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THE RUSSIAN HILL MURDERS
Written by Shirley Tallman
Paperback:
280 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312328583
ABOUT THE BOOK: Though
her own San Francisco law firm barely tolerates her, gutsy young attorney Sarah
Woolson flouts proper feminine behavior in this nineteenth-century answer to Legally
Blonde. While her mother begs her to settle down, her chauvinistic boss tries
to come up with ever more spiteful ways to pressure his only female associate
into quitting. Naturally, Sarah digs in her heels and vows to retain her position
at any cost. Besides, she has no intention of straying too far from the action.
When the wife of wealthy society entrepreneur Leonard Godfrey drops dead of an
apparent heart attack at a charity dinner for the new Women and Children's Hospital,
Sarah's curiosity gets the better of her. But no one will believe in her theory
that Caroline Godfrey's death was not natural - until several more people affiliated
with the hospital die of inexplicable causes. Meanwhile,
when a pregnant widow whose husband has died in a sweatshop fire asks for Sarah's
help in finding the owner so that she can sue for recompense, our feisty heroine
insists on taking the case against her boss's orders. With the help of her colleague
Robert Campbell and an eager young hansom cabdriver named Eddie, Sarah goes on
a manhunt for Killy Doyle, the menacing head of the factory underworld. But she
can't ignore the mysterious deaths at the Women and Children's Hospital - especially
when the hospital's Chinese chef is arrested for the murders and the Chinese community's
most powerful Tong Lord asks her to defend him. Faced
with her first criminal trial, Sarah stops at nothing to determine the killer's
identity. But in trying to exonerate her client, she places her own life in danger.
Will Sarah figure out who the murderer is, or will she be the final victim? |
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MURDER ON NOB HILL Written
by Shirley Tallman
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312328567
ABOUT THE BOOK: The
year is 1880, the place San Francisco. Intelligent, outspoken Sarah Woolson is
a young woman with a goal and the fortitude to achieve it. The fourth child, and
only daughter, of a Superior Court Judge for the County of San Francisco, she
has always dreamed of becoming a lawyer. The trouble is, everyone believes women
belong in the home, that it is not only unnatural, but against God's will for
them to seek a career. When Sarah finagles
an interview with one of the city's most prestigious law firms, no one thinks
she has a prayer of being hired. Except Sarah. Using her brains, and a little
subterfuge, she not only manages to be taken on as the firm's newest (and only
female) associate attorney, she also acquires her first client - a lovely young
society matron suspected of brutally stabbing to death her wealthy but abusive
husband. When Sarah agrees to represent the woman, she discovers that her beautiful
client has a secret lover, and that they both had ample reason to want to see
hubby dead. Everyone is convinced the two are cold-blooded killers, including
the handsome, burly Scottish attorney who becomes Sarah's nemesis at the firm.
But Sarah is undeterred. She's sure her client is innocent, and no matter what,
she's determined to prove it! When
four more victims fall prey to the killer's knife - and her client is arrested
for the crimes - Sarah fears she's bitten off more than she can chew. Without
Sarah's help, the young woman will almost certainly be put to death, but proving
her innocent will be an uphill battle. Bucking her boorish employer, the judicial
system and the gruff Scot, Sarah finds herself embroiled in shady legal maneuvers,
a daring Chinatown raid, a secret and very scandalous sex club, a mysterious tontine
agreement, and the most powerful and dangerous Tong Lord in the city's Chinese
District. Not to mention her arrogant brother Frederick's ambitious run for state
senate.
Utilizing her keen mind and ready wits, Sarah takes on all adversaries. One hard-earned
clue at a time, she bravely tracks a ruthless killer, constantly thwarted by the
very people who should be on her side. When the murderer threatens to kill his
sixth, and loveliest victim, Sarah is forced to run a desperate race against a
ticking clock. Single-handedly she fights not
only to free her client, but to discover the killer's real identity. But when
she finally corners the Nob Hill murderer, Sarah discovers that she is in grave
danger of becoming victim number seven.
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