False Conception.

Performing a check on a prospective surrogate mother on the condition that she never learn who the contracting parents are, Tanner is amazed when she flees and discovers that the would-be adoptive parents harbor secrets involving incest, murder, and the family business.

John Marshall Tanner, San Francisco PI, is hired in his 10th outing, after Southern Cross, to complete a background check on Greta Hammond, the potential surrogate mother for wealthy Stuart and Millicent Colbert. While there are a few oddities in Hammond's life, Tanner finds "no obvious problem in signing her up." The embryo transfer is done and a few weeks later, Hammond decamps, assuring Tanner by phone that she will deliver on her part of the contract. Former lawyer Tanner, a thoughtful and engaging protagonist, competently delves into the Colberts' cruel past, but he remains confused in his longtime relationship with Betty Fontaine and her need for commitment. Some of the other characters lean toward stereotypes, including ruthless businessman and patriarch Rutherford Colbert, whiny son Stuart and bitchy daughter Cynthia, who are vying for future control of the Colbert fashion empire. Wispy Millicent is better drawn but is still only a shadow of a woman obsessed by the desire for a child. A couple of final twists add depth to previous events, but the best part here remains Turner himself.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Stuart and Millicent Colbert can't conceive a child, but they have the resources to hire a surrogate mother. San Francisco private eye Marsh Tanner is employed to investigate the surrogate, Greta Hammond. The catch: Hammond must never know the identity of the Colberts nor that she's being investigated. Meanwhile, the detective's significant other is pushing him toward parenthood, a step that, at age 48, Tanner believes impossible. Complications arise on both fronts when Tanner infiltrates Hammond's life and--against all better judgment--her bed. When Tanner finds a distant connection between the surrogate and Mr. Colbert, Greta, now pregnant with the Colbert's child, disappears. Tanner is the only one who knows all the elements of the case, and he's forced to make Solomon-like decisions as he factors in his own confused emotions regarding parenthood, the welfare of the unborn child, and the lives of the three adult principals. Tanner novels are never just mysteries; Greenleaf always weaves in a larger human dilemma, and here he does it more successfully than ever before. This tenth installment is easily the best of the Tanner series. Too many mysteries end with the scent of cordite in the air; here we end with a tear in the eye. It's a nice change. Wes Lukowsky

The author of the extensive John Marshall Tanner series (Blood Type, LJ 9/1/92) tries mystery without murder when his San Francisco detective investigates the background of a prospective surrogate mother. Suspicion subsequently falls on Tanner's clients when the woman and fetus disappear.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.