Flesh Wounds

John Marshall Tanner #11

by Stephen Greenleaf

Asked by old fling Peggy Nettleton to investigate the disappearance of her future stepdaughter, a model who vanished after posing for some nude photographs, detective Tanner remembers his feelings for Peggy while uncovering deadly secrets. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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

[Seth Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another delving of Marsh's past wounds allows him to showcase his dogged ability to tease the truth out of a mess of personal and professional relationships. Reading about the technological aspect of this case was a bit of a trip down nostalgia lane, as it was simultaneously rather outdated and overly ambitious, but taken as a 90s period piece, it works, certainly within the confines of the story.

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

another hit characters and plot wonderful

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shit!. I’m running out of Greenleaf books to read. Only one left. For whatever reason, Greenleaf has given up writing -- or at least publishing -- and that’s a real shame. As I have said numerous times, he ranks up there with Ross MacDonald.

Peggy, Tanner’s former secretary and close friend, has been gone now six years much to Tanner’s regret. Out of the blue he gets a call from her asking for help. It seems she has become engaged to Ted, a wealthy venture capitalist, whose daughter, not happy that Ted will be marrying Peggy, has disappeared and Peggy knows that Ted won’t get married until she’s found. He’s hired an investigator also, but to no avail to Peggy asks for a favor, one Tanner can hardly refuse.

The case involves pornography, digital technology (it’s a bit dated, but, no matter) and a rather nasty man.

As good as the others, I recommend reading all of them.

[Elizabeth Hunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mysteries set before the cellphone era seem so bizarrely dated now. And this one, with the voodoo of digital photography at its center, seems particularly behind the times. Nothing says yesterday like something that used to say tomorrow!

[Paul Sand · Rating 2 out of 5]

Over the course of Greenleaf's John Marshall Tanner series, Tanner has turned into a petulant whiner engulfed in self-pity. However: in this entry from a few years back, he was not so annoying, and it's a decent read.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1996 which in terms of technology, a lifetime ago. I like this author and his writing style and the characters in this series.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So great to see Peggy again. One of Greenleaf's tougher story lines, watching how young women are being taken advantage of through pornography.