Performing a check on a prospective surrogate mother on the condition that she never learn who the contracting parents are, Tanner is amazed when she flees and discovers that the would-be adoptive parents harbor secrets involving incest, murder, and the family business.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
John Marshall Tanner, San Francisco PI, is hired in his 10th outing, after Southern Cross, to complete a background check on Greta Hammond, the potential surrogate mother for wealthy Stuart and Millicent Colbert. While there are a few oddities in Hammond's life, Tanner finds "no obvious problem in signing her up." The embryo transfer is done and a few weeks later, Hammond decamps, assuring Tanner by phone that she will deliver on her part of the contract. Former lawyer Tanner, a thoughtful and engaging protagonist, competently delves into the Colberts' cruel past, but he remains confused in his longtime relationship with Betty Fontaine and her need for commitment. Some of the other characters lean toward stereotypes, including ruthless businessman and patriarch Rutherford Colbert, whiny son Stuart and bitchy daughter Cynthia, who are vying for future control of the Colbert fashion empire. Wispy Millicent is better drawn but is still only a shadow of a woman obsessed by the desire for a child. A couple of final twists add depth to previous events, but the best part here remains Turner himself.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The author of the extensive John Marshall Tanner series (Blood Type, LJ 9/1/92) tries mystery without murder when his San Francisco detective investigates the background of a prospective surrogate mother. Suspicion subsequently falls on Tanner's clients when the woman and fetus disappear.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An old-fashioned flavor despite a high-tech subject,
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This review is from: False Conception: A John Marshall Tanner Novel (Hardcover)
Perhaps it's Greenleaf's style or his detective, Marsh Tanner, but if they made a movie of this book, I could see Humphrey Bogart playing Marsh Tanner. Marsh is an intriguing Character (he's a PI in a lengthy series by Greenleaf), who lives in San Francisco and seems to have trouble with commitments although he is quite likeable.The subject of this mystery is surrogate motherhood. A wealthy infertile couple, the Colberts, have (for an inexplicable reason) chosen someone known to the husband to be paid a very large sum to bear their child with an implanted embryo. Tanner has been hired to look into the background of this woman, Greta Hammond, as a precaution before implantation. He has an uneasy feeling about the whole business and an attraction to Greta. When Greta disappears two months later, he is asked to find her -- the couple fears she will either abort the child or refuse to surrender him (yes, they know it's a him) at birth. Tanner smells a rat and his investigation involves unearthing a lot of family secrets -- there are plenty of skeletons in the wealthy community that the Colberts come from. Some of the people are not very happy with Tanner's investigation. This is a particularly well-plotted book, although I was able to figure out some of the mystery but there was enough I couldn't figure out to keep me reading well into the night. This is my first book by Greenleaf and I liked it enough that I intend to read the whole series.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Greenleaf's Best,
This review is from: False Conception: A John Marshall Tanner Novel (Hardcover)
San Francisco p.i. John Marshall Taner is back on the case and this time he takes a case that seems simple enough but propels him into a conclusion that will forever change his life.He is hired to find a seragate mother for a couple and 2 months after he does so the young woman vanishes after the embryo had been implanted. John quickly assumes that the woman found out the identity of the parents and for soom reason fled but the anxious couple feels she is hiding for ransom of their child. John begins to investigate the couples family and history only to find the unexpected. A superb ending plot twist...well maybe not as dramtatic as Greenleaf's Past Tense but this book is a winner.
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