Z


Zackel, Fred.

Cocaine and Blue Eyes. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1978.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Michael Brennen | Herron; Hubin; 1001 Midnights p. 870 | find it |

Cinderella After Midnight. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1980.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Michael Brennen | Herron; Hubin | find it |

Tough Town, Cold City. Self-published, 2017.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Frank Pasnow | tpo |

Summary: San Francisco private eye Frank Pasnow, young, handsome and burly, finds his loyalty to old friends and former girlfriends gets tested when an old friend is brutally murdered. Frank is pitted against powerful foes with old money and elegant attorneys as he tries to bring justice to a haunted victim of that same attack, while death and seduction conspire in San Francisco to stalk this hardheaded PI. Two ex-lovers complicate matters, and Frank discovers that his old friend had more secrets that everyone thought.

 

Zapata, Kurt.

Forty-Ouncer. Manic D Press, 1996.

| setting: San Francisco | short stories | tpo | find it |

 

Zavala, Ann.

San Francisco Gold. Forge, 1995.

| setting: San Francisco (1850s) | Hubin | find it |

Summary: After eight years at sea, fighting pirates and even becoming one herself, Sophie sails into the harbor of Gold Rush San Francisco as the captain of her own ship. She has come to San Francisco in search of her sister, who disappeared from New Orleans six months ago and is now running a brothel. The city is rough and dangerous, but Sophie can take care of herself -- she is deadly with a knife and not afraid to use one. But beneath the streets of Chinatown, powerful men from both sides of the Pacific play a sinister game of international finance in which innocent women are the pawns. A tale of opium, romance and white slavery.

Crystals. Forge, 1996.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Fiona Kendrick | find it |

 

Zellerbach, Merla.

Love in a Dark House. Doubleday, 1961.

| setting: San Mateo | Baird & Greenwood 2709 | find it |

Mystery of the Mermaid. Firefall Editions, 2009.

| settings: San Francisco; at sea | series character: Hallie Marsh | find it |

The Missing Mother. Firefall Editions, 2010.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Hallie Marsh | find it |

Summary: Hallie's new flatmate, physical therapist Sara Bowman, asks Hallie for help in finding missing journalist Jenna Snow. Sara has been looking after wealthy Dale Redington, who's recovering from burns suffered when he tried to rescue an elderly man from a house fire and whose former nanny was taking care of Jenna's baby. Dale is under the care of Dr. Mitchell Cummings, who covets funding for a new clinic from Dale's family foundation. As Mitch begins an affair with Daisy, Dale's diva wife, Sara and Dale grow closer. Hallie, aided by her fiance, journalist Dan Casserly, unearths two murders in her search for Jenna.

Love to Die For. Firefall Editions, 2011.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Hallie Marsh | find it |

Dying to Dance. Firefall Editions, 2012.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Hallie Marsh |

Summary: Once again, Hallie Marsh, amateur sleuth and career woman, finds herself getting involved in a mysterious death. When Hallie and scientist Sam Butler find the body of Sam's friend, beautiful heiress Carlie Gaines, in her Russian Hill condo, Hallie contacts Carlie's lawyer, Nate Garchik. She learns that Carlie has no relatives, except for her estranged father, a convicted felon. With no clues to Carlie's murder or the poison that killed her, Hallie decides to go undercover at the dance school Sam and Carlie attended. There she meets Jeff Donegan, the oversexed ballroom instructor, and Fernando Ruiz, the magnetic "Tango King," among others. Working with psychic Zlotta Kofiszny and cynical detective T.B. Baer, Hallie tackles a second mysterious death that leads to a frightening discovery and an unexpected solution.

The A-List Murders. Firefall Editions, 2014.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Hallie Marsh | find it |

21 Huntington Court. Firefall Editions, 2015.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Hallie Marsh | find it |

Summary: Accidental detective Hallie Marsh accompanies her husband to a block party in an exclusive enclave, famous for its cherry blossoms, which he is covering for his newspaper, and becomes part of the news herself, when her husband stumbles across a dead resident, the wife of a retired 49er quarterback. With the cause of the death unknown, Hallie probes deeper into the private and not-so-secret lives of the suspicious and finds that many in the circular enclave are indeed potential suspects. She leads the investigation for the police to a conclusion that has to be left to a jury for the final outcome.

 

Ziegler, Robert.

The Dark Hill Murders. Commonwealth Publications, 1995.

| setting: San Francisco (1989) | tpo | find it |

Summary: San Francisco... 5:04 PM, October 17th, 1989.The earth shook violently, and 274 people lost their lives in the terror. However, of that toll, two succumbed instead to the cold hand of murder. Private investigators Brandon Harrison and Tina Wolf are hired by Katie Denton, the only witness to the hideous act. Their investigation leads them through a shattered city, and as aftershocks rumble below, a vicious unknown killer stalks their client.

 

Zimmerman, Bruce.

Blood Under the Bridge. Harper & Row, Publisher, 1989.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Quinn Parker | Hubin | find it |

Summary: San Francisco -- a city of scenic perfection, where executives consult the Tarot, sunny days are shrouded in fog... and women are losing their heads for all the wrong reasons. When he stumbles upon a gruesome murder, San Francisco sex therapist Quinn Parker is tagged as the prime suspect. In an effort to prove his innocence, Parker is determined to find the real killer. Note: Edgar award nominee for best first novel of 1989.

Thicker Than Water. HarperCollins Publishers, 1991.

| setting: San Francisco; Jamaica | series character: Quinn Parker | Hubin | find it |

Summary: San Francisco's phobia therapist and amateur sleuth Quinn Parker accompanies his friend, Hank Wilkie, to Jamaica where Hank's college friend, Marty Greene -- who was recently killed in an apparent drug bust -- has left his family's island estate to Hank. After Hank refuses a rather meager offer on the property, Quinn learns that Greene's unwillingness to sell the property just may have contributed to his death.

Full-Bodied Red. HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.

| setting: Napa Valley; Baja California (Mexico) | series character: Quinn Parker | MRJ | find it |

Summary: Quinn Parker, San Francisco phobia therapist and amateur sleuth, discovers that one of his patients, Phillip Chesterton, the young, agoraphobic heir to a Napa Valley wine business, is missing. In a violent confrontation, Phillip's millionaire stepfather, Frank Matson, a rough diamond with a mysterious past, blames Quinn for Phillip's disappearance. That's the prelude to a series of gruesome murders, with Quinn the prime suspect in the eyes of the tough -- and crooked -- sheriff. Quinn is forced to dodge attempts on his life at the same time as he tries to solve several puzzles, including Phillip's whereabouts, the cause of Phillip's real father's death, and what Frank Matson was doing in Southeast Asia twenty years earlier. And it all comes to a breathtaking and violent climax in the rugged desert of Mexico's Baja California.

Crimson Green. HarperCollins Publishers, 1994.

| setting: San Francisco | series character: Quinn Parker | MRJ | find it |

 

Zompolis, Gregory.

The Treasure Island Murders. Self-published, 2017.

| setting: San Francisco (1939) | e-book |

Summary: The Treasure Island Murders is a noir-style mystery that takes place at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exhibition, locally known as the "World's Fair" on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Archeological remains of "Peking Man" have been flown in on a Pan Am Airways China Clipper that docks at Treasure Island's south shore. The remains go missing at the dock's warehouse upon arrival. Nick Taylor, a private investigator, is called in for the case. A number of murders take place associated with the search for this incredibly significant archaeological find.