Beyond Blame

John Marshall Tanner #5

by Stephen Greenleaf

"Readers who like their private-eye novels witty, literate, and properly balanced between misanthropy and compassion will find Stephen Greenleaf's BEYOND BLAME exactly to taste."
NEWSWEEK
Psychologist Dianne Renzel has been brutally butchered in her own bed. The evidence points to her husband, Lawrence Usser, a brilliant law professor, whose speciality is the successful use of the insanity defense for a variety of unsavory clients.
Now Dianne's parents have hired Tanner to make sure Usser doesn't use his customary fancy legal footwork to skip the rap for his own wife's murder. But as Tanner digs into the case, assumption after assumption gives way to question after question, and soon it's nearly impossible to know who is guilty and who is beyond blame....


From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Mystery, Detective, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Suspense

290 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Stephen Greenleaf got a B.A. from Carlton College in 1964 and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkely in 1967. Stephen Greenleaf served in the United States Army from 1967 through 1969, and was also admitted to the California Bar during that period, with subsequent numerous legal positions.

Stephen Greenleaf studied creative writing at the University of Iowa in 1978 and 1979, (the Iowa Writers Workshop) with the subsequent publication of his first Tanner novel in 1979. Mr. Greenleaf has written fourteen John Marshall Tanner books to date, with his latest being Ellipse. All the novels are situated in San Fransico, and Stephen Greenleaf also lives in northern California with his wife Ann.

Series:
* John Marshall Tanner Mystery

Reviews

[Eric_W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unusual detective story in that the killer is known and the P.I. is hired to provide evidence he is sane. Marsh Tanner was first hired to find the killer of Diane Usser, wife of a famed Berkeley law professor, by her parents. Tanner reluctantly agrees to poke around. He learns that Lawrence, Diane's husband, was famed for his brilliant use of the insanity defense to "get off" many supposedly psychotic killers.

Diane had been stabbed to death. She was naked and appeared to have been involved in some kind of tryst when she was killed. Lawrence found her dying. He was charged with her murder shortly after Tanner took the case, which seemed to be the end of it until Diane's mother shows up in his office. She says they had received a phone call from someone claiming to know that Lawrence was indeed the killer, but he intended to use his brilliant legal skills and knowledge of the insanity defense to get himself off. She wants Tanner to find evidence that Lawrence is *not* mad so that he'll be convicted and executed.

The more Tanner investigates the more peculiar he finds the case to be and when Usser insists he committed the crime and pleads guilty by reason of insanity, Tanner realizes he can't possibly have killed his wife even though he insists he had. Usser has his own reasons and one is really cute. "You accuse me of planning to manufacture the symptoms of mental illness, to prevail at my trial by feigning insanity. Well, did you know that since 1898 the impersonation of mental illness by a prisoner awaiting trial has been known as the Ganser Syndrome? And that some psychiatrists consider such an impersonation in and of itself as a manifestation of psychosis?"

Part of the appeal of Greenleaf, aside from the string resemblance to Ross MacDonald, is Tanner's sense of outrage and sixties quasi-radicalism. In a discussion with Usser about the economic disparity of the justice system, Tanner replies he's not sure it matters anymore. "I guess because outrage at economic disparity implies that all problems admit to economic solutions. We seem to be building a world where money is the measure of everything. Everything has a price tag; everything is measured by its financial aspect. I read the other day that a student decided not to go to medical school because it wouldn't be a good return on investment. That seems a little off the track."

I am reading all of Greenleaf's Tanner books. They are excellent.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4.0 – always enjoy Greenleaf’s John Marshall Tanner books, but this one had a lot of explication and musing that led me to doing some judicious scanning

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Greenleaf writes a pretty exciting mystery story in the Hammett and Chandler tradition. For anybody who's keen on murder at Berkeley (or not), you'll probably get a kick out of this one. I thought I'd figured out who the killer was about a third of the way through, then not, then maybe, then it seemed fairly obvious, then not so much. In the end I was right, but Greenleaf still had me guessing. Well written, good suspense. Certainly worth the read for mystery fans.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this, the fifth book in the series, former attorney turned Private Investigator John Marshall Tanner returns to form after a disappointing outing in book four (Fatal Obsession).

Tanner leaves his home turf in San Francisco to work a case in nearby Berkeley, California. A brilliant law professor has been accused of brutally murdering his wife in her own bed. The victim's parents fear that the professor, who specializes in using the insanity defense to get questionable clients acquitted, will somehow weasel out of the charges and walk free. Enter Marsh Tanner.

Author Stephen Greenleaf writes in something of an introspective style. Placing the setting for Beyond Blame in early 1980's Berkeley (when the book was originally written) is a smart move, allowing for the examination of the ethics of using an insanity plea (and the legal profession in general) while roaming through the ghost of one of the bastions of the peace, love, and positive change strongholds of the '60's. The busted dreams, broken hopes, "greed-is-good" reality that is Berkeley in the 1980's (at least as seen through the eyes of Marsh Tanner) is a near perfect metaphor for where the author is going and what he wants to say.

It gets a little "thinky" at times, slightly longwinded, mildly preachy. I also had a little trouble keeping track of who was who among some of the minor characters.

Overall I enjoyed the book. It's not the best in the series so far but it's still pretty good.

If you like your hard-boiled story with a little intellect thrown in you'll probably enjoy Beyond Blame. I think fans of Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer will particularly enjoy the John Marchall Tanner character as it shares some aspects of MacDonald's work.

There is adult language and situations. Sensitive readers will likely be offended.

[Terry Steinborn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A law school professor and criminal attorney is accused of murdering his wife. At first look, the case seems to make no sense, but is that really true? Marsh Tanner is contracted by the dead woman's parents to make sure the lawyer doesn't get away with it, if in fact he did it. The real problem is that the professor/lawyer has made a career of gaming the legal system by using the insanity defense to get some very dangerous criminals off, and appears to be planning to use the temporary insanity plea to get himself off as well. The book starts off fairly well, and it is obvious that the author is a very intelligent and well educated person, as befits someone who graduated from Carleton College (the Reed College of the prairie) and his later institutes of higher learning. The story quickly bogs down in psychological discussions of the people involved and discussions of how the legal system works (or doesn't) while the basic story goes nowhere. This is my third Greenleaf book, and I will certainly make it my last.

[John Marr · Rating 2 out of 5]

So-so softboiled mystery about hinging on the early '80s brouhaha about the diminished capacity defense. A bleeding heart Berkeley psychologist is sliced to ribbons, #1 suspect is husband/law professor who happens to be a DC expert, and teen daughter (who may or may not have the key) is running wild up & down Telegraph Avenue. Action is reasonable enough, although overburdened with typical counter-cultural tropes (must we be presented with yet another minor-league Manson?) and too many OK-Boomer moments on the Berkeley background. Minus one star for the ridiculous climax's shameless pandering to the "Harvard Classics" crowd.

[Seth Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, well written, but I thought the "whodunit" aspect came a bit out of left field and was something of a stretch. But otherwise, Greenleaf deftly navigated dark aspects of relationships between spouses, colleagues, parents and children and friends and lovers. The book makes you question what it means to be sane vs. insane vs. culpable and doesn't come to any good answers, though it does give you glimpses of evil and despair. Overall very enjoyable, docking a star due to a bit of a jumbled resolution.

[Rita Gorra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, happy day, I forgot most of the plot, so it's just like new to me. Let me share a bit. Describing Jake Hattie, a successful criminal lawyer..."his portly physique and antique half glasses made him look like a kindly chemistry professor until you noticed the glint of an assassin's cunning in his eyes and the 3" monograms on all his clothes."
Really. I am going to have to find the rest of Mr. Greenleaf's books in hardcover to add to my library.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine addition to this series. If you like witty, literate and some of Berkeley,CA to the new ('85) Berkley. You'll like the former lawyer turned PI, who has an overflow of compassion also.

[Patrick H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great underlooked PI series featuring a conscientious former lawyer surveying SF’s slip out of headier daze and into 80s gaudiness, Reaganism, etc. probably as good as Pronzini’s Nameless series. Not as good as Joyce.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are definitely some gory elements to this PI thriller, but mostly, it made me want to hug my teenagers and never let them leave the house.

[Marko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Greenleaf is a shockingly good writer.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second one of Greenleaf's Tanner series I've read, and both books were mostly fast, enjoyable reads. At times, Greenleaf seems like a genuine talent, with a gift for plotting and characterization. Yet when I really sit down to write about his books, I find myself sounding more annoyed than entertained. For example:

Simple murder, for the usual old motives like greed or jealousy isn't enough. A former lawyer, Greenleaf seems compelled to have his characters editorialize on the Big Issues of the day. Here, it's how the criminal justice system handles the mentally ill. Also, Greenleaf's depiction of Berkeley as a haven of drug use, homelessness, violence, and sexual perversion at all levels of society will no doubt warm the hearts of Rick Santorum supporters everywhere, but sounds like a dated, slanted, and inaccurate caricature to those of us who don't keep our TV's tuned to Fox News all day long.

Speaking of dated, Greenleaf has absolutely no sense of vernacular at all. Reading him attempt to depict teenagers' speech feels like when one of your high school teachers in the 90's tried to gain your confidence by peppering words like "rad" or "dude" or "totally" into his lecture. Additionally, Greenleaf appears to be aware that teenagers swear a lot, so one young character gives a speech where he injects swear words into the most random and arbitrary places, sounding a bit like Mr. Spock's attempt at 20th Century speech in Star Trek IV.

At one point, Tanner comes into possession of grisly evidence of a murder - a box containing parts of a corpse. Tanner proceeds to place this box under the front seat of the car and drive around with it there for two days - or at least presumably, since it's never mentioned again. Maybe he just forgot about it? Withholding the box from the police does nothing to further his investigation, so we're left to wonder why he did this, or why the box is even brought up in the first place. My guess is it's simply to sensationalize the killing and make the perpetrator seem more depraved. A small thing, but it just seemed kind of weird to me.

Lastly, the final climactic confrontation in this book is way too campy and far-fetched. Going into details would spoil too much, so suffice it to say that it seemed more like something from one of those corny 70's psychic phenomenon shows like Kolchak: The Night Stalker or The Sixth Sense starring Garry Collins than anything Hammet, Chandler, or Ross Macdonald (the authors Greenleaf's book jackets are always comparing him to) would ever write.

[Teatime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent mystery-- compelling and well written--which is the only reason I finished reading it. I had to force myself through it due to the author's constant vilification of the city of Berkeley, California, where it is set. The author's often seething contempt for Berkeley was almost more than I could stand. I grew up in Berkeley, and in fact lived in Berkeley during the time this book was set/written. The author's criticisms and depiction of the city are often outdated and/or exaggerated. It is easy to pick just a few threads from the underside of a city's tapestry and make them seem to represent the whole-- this is the case with this novel-- but it is not accurate. His constant derisive attitude toward the city did not serve to further the plot, and I found it exceptionally grating. I see that the author attended law school in Berkeley decades earlier, so his experience at that time must have forged his negative opinions. He must have been miserable. My only other criticism is that the audience never really gets to know the character of John Marshall Tanner, the detective. He is stiff, remote, and unknowable. The only character with any warmth at all was police officer Bart Kinn-- too bad his role was so small-- but horrors! He works in Berkeley!

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has something useful to say, and some helpful strategies and ideas, though most people would find 80% thought/20% emotion to be too cerebral a way to live with pleasure, if they could do it at all. 3 1/2 stars.

[Kaylol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great private investigator solves an interesting crime. Couldn't stop reading it!

[Mike Trapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not easy to extricate oneself from a blame storm once one has entered into it.This book provides one the tools to do so, and even demonstrates how such can be avoided.