It's the last kind of case that San Francisco private investigator John Marshall Tanner would normally accept. But Chandelier Wells comes with a personal referral Tanner cannot refuse.

For all her money and fame, Chandelier is scared. Someone is sending anonymous notes: "If you don't stop, you will die " Stop what? She says she doesn't know, and she has no time to find out before beginning the publicity tour for her new book, "Shaloon."

Chandelier writes romantic suspense, but she takes on tough issues. "Shaloon" attacks the cosmetics industry, and next year's book, just finished in manuscript, dissects the luxury cruise business. Could the research for her books have made her the kind of enemies who would wish her bodily harm?

Tanner's inclined to think that the lady might exaggerate her peril, but when a car bomb explodes, leaving one person dead and another gravely injured, Tanner regrets he didn't take Chandelier's fears more seriously. She has annoyed many people over the years, but who would want her dead? As Tanner begins to probe Chandelier's background, he discovers many potential suspects, including her ex-husband, a spurned lover, and a jealous writer who accuses Chandelier of plagiarism. Is one of them behind the car bomb, or is the answer even more complex and frightening?

Drawn into the bizarre life of a superstar author and an investigation that threatens to go full circle and bring back demons from Tanner's past, Tanner must also deal with his own grief for a departed friend and his developing love for a very special assistant district attorney. His life is at a turning point. The future is vast andvitalizing. The present is poignant.

Recently nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award, mystery writing's highest honor, author Stephen Greenleaf with "Ellipsis" adds another mesmerizing chapter to one of the most intoxicatingly powerful series in all of crime fiction.