Toll Call

John Marshall Tanner #6

by Stephen Greenleaf

"Stephen Greeleaf's John Marshall Tanner series improves with age. Tanner [is]...altogether one of the most convincing of today's private eyes."
THE SAN DIEGO UNION
P.I. Marsh Tanner thought he knew his secretary Peggy well. But he didn't know half as much as the phone caller, the mystery man who called Peggy at home and threatened her with mutilation if she refused to tell him her most intimate secrets and desires. And he could never have imagined that Peggy might grow to love the calls as much as she hated them. But in the treacherous, twisted days that were to follow, there was much about Peggy--and himself--that Marsh Tanner would wish he didn't know....

Genres: Mystery

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

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 3 out of 5]

OK, so by Greenleaf standards, this one is not quite up to par. It's far above the run-of-the-mill detective stories and still belongs in the class with Ross MacDonald whose writing his resembles.

Tanner’s long-time secretary, Peggy, is getting some rather salacious phone calls. Then one night she’s pushed down the stars and Tanner intervenes. Unlike the other books I have read in the Tanner series, this one gets personal and perhaps a bit heavy on the side of psychobabble. Lots of speculation as to why Peggy might have "encouraged" the moron with a concomitant excessive dose of guilt, etc. I don’t remember Maugham's Of Human Bondage that well, but my goodness, Peggy seems unable to break with this guy. It’s never satisfactorily explained. I kept wondering, “now, why would you do that?” or “hey guys, cop time, bring in the heavies.”

On the other hand, there is a plot twist at the end I just did not see coming.

I like Ruthie. She’s a stitch who has the most crass similes and metaphors imaginable. "That warning's about as useless as a condom on a canary."

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 1 out of 5]

San Francisco PI Marsh Tanner senses something amiss lately in his secretary's life. Peggy is behaving a little strangely, distracted, and dismissive of his concerns until something happens and he then works to hunt down a creepy phone heckler who may have been doing some unsettling psychological damage to her for quite some time.

Verdict: Marsh and Peggy's will-they-won't-they, pseudo-professional, friendly discourse and banter is at times refreshing but at others a little much, and the deep dive into psychoanalyzing both her and the heckler is poorly done. The mystery itself has some smart twists, but the effort to make the heckler a pitiable soul worthy of empathy ruins the read.

Jeff's Rating: 0 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best PI series I've ever found. California tradition of Raymond Chandler.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The psychology and interpersonal relationships between tanner and secretary are superb. A couple of "WHATS" in the rest. Who did the attack in the stairwell?

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interaction between Peggy and marsh superb and psychology. Some questionable things in rest! Who did the attack in the stairwell?

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

297 pages

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 3.0

[James S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts well, but the corny dialogue between Tanner and Peggy is endless and insufferably cute. Couldn’t take it anymore.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toll Call is embarrassingly kinky to the point I enjoyed reading it the least of all the Greenleaf mysteries, but I like it more upon reflection for what it reveals about the narrator/protagonist. A self-styled realist harkening back to classic hard-boiled icons, Tanner's transparently unhinged behavior during Toll Call proves revealing. When personal matters held tightly under wraps are busted wide open by a case, the P.I. loses control of his carefully crafted sense of reason to the point he proves mostly ineffective as a detective and barely keeps it together as a friend and would-be lover.

[Brian Stillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Tanner mystery a bedrock entry into the eternal argument for/against reading a series in chronological order. Tanner's secretary Peggy takes centerstage in a story fairly erotic and disturbing.

A lot of series I've jumped and skipped around (Kellerman, Lescroart) without feeling too much of a bite, but it's a mark of Greenleaf's quiet, consistent craftsmanship that I've tried to read the Tanners in order. It pays off, too, since the last sentence of the highly enjoyable Book Case reminds you of the repercussions stemming from this, it's stellar predecessor.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stole my mom's copy of Beyond Blame, which was awesome, so picked up some more Greenleaf at the library and used bookstore. Toll Call is great- well-written with a good pace and intricate (but not cheesy) relationships between the characters. I had never heard of this guy until my mom started reading him, but he is really good- well worth reading. Reminds me a little of Ruth Rendell- a thinking person's mystery.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the second most emotionally wrenching of stories for John Marshall Tanner to endure. Which says something about how Greenleaf reveals the emotional lives of the characters.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading Mr. Greenleaf's PI novels.