False Conception (John Marshall Tanner Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Stephen Greenleaf (Author) "What do you know about surrogate motherhood? he asked, his lush black brows raised in elaborate innocence, as if the question were as offhand as..." (more)
Key Phrases: Greta Hammond, Clara Brennan, Stuart Colbert (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Performing a background check on a prospective surrogate mother for childless tycoons Millicent and Stuart Colbert, detective John Marshall Tanner uncovers terrible secrets when the surrogate disappears two months into her pregnancy. Reprint.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671007947
• ISBN-13: 978-0671007942
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,088,229 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another gem by the best hardboiled private eye novelist yet!, August 28, 1997

By A Customer

Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald have not only found their peer in Stephen Greenleaf, they've found their superior. As an unabashed fan of Chandler's, I must concede, however reluctantly, that Greenleaf is not merely the successor to the hardboiled detective tradition established by Chandler and the others, but the finest practitioner the field has seen yet. The John Marshall Tanner mysteries are marked by the kind of crisp, literate, and often poetic prose usually associated with "mainstream" literary works; fully-fleshed characterizations; acute observations; topical issues; and complex, plausible plots.

Another stellar entry in the series, FALSE CONCEPTION finds Tanner embroiled professionally and emotionally in the lives of a wealthy couple unable to have a child except through surrogacy. When the surrogate mother he's approved for his clients disappears, and he sets out to find her, he unearths some wrenching secrets about all of them--including himself.

This is the kind of great read whose overtones will resonate within you long after you've finished it

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak writing, OK plot, December 16, 2000

By A Customer

The writing style of this book was so stilted and awkward that I almost abandoned the effort of reading it after the first chapter. As an example, here's the first sentence:

"What do you know about surrogate parenthood?" he asked, his lush black brows raised in elaborate innocence, as if the question were as offhand as a query about oat bran or Coxey's Army.

The plot is standard who's-the-father twisted family mystery fare, nothing original, but at least complicated enough to maintain interest. But I could have done without the overlong explanation of what surrogate parenting entails. And did I mention the bad writing?

Life is too short to read mediocre books like this. I would recommend Dennis Lehane or Robert Crais instead.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting new find for me, May 5, 2000

By	Jennifer Reed (Rockford, Il USA) - See all my reviews

Wow! What a great find for me! This book is exciting, fast-paced, and realistic with a P.I. I truly like. The writing is crisp....the plot believable... and the mystery unravels page by page. I would highly recommend this to all true mystery lovers.