Sarah Woolson Mysteries

Sarah Woolson has always dreamed of being a lawyer. The trouble is that, in 1880, everyone believes a woman's place is in the home. Using her brains and a bit of subterfuge, Sarah finagles her way into a prestigious law firm, becoming an associate attorney and acquiring her very first client, a lovely young society matron accused of murdering her husband. Sarah is sure of her client's innocence, but with the discovery of her secret lover, it becomes nearly impossible to prove. When four more victims fall prey to the killer's knife, Sarah fears she's bitten off more than she can chew. Soon Sarah finds herself embroiled in shady legal maneuvers, a daring Chinatown raid, a secret and very scandalous sex club, and the most powerful and dangerous tong lord in the city's Chinese District. "Anna Fields has a superb gift for creating character voices, both male and female. Her male voices are particularly outstanding; each is not only uniquely identifiable, but foreign accents (Scots and Chinese) are perfectly portrayed. Emotions are skillfully interpreted, whether highly charged or sympathetic…[A] beautifully performed book. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award." "Lively details of a lively time and place spice up a typically feisty heroine's struggles against sexism." "The serenely self-assured Sarah…keeps the reader on her side and turning pages till the end."

Plucky young attorney Sarah Woolson flouts proper Victorian notions of feminine behavior in this nineteenth-century answer to Legally Blonde. Though her own law firm barely tolerates her, and her mother begs her to settle down, Sarah sets out to prove herself in her first criminal trial. When a woman whose husband has died in a sweatshop fire asks for Sarah's help in finding the culprit, she insists on taking the case against her boss' wishes. Even more scandalously, when several people affiliated with a charity hospital die within a few days of each other, Sarah puts herself in the middle of the puzzle, racing against time to find the killer and defending a Chinese man accused of murder. Imagine, a woman lawyer in court! "Credible characters, cleverly subtle clues and a highly satisfying conclusion mark this intriguing tale as a superior example of its subgenre." "Fields continues to amaze as she switches personas, accents, and tone with alacrity. Listeners looking for likable characters, a plausible mystery, and a satisfying denouement narrated by one of the industry's best need search no further." "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."

When nineteenth-century attorney Sarah Woolson defied convention by opening her own San Francisco law firm, she found that clients-paying clients, that is-were wary of a woman managing their legal affairs. Just as her patience and her money are running out, Sarah attends a séance at San Francisco's Cliff House that turns out to be much more than "silly parlor tricks." After a dramatic display, Russian clairvoyant Madame Olga Karpova and her guests discover that one of the people seated at the table has been brutally strangled. Later, when two more of the guests are found slain, Sarah is pressed into defending the accused murderer. Working on her client's case, she quickly finds herself at the center of a complicated murder plot involving ghosts, gypsies, and City Hall. It's hardly proper behavior for a nineteenth-century woman, but Sarah wouldn't have it any other way. "[An] entertaining and atmospheric 1880s San Francisco whodunit…Tallman throws in some unexpected twists, keeping the reader guessing to the end." "Sarah Woolson is spunky as hell-law was a very male profession in the 1880s-and San Francisco is a great locale." "This is a fine historical series with a strong female sleuth who stands up for herself and plots that raise issues that remain relevant today."

A body is found just blocks from attorney Sarah Woolson's peaceful Rincon Hill home. Sarah is soon on the case, but nineteenth-century San Francisco is rapidly thrown into a state of panic as a gruesome crime spree begins to take hold of the city. Engaged in a life or death struggle to find the murderer, Sarah becomes embroiled in the erotic escapades of the town's infamous high-end brothels, a proper Anglican church, Darwin's shocking theory of evolution, and a vicious killer who will stop at nothing to achieve a scandalous objective. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 "A solid read…Convincing period detail supports an engaging lead who's a more plausible character than, say, Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy." "Tallman's series features Sarah Woolson, a nineteenth-century San Francisco attorney who defends the downtrodden and oppressed when no one else will take their cases. In this fourth installment, the primary story concerns several inexplicable murders for which Sarah's clients, Chinese immigrants, are being blamed. Carrington MacDuffie's portrayal of Sarah is commanding yet personable. Her interpretation of the other characters is well defined and distinct…MacDuffie is particularly adept at age-appropriate portrayals. Listeners should enjoy this entertaining whodunit." "Sarah's fourth neatly marries mystery, romance, and historic San Francisco in an enjoyable tale of the stubbornly independent career woman." "Bringing Victorian San Francisco to colorful life, Tallman offers an entertaining mystery…Will appeal to fans of Anne Perry and Rhys Bowen."

San Francisco, 1882. After enjoying an evening listening to the young Oscar Wilde, crusading young lawyer Sarah Woolson and her brother, Samuel, are making their way home when a gunshot sounds and a bullet pierces the fog, striking Samuel. Who could want to hurt Samuel? Was he even the intended target? Determined to find answers, Sarah discovers more murder and mayhem on Telegraph Hill. Shirley Tallman delivers an exciting whodunit with a trailblazing heroine set in a time and place when a nice young woman was supposed to be found in the drawing room instead of the courtroom. "Excellent…Tallman convincingly makes her lead a dogged and fearless sleuth." "Tallman continues to surround her plucky, intelligent heroine with historical tidbits and a strong mystery." "Tallman's fifth Victorian mystery featuring San Francisco attorney Sarah Woolson has the feisty young woman worrying about the solvency of her law practice…Tallman continues to provide an excellent historical series featuring a strong female who wants a career in law rather than life as a society matron."