.
If you want to continue the series, go ahead and read it. Definitely don't start here.
June 28, 2025
An entertaining addition to the Rebecca Schwartz books. The plot had enough twists and turns to make it interesting. I especially liked the great descriptions of the various San Francisco neighborhoods. The only problem was that at times the humor seemed forced when it didn't need to be. Overall it was a good summer read.
August 26, 2017
Not a Mystery
A great court case and surprise ending, though it did drop off suddenly at the end. Rob was flighty and quite rude. Good read but Rebecca's relationships lacked a certain depth.
A great court case and surprise ending, though it did drop off suddenly at the end. Rob was flighty and quite rude. Good read but Rebecca's relationships lacked a certain depth.
December 24, 2017
This series just gets better and better!
Yet another fun and witty addition to an already amazing series. I found this one to be the most edge-of-your-seat thus far and I even caught myself a few times whispering “Seriously Rebecca?!” And now it’s on to the fourth book!
Yet another fun and witty addition to an already amazing series. I found this one to be the most edge-of-your-seat thus far and I even caught myself a few times whispering “Seriously Rebecca?!” And now it’s on to the fourth book!
October 23, 2018
Well written, well paced
Well written, well paced story with likeable characters. There are a couple of twists at the end so you don't get too complacent thinking that you have it all figured out.
Well written, well paced story with likeable characters. There are a couple of twists at the end so you don't get too complacent thinking that you have it all figured out.
March 17, 2019
Too much emphasis on a failing relationship. Surprise ending that was enjoyable. They say the journey is more important than the destination-- not in this case. I couldn't wait to get to the end so I could be done. This was the worst of the 5 books in the series. Skip it - you lose nothing!
March 21, 2020
Another OK mystery about lawyer Rebecca Schwartz and crew. Like book 2 this was much better than the first in the series. I might have actually gone to a 4 except for the ending. This one screamed for an epilogue. The ending was too abrupt. Things needed to be fleshed out.
April 11, 2020
Much more descriptive tale. REBECCA and her boyfriend newsletter Rob find a man on a cross where a sunrise Easter service will take place. A man claims to want to kill all the tourists in San Francisco. Nice surprise ending. Rebecca dad comes in to help and the killer is revealed.
February 22, 2023
don’t go to Bay Area.
It was easy read. It put me off wanting to visit Bay Area. And the relationship she has with boyfriend Rob, he’s such a jerk. And the other guy Jeff wasn’t much better always complaining about the city.
It was easy read. It put me off wanting to visit Bay Area. And the relationship she has with boyfriend Rob, he’s such a jerk. And the other guy Jeff wasn’t much better always complaining about the city.
November 12, 2017
Not great. really didn't like the characters.
March 27, 2018
Good book
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
September 10, 2018
Love this series. Great plot line and the characters are a lot of fun
December 27, 2018
Enjoyed the story! I like the humor the author writes into her stories.
January 30, 2019
Enough mystery to keep up suspense and resolved well.
April 26, 2019
Excellent, but the ending was sudden.
Want to read
January 27, 2020TheFussyLibrarian
Rebecca Schwartz 1-3
Rebecca Schwartz 1-3
March 12, 2020
Enjoyed the book but the ending left something to be desired. An Epilogue or something with a little more conclusion would have been helpful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews