Amazon To read the first chapter of The Russian Hill Murders. Category:  Mystery/Suspense Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur ISBN-10:  0312328575 Pages: 280 Copyright: July, 2005 "The Russian Hill Murders, the second book in the Sarah Woolson historical mystery series, feisty young attorney Sarah Woolson continues to buck the chauvanistic all-male legal establishment. This time, Sarah is present when a beautiful and wealthy society matron suddenly drops dead at a charity dinner. Convinced the death is anything but natural, Sarah begins some discreet inquiries which lead her to even more murder and mayhem. Though her own San Francisco law firm barely tolerates her, gutsy young attorney Sarah Woolson flouts proper feminine behavior in this 19th-century answer to "Legally Blonde." While her mother begs her to settle down, her chauvinistic boss tries to come up with ever more spiteful ways to pressure his only female associate into quitting. Naturally, Sarah digs in her heels and vows to retain her position at any cost. Besides, she has no intention of straying too far from the action. When the wife of wealthy society entrepreneur Leonard Godfrey drops dead of an apparent heart attack at a charity dinner for the new Women and Children's Hospital, Sarah's curiosity gets the better of her. But no one will believe in her theory that Caroline Godfrey's death was not natural -- until several more people affiliated with the hospital die of inexplicable causes. Meanwhile, when a pregnant widow whose husband has died in a sweatshop fire asks for Sarah's help in finding the owner so that she can sue for recompense, our feisty heroine insists on taking the case against her boss's orders. With the help of her colleague Robert Campbell, and an eager young hansom driver named Eddie, Sarah goes on a manhunt for Killy Doyle, the manacing head of the factory underworld. But she can't ignore the mysterious deaths at the Women and Children's Hospital -- especially when the hospital's Chinese chef is arrested for the murders and the Chinese community's most powerful Tong Lord asks her to defend him. Faced with her first criminal trial, Sarah stops at nothing to determine the killer's identity. But in trying to exonerate her client, she places her own life in danger. Will Sarah figure out who the murderer is, or will she be the final victim? Excerpt "It was not my idea to attend the charity dinner. True, it was a worthy cause, but the past weeks at the law firm I'd been so elated to join just months earlier had been mind-numbing. Frankly, I was in no mood to socialize. My mother, Elizabeth Woolson, however, is nothing if not persistent. Eventually she wore down my resolve until I agreed to accompany my parents to the dinner. Mama also prevailed on the matter of my costume, insisting I wear the violet gown she'd had made for my brother Frederick's entree into the world of politics -- a gown I still considered too decoleltte for my taste. Moreover, I couldn't look at the frock without remembering the murder that had occurred the night I'd worn it, a crime that had catapulted me into the grisly Nob Hill killings. Believe me, if I'd had any inkling that the occasion of its second wearing would have an equally chilling impact on my life, I would have burned the wretched thing on the spot! ...I had not circulated long among the glittering guests before I began to regret giving in to Mama's pressure to attend tonight's soiree. When I'd had all I could take of Paris fashions, society romances and social indiscretions, I sought refuge in an alcove featuring a large bay window. Peering through a strategically placed spyglass, I was able to make out much of the city below -- including Portsmouth Square, the site of Joseph Shepard's law firm. As one of the first female attorneys in California, I'd been accepted as a junior assciate in this establishment with the greatest reluctance. Since then, the entire cadre of senior partners had banded together in an effort to drive me out of their firm, as well as their lives! "It's a beautiful city, isn't it?" I was startled out of my thoughts to find a man in his mid thirties standing behind me. He stood an inch or two over six feet, and despite my bleak mood, part of my brain registered that this was possibly the most handsome man I'd ever seen. He wore a perfectly tailored black tuxedo, which couldn't conceal impressively broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His hair was thick and nearly shoulder length, an ebony mane that waved back from a tanned face. As if amused by my frank appraisal, he smiled, and I was startled to feel my pulse leap. Good Lord, I thought, amazed he'd been able to elicit such an absurd reaction from me, an avowed spinster. With effort, I composed my face into what I hoped was a disapproving frown, only to be rewarded with an even broader smile. "I apologize for my poor manners, Miss Woolson," he said in a voice that was deep and -- forgive me for the romantic if fitting analogy -- smooth as aged brandy. "I'm Pierce Godfrey. Leonard Godfrey is my brother." I accepted his proffered hand and was surprised to find the skin rougher than I'd expected. His careful appearnace suggested he might be something of a dandy. "You have me at a disadvantage, Mr. Godfrey," I said more sharply than was civil. "How is it that you know my name?" His eyes gleamed, but I couldn't decide if it was amusement or mockery. My temper flared; I had no patience for flirting or playing silly games, even with a man as attractive as Pierce Godfrey. "You haven't answered my question," I said pointedly. To my annoyance, he laughed out loud. "You are a woman who speaks her mind, Sarah Woolson. I'll be equally candid. I quizzed my sister-in-law when you arrived." He regarded me speculatively. "She tells me you're an attorney." "Yes, I am." I studied him closely, on the lookout for sarcasm or veiled disdain for my vocation, a not uncommon reactgion from men. I was surprised and, yes, I admit it, disconcerted when I could detect none. The man stgruck me as too smooth, too in control. I suppose I was searching for some imperfection to mar that faultless demeanor. "I remember now," he said. "I saw your name in the newspapers a few months back. Something to do with a murder? Actually, several murders, as I recall." "The press is prone to exaggeration, Mr. Godfrey. You mustn't believe everything you rerad." "No." He drew out the word in a velvet voice, a tone at odds with the dark blue eyes, searching my face with rude curiosity. "Now that I've met you, thought, I rather think there was more truth than fiction to the newspaper articles." I started to chastise him for this unwarranted assumption, when our hostess walked toward us. An attractive woman in her early forties, Caoline Godfrey had a full, sensuous moth and smoky gray eyes that looked out upon the world with an unmistakable air of superiority. The low-cut bodice and tightly cinched waist of her scarlet gown set off her striking figure to excellent advantage. Perhaps it was because of her stunning beauty that I was taken aback by the look of raw hostility she directed at my companion. Focused solely on him, she hadn't yet seen me, so I quickly stepped out from behind his tall figure. "Miss Woolson," she said, looking surprised and not altogether pleased by my sudden appearance. "I'm delighted you could come." After a perfunctory smile, she turned to her brother-in-law. "Leonard requires your assistance in the parlor, Pierce. Everyone is gathering there now." He gave her a measured look, then offered me his arm. "Will you permit me to escort you, Miss Woolson?" Mrs. Godfrey's smile turned sour as she watched me accept her brother-in-law's arm. I felt her eyes following us as he silently led me from the alcove.

Publisher's Weekly (Starred review)
"In Tallman's top-drawer second mystery set in late 19th-century San Francisco (after 2004's "Murder on Nob Hill"), attorney Sarah Woolson takes on a couple of cases that draw a torrent of protests from her law firm: the widow of a man killed in a multiple-fatality fire in a sweatshop seeks her help, as does a Chinese tong leader who asks her to defend a fellow countryman accused of murdering an accountant. In addition, a handsome, well-to-dop bachelor wants her to handle his business negotiations. When all three clients' situations begin to intersect, Sarah realizes she has waded into dangerous, if not lethal, waters. Judge Woolson, Sarah's father, and Robert Campbell, her sole supporter among her law firm's associates, both lend their assistance, but neither is prepared when Sarah's investigations implicate members of San Francisco's high society in the crimes.

Credible characters, cleverly subtle clues and a highly satisfying conclusion mark this intriguing tale as a superior example of its subgenre."

Booklist
Attorney Sarah Woolson, daughter of a judge in San Francisco in the 1880s, is determined to practice her profession despite the contempt of the firm that reluctantly hires her. Her first-person voice is engaging as she relates her hostess' succumbing to poison at a dinner party and the subsequent deaths, also by poisoning, of several others connected to a charity hospital. When the irascible Chinese cook at the hospital is accused, Sarah becomes his defense attorney. Her various family members and an associate (two brothers, a doctor and a reporter, and the one lawyer at her firm who supports her) along with sundry other admirers are rich in interest. Woolson's role as a protofeminist in the nineteenth century is a sympathetic one, and readers will empathize strongly with the obstacles she faces and the triumphs she achieves.

Kirkus Reviews
"When Sarah Woolson (Murder on Nob Hill, 2004) joins the fundraising effort for a hospital sorely needed in 19th-century San Francisco, she finds herself with an immigrant widow, a handsome shipping magnate and a Chinese cook for clients.

Pierce Godfrey wants Sarah to negotiate a contract for new ships. Why would a shipping magnate engage a fledgling female for such work? While Sarah wrestles with his sex appeal and secret agenda, Pierce's sister-in-law and former paramour, Caroline Godfrey, director of the Women and Children's Hospital, dies of an apparent heart attack. Happily, another socially prominent woman, Margaret Barlow, a Woolson family friend, takes oveer and also agrees to help Sarah's second client, a penniless Irish woman with three children, who's hired Sarah to sue the owner of the sweatshop where her husband died in a fire. When the hospital's accountant is poisoned, Sarah gets her third client: the dangerous lord of Chinatown's organized crime, who asks her to defend the Chinese cook accused of murder. Sarah sets out to win her first criminal defense trial and file suit against the sweatshop owner, all the while overcoming rampant racism, sexism and capitalism.