San Francisco attorney Sarah Woolson attends a séance, and after a dramatic display, the clairvoyant and her guests discover that one of the attendees has been brutally strangled. Soon Sarah is pressed into defending the accused murderer
The Cliff House Strangler: A Sarah Woolson Mystery
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Plucky lawyer Sarah Woolson arrives at rugged Land's End on a predictably dark and stormy night in Tallman's third entertaining and atmospheric 1880s San Francisco whodunit (after 2005's The Russian Hill Murders). Socialites have gathered at Cliff House for a séance with Madame Karpova, self-proclaimed Russian psychic. She puts on a good show until tell-all columnist Darien Moss decides to spoil the party. Then comes a crash of lightning, the lights go out, and when they come back on, Darien is found garroted with a balalaika string. Sarah, trying to establish herself as San Francisco's first female attorney, turns sleuth with the help of her devoted brother, a crime novelist. Mounting corpses distract Sarah from the miseries of her first client, a single mother whose flight from a drunken husband (legally represented by Sarah's love interest, Robert Campbell) provides a poignant subplot. Tallman throws in some unexpected twists, keeping the reader guessing to the end. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Nineteenth-century feminist lawyer Sarah Woolson (Murder on Nob Hill, 2004, and The Russian Hill Murders, 2005) has just opened her own law firm in San Francisco. While waiting for paying clients, she decides to satisfy her curiosity about spiritualism and do her journalist brother a favor by attending a séance given by Madame Karpova at the Cliff House. Her friend and fellow lawyer Robert Campbell accompanies her. The surroundings are suitably eerie. Cliff House sits on the rocky shore above the Pacific Ocean, and a raging thunderstorm makes the room dark. The attendees include some of San Francisco's elite as well as a less-than-respectable gossip columnist, who ends up dead as the séance and the storm provide cover for the murderer. Sarah finds herself in the middle of a complex case involving Russians, ghosts, corrupt politicians (one of whom is her brother), and City Hall. This is a fine historical series with a strong female sleuth who stands up for herself and plots that raises issues that remain relevant today. Bibel, Barbara
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
ABOUT SHIRLEY
Even as a small child, Shirley Tallman dreamed of being a writer. Born in Los Angeles, California, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area as a teenager, where she attended junior high and high school. She obtained her BA degree in Radio and Television at San Jose State University, while working as Traffic Manager, script writer and director for KNTV, a local ABC affiliate station.
After college, Shirley flew to the Orient and the South Pacific as a flight attendant for Pan American World Airlines. Never one to waste a great opportunity, she used her travels to fill notebooks with ideas, story-lines and snap shots for future novels.
Juggling marriage, children and her new writing career, Shirley wrote a syndicated newspaper column while working up the courage to tackle that first novel. To her surprise when she finally did write it, it actually sold! To date she's written fifteen books, including ten contemporary Harlequin/Silhouette romances published under the pseudonym Erin Ross. During her "romance" years, she placed #6 on Waldenbooks' national bestseller list, and was nominated as "Best Desire of the Year," by "Romantic Times"!
Currently, Shirley is writing an historical mystery series for St. Martin's Press. The books -- MURDER ON NOB HILL, THE RUSSIAN HILL MURDERS, and the THE CLIFF HOUSE STRANGLER -- feature Sarah Woolson, a feisty nineteenth-century female attorney who squares off against an all-male legal establishment. The fourth book in the series, SCANDAL ON RINCON HILL, will be released on January 5, 2010.
Together with her screenwriting partner, Nancy Hersage, Shirley has written and sold television scripts to NBC, CBS, and ABC. Their movie, "THE BABYSITTER'S SEDUCTION", originally aired on NBC and continues to play regularly on the Lifetime Channel. Their current project, "THE WAR MAGICIAN", was bought for Tom Cruise by Paramount Studios and their story, "LILI", is being produced for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation.
Among other groups, Shirley is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Novelist's Inc., Sisters In Crime, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers' Association, Willamette Valley Writers and the Oregon Writer's Colony.
Shirley welcomes visitors to her website: www.shirleytallman.com. Check it out for great monthly giveaways, plus some exciting contests coming up to celebrate the release of SCANDAL ON RINCON HILL!!
Even as a small child, Shirley Tallman dreamed of being a writer. Born in Los Angeles, California, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area as a teenager, where she attended junior high and high school. She obtained her BA degree in Radio and Television at San Jose State University, while working as Traffic Manager, script writer and director for KNTV, a local ABC affiliate station.
After college, Shirley flew to the Orient and the South Pacific as a flight attendant for Pan American World Airlines. Never one to waste a great opportunity, she used her travels to fill notebooks with ideas, story-lines and snap shots for future novels.
Juggling marriage, children and her new writing career, Shirley wrote a syndicated newspaper column while working up the courage to tackle that first novel. To her surprise when she finally did write it, it actually sold! To date she's written fifteen books, including ten contemporary Harlequin/Silhouette romances published under the pseudonym Erin Ross. During her "romance" years, she placed #6 on Waldenbooks' national bestseller list, and was nominated as "Best Desire of the Year," by "Romantic Times"!
Currently, Shirley is writing an historical mystery series for St. Martin's Press. The books -- MURDER ON NOB HILL, THE RUSSIAN HILL MURDERS, and the THE CLIFF HOUSE STRANGLER -- feature Sarah Woolson, a feisty nineteenth-century female attorney who squares off against an all-male legal establishment. The fourth book in the series, SCANDAL ON RINCON HILL, will be released on January 5, 2010.
Together with her screenwriting partner, Nancy Hersage, Shirley has written and sold television scripts to NBC, CBS, and ABC. Their movie, "THE BABYSITTER'S SEDUCTION", originally aired on NBC and continues to play regularly on the Lifetime Channel. Their current project, "THE WAR MAGICIAN", was bought for Tom Cruise by Paramount Studios and their story, "LILI", is being produced for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation.
Among other groups, Shirley is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Novelist's Inc., Sisters In Crime, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers' Association, Willamette Valley Writers and the Oregon Writer's Colony.
Shirley welcomes visitors to her website: www.shirleytallman.com. Check it out for great monthly giveaways, plus some exciting contests coming up to celebrate the release of SCANDAL ON RINCON HILL!!
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Yet!,
By Cat Lover (Danville, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Cliff House Strangler (Sarah Woolson Mysteries) (Hardcover)
THE CLIFF HOUSE STRANGLER is a fast-paced, intriguing mystery with authentic historical details that make you feel like you're actually there. Set in 1880s San Francisco, female attorney Sarah Woolson is a brave, outspoken, caring heroine who will go to any lengths to help her clients, in contrast to some of her opinionated and prejudiced male colleagues. I loved the psychic sub-plot, which reflects the obsession with spiritualism during this time period. Tallman kept me guessing whodunit until the very end of the book! A real page turner. I highly recommend this third book in the Sarah Woolson historical mystery series. In my opinion, it's the best one yet!!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great summer read,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Cliff House Strangler (Sarah Woolson Mysteries) (Hardcover)
_The Cliffhouse Strangler_, Shirley Tallman's third Sarah Woolson mystery, revolves around a murder at a seance. As Sarah attempts to solve the mystery several participants (and suspects) are murdered, thickening the plot even as the list of possible murderers is narrowed down. While working on "who done it", a charming sub-plot develops between Woolson and her earstwhile love interest, Robert Campbell, as they represent opposing sides in a divorce settlement. What appear to be red-herrings are not necessicarily so, as divergent characters and tangents are in one way or another related to the mystery at hand. This story will keep you guessing to the end.The historical fiction elements of the book are great- from the descriptions of 1880's San Francisco to the details of dress, an atmosphere of authenticity is lent to the larger mystery itself. Tallman tends to lay on the gender and social inequalities of the period a bit thick at times, ("women are physically and emotionally incapable of comprehending such matters. Go home and knit something and leave business like this to your betters.") but it is exactly the intelligence and strength of characters like Sarah Woolson facing and overcoming these attitudes that draw me to the series. In the final analysis, its a great summer (or airplane) read - the loose ends are tied up, the wrong-doers get their due, and gradually (begrudgingly) the heroine gets some respect.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More twists & turns than Lombard Street!,
By Holly-Dolly "Holly-Dolly" (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Cliff House Strangler (Sarah Woolson Mysteries) (Hardcover)
The Cliff House Strangler continues the Sarah Woolson series with a great story that provides the many twists & turns that we have come to expect from Ms. Tallman. Her characters & settings convey a story that makes you feel as if you have returned to San Francisco of yesteryear!
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