PAST TENSE (John Marshall Tanner Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Stephen Greenleaf (Author) "IT WAS MIDMORNING OF A CHILLY WINTER WEEKDAY..." (more)
Key Phrases: Charley Sleet, Leonard Wints, Jillian Wints (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Unlike some series writers who hit their peak early and then coast on past triumphs for the next dozen books, Stephen Greenleaf goes from strength to strength, stretching the boundaries of the genre without giving up its traditional values. His detective, Marsh Tanner, grows and changes with each outing, keeping our interest alive. In his latest, Tanner has to deal with a nasty mixture of sexual abuse and the controversy surrounding recovered memory. Greenleaf brings it all home in a scene where Tanner is playing with his baby daughter. "I was having a wonderful time until it occurred to me that at some point it would become wrong. At some point putting her on my lap, or letting her flop on my belly, or tickling her ribs and itching her nose and playing piggy with her toes will be inappropriate and even harmful, at least in the view of some. How was I supposed to know when that time had come?" Past Tanners available in paperback include Beyond Blame, False Conception and Flesh Wounds. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
The 12th John Marshall Tanner novel lives up to the tradition of excellence found in Greenleaf's recent Flesh Wounds (Scribner, 1996). San Francisco-based investigator Tanner tries to discover why his best friend, Charley Sleet?a police officer who is one of the best men he's ever known?shoots the defendant in a sexual abuse case involving incest, killing him in an open courtroom. As Tanner trails Sleet, trying to understand his shocking and dramatic change of character, he links him to subsequent murders. Living people populate this book. Tanner himself?moody, witty, and appealing?reveals his own dramas, ruminating and extemporizing on life's issues as he seeks out the mysteries of the human heart in a quest to save his friend from himself. Moving and full of valuable insights, this book belongs in all general collections.?Michelle Foyt, Berlin-Peck Memorial Lib., Kensington, Ct.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; Reprint edition (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671019473
• ISBN-13: 978-0671019471
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,094,277 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greenleaf does it again!, May 15, 2000

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

I just discovered this P.I. series last month and love it! The writing is all-pro, the action is fast and fun, and the hero is truly likeable. There's no recovering alcoholic (thank God), no coincidences, no sterotypes. I was worried that this might be the last in the series as this, the last one so far, was written in 1997, but I see a new installment is due in July, 2000. Pick this book up! You'll be happy you did, and I bet you'll finish it in one day!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fairly Dark P.I. Novel, April 3, 2001

By	Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Past Tense" was the first book that I have read in Stephen Greenleaf's John Marshall Tanner P.I. series. I read a lot of P.I. novels, and my usual rule is; the darker, the better. And that is why I found "Past Tense" to be a very engaging novel. Greenleaf is not a master of metaphor like Raymond Chandler with Phillip Marlowe or Loren Estleman with Amos Walker. And his Marsh Tanner is not a man battling personal demons like Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder or Andrew Vachss' Burke. But the story here is worthy of any of those other anti-heros. One of Tanner's best friends, an honest cop, has suddenly gone on a revenge killing rampage. In the process, he has cut himself off from everyone who cares about him. Tanner investigates at first to find an answer to his baffling behavior, and then to try and save his life. The plot line is a bit convoluted and Greenleaf ends up relying on the old police corruption cliche, but it all leads to one of the more shocking endings I've seen in a P.I. novel.

Greenleaf may not be a writer whose style is equal to the masters of the genre. But with "Past Tense," he has delivered one quite memorable novel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here comes John Tanner again., October 19, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: PAST TENSE: A John Marshall Tanner Novel (John Marshall Tanner Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Another book from one of my favorite authors, and one of my favorite private detectives, John Marshall Tanner - from my area, San Francisco. Effortless, fast-paced, interesting sidebar on recovered memories.