San Francisco Private Investigator John Marshall Tanner is asked by El Gordo's district attorney to help him clean up his corrupt town.

One of the richest men in town killed a man in a hit and run accident and the man is trying to buy his way out of trouble ... after all, the victim was nobody important.

The police department is the most corrupt in the state of California. Tanner has a history with this small town and if he returns, he may be placing his own life on the line.

This is the third in this series, but this one reads well as a stand alone. As always, I recommend starting from the beginning to take advantage of all the gems and nuggets that make a really good story.

Tanner makes a great series character. In the first two books, readers learn more personal history about him ... like how did he go from lawyer to private investigator? He's a man of good moral character, integrity, honesty, and doing what's right.

This is a well-written page turner full of action and suspense.

Many thanks to the author / Open Road Integrated Media / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Like all of Stephen Greenleaf's John Marshall Tanner mysteries, this is a superbly written novel. Greenleaf is often compared to Ross Macdonald, but this book harkens back to earlier noir writers like Raymond Chandler--more complex crime, less complex psychology/more depression, less self-hatred among characters.

I understand why other reviewers called the plot complex, even convoluted, but I think a better term is "unformed." There are several overlapping plots that never properly reconcile, and it's not clear where the main interest lies. Compared to other novels in the series, this one is Tanner-centric. You never care much about any of the characters, just how Tanner's moods change based on his keen observation and complex moral reasoning.

Overall I'd say this is an important book for fans of the series, but not a good choice if you don't begin with a strong interest in Tanner and his world. It's a pleasure to read of course, but there are other books in the series with more satisfying plots and side characters.

Stephen Greenleaf's States Evidence (Mysterious Press/Open Road 2017), third in the John Marshall Tanner series, puts John Tanner in El Gordo California where he starts the search for a missing woman. This story is set in the late 1900's so the detecting is done what we would call 'old school'--some electronics, but not much. He even has to find public phones to make calls! This, surprisingly, I found appealing; so much of Tanner's success depended upon his ability to connect the dots rather than simply following electronic breadcrumbs.

The story is told through Tanner's point of view so I was pleased to find him solid, dependable in his observations. Everything he does, we see through his detail-oriented eyes:

"...tall, white-haired though not old, as thin as twine. He wore a striped shirt, his slacks were white, his loafers were burgundy, and he wasn’t wearing socks. A gold chain was snug at his throat..."

The story itself is engaging if a bit dark:

"The woman was middle-aged and thoroughly wearied. Grayed hair leaked down her temples like the detached webs of spiders. Her eyes seemed wary of closing, for fear of what might happen in the darkness."

"The front yard was bordered by an untamed oleander and was bare in spots and overgrown in others and littered everywhere with children’s toys, most of them broken."
There were few descriptions of people or places that were uplifting, positive, able to make me smile.

One other point: Greenleaf is one of those writers who often shares dialogue in the narrative:

"...thanked her and gave her the number of my motel and asked her to check out the location and call me back. She said she would. I said I’d be eternally grateful. She said she doubted it, but she’d give me the chance."
Not good or bad. Just a trait.

Overall, an enjoyable read. I'll be purchasing the rest of the series.

--review to appear on my blog, WordDreams, March 31st.