Murder on Nob Hill

Rating:
Summary: A lighthearted historic mystery
Review: A well-written historical mystery that deals with sexism, racism and drugs,but in a manner that allows the reader to enter into that world of the 1870's without being depressed or angry. The author's knowledge of San Francisco makes the reading all the more enjoyable to anyone who has visited or lived there.

Rating:
Summary: MURDER ON NOB HILL
Review: Great read!!! I particularly enjoyed the feisty heroine, Sarah Woolson. Really good background - I felt like I was in 1880 San Francisco. Excellent writing, fascinating story, great characters. Interesting details on what it must have been like to be a woman attorney at this time in history, woven into the fabric of the story. Also, lots of action. The story keeps you guessing "who done it" until the very end. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery!!

Rating:
Summary: Keeps you guessing until the very end!
Review: I completely and thoroughly enjoyed this book! What a treat from start to finish!

First of all, I loved the cover of the book. As a fan of the Victorian era, this beautiful cover just beckoned me to open it's pages from the moment I laid eyes on it. Once opened, it did not disappoint. Sarah Woolson is an inspiring, fiesty main character who pushes Victorian oppression of women to the limit with every move she makes. A 19th century Legally Blonde comes to mind. From the start, one is compelled to see Sarah through each swipe of near-disaster and every victory over the male characters who would see her back down in defeat.

History buffs will also find this novel a wonderful jaunt back to the roots of San Francisco. Ms. Tallman has obviously done a great deal of research, as I did not find one detail that was inaccurate or out of character with this great city's beginnings in the 1800's.

As far as suspense, Ms. Tallman has weaved such a tightly wrapped, fast paced tale of intrique, that I was kept guessing until the very end. There are so many twists and turns that it is hard to put the book down until one has reached the final breathless conclusion of who really "done" it.

I hope that Ms. Tallman goes on to write a sequel to this wonderful murder mystery. I will be one of the first to buy a copy!

Sincerely,

KL Hunter
Danville, CA



Rating:
Summary: entertaining historical legal thriller
Review: In 1880, though females are not accepted as lawyers twenty-seven years old Sarah Lorraine Woolson, who learned the law from her father, Superior Court Judge for the County of San Francisco, feels capable and ready. She pulls a name game ploy using her brother Samuel, which enables S.L. Woolson to gain entry into the firm of Shepherd, Shepherd, McNaughton and Hall, attorneys-at-law. Then she "steals" a wealthy client Annjennet Hannaford when the distraught widow decries a lack of legal service from the firm's lawyer Mr. Wylde. This presumptuous act forces fuming senior partner Joseph Shepherd to acknowledge Sarah as a junior associate.

Three weeks ago, someone murdered Cornelius, Annjennet's husband of seven years, leaving her as the prime suspect and without assets. Sarah immediately enables her client to obtain money while the estate remains in probate. Not long afterward, the police arrest Annjennet and her lover for the murder. While the law firm believes she is guilty, Sarah follows the money trail of how Hannaford and three partners made a fortune. When the partners are also killed as gruesomely as Hannaford, Sarah continues her inquiries while shaking up the male legal establishment.

MURDER ON NOB HILL is an entertaining historical legal thriller starring a courageous and charming champion. The story line brings to life the sexist glass ceiling that leaves competent females beneath the lowest rung of the food chain while also providing insight into laws such as the Married Woman's Property Act. Chutzpah Sarah is a wonderful protagonist and her firm's appointed shadow Robert, with his "wardrobe" and "courtside manner" problems, adds a touch of romantic frustration to a fine tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: Set in the early 1880's, _Murder on Nob Hill_ is as much mystery as historical fiction, as Tallman weaves clues to the murder with remarkable historical detail: the place of women, social class, racial issues, and great imagry of San Francisco. While the romantic sub-plot was something I could have done without, the story and its characters more than made up for it. A very enjoyable read, which will hopefully be the beginning of a series. Great summer reading.

Rating:
Summary: a good first installment in a brand new series
Review: The first installment in a new series featuring the intrepid lawyer, Sarah Woolson, "Murder on Nob Hill" was a very satisfying and engrossing read. I enjoyed the book on every novel -- the mystery was a good and intriguing one, the detective-heroine, Sarah Woolson, was engaging and likable, and the pacing and the manner in which the novel was crafted was superbly done. All in all, the Sarah Woolson mystery series has all the hallmarks of being a really good one, and I for one, am rather excited about this.

Sarah Woolson, the youngest child and only daughter of a respected judge, has always wanted to practice law (like her father); but even though she's qualified, getting a respected law firm to hire her is another matter altogether because its 1880 in San Francisco, where the common wisdom is that a woman's place is at home and not in the work place. But with the help of her brother, Sarah is able to finagle an interview at Shepherd, Shepherd, McNaughton and Hall (one of the stuffier law firms); where through sheer highhandedness (Sarah actually "steals" a very valueable client, the newly widowed Mrs. Annjennet Hannaford whose much older husband was recently murdered in a rather brutal manner, from right under Shepherd's nose) she's able to land a job as a junior associate at the firm. One would think that things would finally be looking up for Sarah, except that her client, Annjennet Hannaford, ends up getting arrested for her husband's murder! The police and district attorney think that they have an ironclad case (motive and opportunity); and the lawyers handling Annjennet's criminal defence have all but conceded defeat, going so far as to prepare a defense based on an insanity plea. But Sarah is sure that Annjennet is innocent, and fearing that she's the only one in Annjennet's corner, is bound and determined to discover who the real murderer is, no matter the danger...

Obviously I shouldn't start books just before my planned bedtime because "Murder on Nob Hill" was so engrossing a read that I just had to keep on reading until I reached the last page. The plot was a very intriguing one and Shirley Tallman did a good job of ensuring that the book unfolded swiftly and smoothly. And while it is true that the prose is a bit verbose, once I got into the flow of things, this truly was something I hardly noticed after a while. I thought that the character portrayals were very good, esp that of our plain-speaking and forceful heroine, and this, together with the historical ambiance went a long way towards making this a very enjoyable and successful novel. My favourite bits, however, were the ones in which a very calm and rational sounding Sarah would (successfully) counter the somewhat hysterical and irrational arguements of her male counterparts would claim that she didn't have it in her to be a good lawyer. All in all, a fantastic first installment in what promises to be a wonderful mystery series.

Rating:
Summary: A lighthearted historic mystery
Review: The first installment in a new series featuring the intrepid lawyer, Sarah Woolson, "Murder on Nob Hill" was a very satisfying and engrossing read. I enjoyed the book on every novel -- the mystery was a good and intriguing one, the detective-heroine, Sarah Woolson, was engaging and likable, and the pacing and the manner in which the novel was crafted was superbly done. All in all, the Sarah Woolson mystery series has all the hallmarks of being a really good one, and I for one, am rather excited about this.

Sarah Woolson, the youngest child and only daughter of a respected judge, has always wanted to practice law (like her father); but even though she's qualified, getting a respected law firm to hire her is another matter altogether because its 1880 in San Francisco, where the common wisdom is that a woman's place is at home and not in the work place. But with the help of her brother, Sarah is able to finagle an interview at Shepherd, Shepherd, McNaughton and Hall (one of the stuffier law firms); where through sheer highhandedness (Sarah actually "steals" a very valueable client, the newly widowed Mrs. Annjennet Hannaford whose much older husband was recently murdered in a rather brutal manner, from right under Shepherd's nose) she's able to land a job as a junior associate at the firm. One would think that things would finally be looking up for Sarah, except that her client, Annjennet Hannaford, ends up getting arrested for her husband's murder! The police and district attorney think that they have an ironclad case (motive and opportunity); and the lawyers handling Annjennet's criminal defence have all but conceded defeat, going so far as to prepare a defense based on an insanity plea. But Sarah is sure that Annjennet is innocent, and fearing that she's the only one in Annjennet's corner, is bound and determined to discover who the real murderer is, no matter the danger...

Obviously I shouldn't start books just before my planned bedtime because "Murder on Nob Hill" was so engrossing a read that I just had to keep on reading until I reached the last page. The plot was a very intriguing one and Shirley Tallman did a good job of ensuring that the book unfolded swiftly and smoothly. And while it is true that the prose is a bit verbose, once I got into the flow of things, this truly was something I hardly noticed after a while. I thought that the character portrayals were very good, esp that of our plain-speaking and forceful heroine, and this, together with the historical ambiance went a long way towards making this a very enjoyable and successful novel. My favourite bits, however, were the ones in which a very calm and rational sounding Sarah would (successfully) counter the somewhat hysterical and irrational arguements of her male counterparts would claim that she didn't have it in her to be a good lawyer. All in all, a fantastic first installment in what promises to be a wonderful mystery series.