Tangled Roots - Softcover

Cannon, Taffy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0449223906 ISBN 13: 9780449223901

Publisher: Fawcett, 1995

Synopsis

IN CALIFORNIA'S FLOWER-GROWING COUNTRY, MURDER IS BLOOMING. . . .
Shane Pettigrew is dead. His oldest friend, Adam Chandler, is accused of killing him. Adam's only defense is his claim of innocence, and for his sister-in-law, L.A. attorney Nan Robinson, that's enough. Despite the fact that Nan's sister, Julie, admits to having an affair with Shane. And that Adam's gun is the murder weapon.
But if Adam didn't kill Shane, who did? Nan's race for the truth takes her deep into Southern California's lucrative floriculture business and Shane's rampantly promiscuous personal life. It stirs up the old feuds and sorrows of the Pettigrew family. And inexorably and fatefully it lures Nan into a trap whose only exit is death. . . .
"If reviewers gave roses, Taffy Cannon would receive dozens of the finest long-stemmed blossoms. Nan Robinson is wonderful company for mystery lovers."
--Nancy Pickard
"TANGLED ROOTS is likely to turn more readers into Nan Robinson (and Taffy Cannon) fans."
--Booklist
"Tense, entertaining, and satisfyingly thorough."
--Library Journal

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

California trial attorney Nan Robinson, introduced to acclaim in A Pocketful of Karma, shines somewhat less brightly in this follow up, which takes her out of L.A. and into San Diego County to try to clear her brother-in-law of murder charges. Nan's pregnant sister Julie calls for help when her husband, Adam, is arrested for the murder of his childhood friend and fellow commercial flower grower, Shane Pettigrew. The evidence against Adam is strong: found at the crime scene are his gun and a wrapper from his favorite, and unusual, chewing gum. Nan learns Adam had received an anonymous note the week before, telling him about Julie's affair with Shane during the previous year. Although Nan unearths other suspects in the victim's ex-wife and her brother, the motive for the cleverly executed crime is stubbornly rooted deeper in the past. Worrying also about complications in Julie's pregnancy, Nan almost becomes the murderer's fifth victim before Cannon ties up the loose ends of a tale mainly brightened by descriptions of the Southern California flower industry.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

For California state bar investigator Nan Robinson, murder is a family affair. Nan races off to Floritas, a San Diego County flower-growing center, when her brother-in-law is charged with murder. Adam Chandler and his pregnant wife, Julie (Nan's sister), are small fish in the Floritas flower biz; the local big fish is outspoken, irascible Angus Pettigrew. But the characters driving the plot are men who grew up together: Shane Pettigrew, divorced, noted womanizer, and Angus'son, is the victim; Adam is the accused; and Ram{¢}on Garza, raised by Angus Pettigrew after the toddler's mother died, is Adam's attorney. Nan seeks out alternative suspects (there are plenty!) and tries to convince herself that the brooding, sometimes violent Adam is innocent. Cannon leavens the tense suspicion surrounding the murder with flower industry background and the mundane details of Nan's life in L.A., including a daunting visit from Nan and Julie's widowed suburbanite mom and Nan's adoption by a kitten. Tangled Roots is likely to turn more readers into Nan Robinson (and Taffy Cannon) fans. Mary Carroll

About this edition

• Publisher: Fawcett
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0449223906
• ISBN 13: 9780449223901
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 326