City of Sharks: A Miranda Corbie Mystery

Miranda Corbie Mystery #4

by Kelli Stanley

The blonde secretary was scared when she visited Miranda Corbie’s office. A shove into a streetcar track, a box of poisoned chocolates…hateful, violent letters.

Someone was trying to kill her.

Miranda isn’t sure of anything at first except that Louise Crowley, the blonde who works as an assistant to Niles Alexander, San Francisco publisher, is in trouble. Despite her own preparations for an imminent voyage to a blitzkrieged Britain and a painful farewell to the city she loves, Miranda decides to help Louise and takes on her last case as a private detective in San Francisco…investigating her client, surveying the publishing world of 1940, and stumbling into murder with a trail that leads straight to Alcatraz…an island city of sharks.

Along the way, Miranda explores her beloved San Francisco once more, from Playland-at-the-Beach to Chinatown to Nob Hill and Treasure Island. She encounters John Steinbeck and C.S. Forester, and is aided and abetted by the charming and dapper San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen. And she also discovers personal truths she’s long denied…

With her characteristic luxurious, lyrical prose and insightful eye for character, Kelli Stanley paints a rich, authentic portrait of 1940 San Francisco in this latest installment of her award-winning series.

Genres: Historical Fiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published March 20, 2018

About the author

Kelli Stanley is the multiple award-winning, critically acclaimed and bestselling creator of the Miranda Corbie series (CITY OF DRAGONS, CITY OF SECRETS, CITY OF GHOSTS, CITY OF SHARKS), noir novels set in 1940 San Francisco and featuring "one of crime's most arresting heroines" (Library Journal).

Kelli has also written an award-winning "Roman Noir" series set in Roman Britain (NOX DORMIENDA, THE CURSE-MAKER), and has published numerous short stories and essays.

Kelli also founded and was president of the non-profit publisher Nasty Woman Press, which published the award-winning anthology SHATTERING GLASS.

A winner of the Macavity, Bruce Alexander, Golden Nugget and Anthony awards (the latter as a publisher of SHATTERING GLASS), she was also a Shamus and Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, while the City and County of San Francisco awarded her a Certificate of Merit for her contributions to literature. She was named a literary heir of Dashiell Hammett by his granddaughter in a Publisher's Weekly article, and critics have compared her work to her icons Raymond Chandler and Norman Corwin. She was by the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention as its Historical Mystery Guest of Honor in 2024.

Her eagerly-anticipated next novel, THE RECKONING, is a thriller set in California's "Emerald Triangle" in 1985, and features the debut of new series character Renata Drake. THE RECKONING will publish in the US and UK on January 6, 2026, from Severn House.

Kelli holds a Master's Degree in Classics, and when she's not reading or writing, loves nature walks, jazz, classic film, travel, and, with her spouse, taking care of their two rescue cats. She's also honored to have served as faculty for the famed Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference for many years.

For more more information about Kelli and her work—including interactive, multimedia maps, videos, photos and ephemera—please visit her website at www.kellistanley.com.

Reviews

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

GNab City of Sharks is an excellent Noir mystery, taking place in San Francisco in the fall of 1940. Miranda Corbie is thirty something, attempting to make it as a private detective after a heart breaking stint in the Spanish Civil War. She has a minor support system but for the most part finds her strength internally. And City of Sharks plays her down to bare bones. Who would have thought the publishing business would be so dangerous?

This is the fourth Miranda Corbie mystery. I will be looking for the first three, and hope there will be even more. She is a protagonist I would enjoy following.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Kelli Stanley, and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

pub date March 20, 2018

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Too much g**d*** finesse. And that's what is wrong with the case: too much of everything. Too many clues, all leading to too many places and too many people. Too many motives, too many different styles, a f***ing crazy quilt of murder....Miranda took a deep drag on the stick. F*** that. ...F***ing crazy quilt," writes Stanley, all from a page late in the book because apparently Stanley thinks using the word f*** will 1) keep us awake or 2) give the book an edgy feel or 3) indicate Stanley has lost her thesaurus (same problem as the 3rd in this series, during which "Queer Is the Word" and I just might right a song about it.)
Plot: Very simple, somebody gets killed because they wrote an expose of bribery/kickbacks about Alcatraz prison. Stanley would have us think it's all a complicated mess, but it's not at all, well, for anyone who has read a mystery or two. But Miranda Corbie, our modern-noir heroine, is a great character, and Stanley in her first 3 books excelled at atmosphere. Here, the atmosphere is repetitive from previous works, the plot on the boring side, and no matter what, the repeated use of "f***k' does not make for good writing. But, at the end of this fourth entry, Miranda is off to England to find her mom, where she will no doubt encounter lots of f***ing Nazis. Will Miranda be able to buy Chesterfield cigarettes in England? Butterscotch Lifesavers? And will she find her mother, or just her mother's grave stone? Will memories of Spain haunt her? Will she have to make a last minute escape across the Atlantic, avoiding very bad Nazis in submarines? Maybe, no, probably, yes, and absolutely yes, respectively. And, yes, I'll read it. I gotta find out what happens.

[Jo Dervan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth in the Miranda Corbie detective series. Miranda had been living on the dark side of San Francisco in the late 1930s when she was able to get her private investigator license. Now it is 1940 and the US still remained neutral in the war in Europe. However Miranda, with the help of a friend in the State Department in Washington, was planning to board a ship to go to London to find her estranged mother.

As the day of the planned departure from San Francisco approached, a secretary from another office in her building hired Miranda to help with threatening letters she had received as well as some close accidents. The secretary, Louisa Crowley, worked for a small publishing house and had no known enemies. Miranda suspected that there was some secret Louisa was withholding. Then the one morning Miranda discovered her boss, the publisher Niles Alexander, dead in his office. A potentially explosive manuscript was also missing from the office safe. Louise was the prime suspect in the murder and Miranda now had to prove her client’s innocence.

The author embellishes the story with many historical facts about San Francisco and the US in 1940. She also introduces famous people from the era as minor characters. The story is a well crafted mystery in an authentic historical setting.

[Bad Cookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was sooooo worth the wait. I'd been wondering if we'd ever hear from Miranda Corbie again. I enjoyed reading this and was disappointed when it was over. It left me wondering, is this the end of the series? I hope not. I'll patiently wait for another, but hopefully Kelli Stanley won't keep her readers waiting so long (please and thank you).

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a standalone- and was I sorry I had missed the earlier books, not because I was unable to follow the story but because I wish I had met Miranda Corbie earlier. This is a well done historical mystery which uses its 1940 San Francisco setting to good effect. Stanley has captured noir, without going over board, in writing a tale which mixes a murder and the looming WWII. Who killed Niles and took a manuscript from his office? Miranda is sure it isn't Louise, his secretary, and she sets out to prove it. Being a female private investigator in 1940 isn't easy but Miranda is a unique woman with a strong background and integrity. Some real people appear naturally, given that this involves a publisher. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I was intrigued by Miranda's personal growth and look forward to the next book!

[Randal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miranda! Don't leave! Please stay in San Francisco. We'll find some other way to rescue your mother in London.

Alas, it's no spoiler to reveal that Miranda Corbie is leaving San Francisco. She decided to go in the previous book in the series (City of Ghosts) and in Chapter 1 of the present story, she has booked passage to England -- if the ship isn't sunk by German U-boats first. But first, she just has to solve one last crime in the City....

Bon voyage, Miranda. Good luck and godspeed.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when . . .
Miranda looked at her City,
No matter what changes lay ahead for either of them, San Francisco would be hers . . .
Forever."

[Jennie Millerhagen · Rating 3 out of 5]

She is quite brilliant with detail. You do feel like you are in the time period and place.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must make the acquaintance of Miranda Corbie. Kelli Stanley’s fully realized private investigator will remain stuck in your mind and memory from the first moment of your initial encounter. Corbie, a private eye in 1940 San Francisco, is a pocketful of contradictions, exhibiting personality traits that are alternately tough and tender as she smokes Chesterfields by the handful while taking notes in pencil on a Big Chief writing tablet (both of which, I was delighted to learn, are still available).

Stanley’s research of her adopted city as it was in the mid-20th century is so thorough and all-encompassing that the present seems to be an illusion. To put it another way, this series, of which the newly published CITY OF SHARKS is the fourth, is a palimpsest of sorts, except that the past overwrites the present. That’s a poor description of the magic that Stanley creates here, but create it she does.

CITY OF SHARKS is arguably Stanley’s most accessible book in the series and her best to date. It runs on a classic PI noir plot that opens in media res with Corbie interviewing a new client. Corbie is a week away from leaving San Francisco for war-torn England, in search of her long-lost mother. She really doesn’t need or want another case, but finds it difficult to turn down Louise Crowley, a secretary employed by Alexander Publishing who is convinced that someone is trying to kill her. The sources of her discontent include some anonymous but vile and threatening letters and near-brushes with death. Two such instances --- almost being run down by a car and being shoved into the path of an oncoming bus --- may be accidents or happenstance, but the third, involving poisoned chocolates, is obviously deliberate. Crowley is rattled but unbowed.

Corbie senses that Crowley is lying to her, even as the woman insists that she is telling her the whole truth. She isn’t, of course, as Corbie discovers with some good old-fashioned shoe-leather detective work with a bit of clever disguising and observation thrown in for good measure. Corbie is just getting up to speed on what her client hasn’t told her when murder does indeed rear its head. The victim is not Crowley but her employer. Niles Alexander is a bit of a rake, but his extramarital behavior does not quite explain why he is found in his office with his head caved in.

Corbie doesn’t have to conduct an investigation on her own, but believes his death may be tied to the efforts to unite Crowley with the choir invisible. She follows a trail that leads to nearby Alcatraz --- known as the “City of Sharks” --- and back again, uncovering Crowley’s tenuous but very real ties to that institution as well as some nefarious goings-on occurring inside and outside its formidable walls.

Meanwhile, Corbie’s imminent departure from San Francisco looms, and every street she walks down reminds her of what she will be leaving, even as she faces her own dangers as the result of what may be her last case. We can only hope otherwise as the book steadfastly moves toward its haunting conclusion.

In her Acknowledgements at the beginning of CITY OF SHARKS, Stanley asks if the reader would be interested in seeing more of Miranda Corbie in the future and, if so, to let her know and to spread the word. Consider it done. And done.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

[Bookreporter.com Historical Fiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must make the acquaintance of Miranda Corbie. Kelli Stanley’s fully realized private investigator will remain stuck in your mind and memory from the first moment of your initial encounter. Corbie, a private eye in 1940 San Francisco, is a pocketful of contradictions, exhibiting personality traits that are alternately tough and tender as she smokes Chesterfields by the handful while taking notes in pencil on a Big Chief writing tablet (both of which, I was delighted to learn, are still available).

Stanley’s research of her adopted city as it was in the mid-20th century is so thorough and all-encompassing that the present seems to be an illusion. To put it another way, this series, of which the newly published CITY OF SHARKS is the fourth, is a palimpsest of sorts, except that the past overwrites the present. That’s a poor description of the magic that Stanley creates here, but create it she does.

CITY OF SHARKS is arguably Stanley’s most accessible book in the series and her best to date. It runs on a classic PI noir plot that opens in media res with Corbie interviewing a new client. Corbie is a week away from leaving San Francisco for war-torn England, in search of her long-lost mother. She really doesn’t need or want another case, but finds it difficult to turn down Louise Crowley, a secretary employed by Alexander Publishing who is convinced that someone is trying to kill her. The sources of her discontent include some anonymous but vile and threatening letters and near-brushes with death. Two such instances --- almost being run down by a car and being shoved into the path of an oncoming bus --- may be accidents or happenstance, but the third, involving poisoned chocolates, is obviously deliberate. Crowley is rattled but unbowed.

Corbie senses that Crowley is lying to her, even as the woman insists that she is telling her the whole truth. She isn’t, of course, as Corbie discovers with some good old-fashioned shoe-leather detective work with a bit of clever disguising and observation thrown in for good measure. Corbie is just getting up to speed on what her client hasn’t told her when murder does indeed rear its head. The victim is not Crowley but her employer. Niles Alexander is a bit of a rake, but his extramarital behavior does not quite explain why he is found in his office with his head caved in.

Corbie doesn’t have to conduct an investigation on her own, but believes his death may be tied to the efforts to unite Crowley with the choir invisible. She follows a trail that leads to nearby Alcatraz --- known as the “City of Sharks” --- and back again, uncovering Crowley’s tenuous but very real ties to that institution as well as some nefarious goings-on occurring inside and outside its formidable walls.

Meanwhile, Corbie’s imminent departure from San Francisco looms, and every street she walks down reminds her of what she will be leaving, even as she faces her own dangers as the result of what may be her last case. We can only hope otherwise as the book steadfastly moves toward its haunting conclusion.

In her Acknowledgements at the beginning of CITY OF SHARKS, Stanley asks if the reader would be interested in seeing more of Miranda Corbie in the future and, if so, to let her know and to spread the word. Consider it done. And done.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

[Judith Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story

I have read all the Miranda Cobie mysteries and I am a fan. The books, themselves, bring to mind the tough guy detectives from the 40' s and 50's noir period. This particular story is darker than the past stories, but also has the most hope. The elements: pretty blond Secretary with
Death threats, dueling authors, a son who is no better than anyone, and the story of Miranda and her continuing fears of loving someone. If I haven't got your attention yet, what about J Edgar Hoover, WW 2 and prisoners at Alcatraz. Yes, there is all that and more. As always the city of San Francisco is a hugh part of the story. Our heroine is trying to gain passage on a ship to England, in order to search for her long, lost Mother. The.young Secretary, fears for life and seeks out Miranda to assist her. From the start the young lady has no idea about who is trying to kill her. As the story moves along there are more murders and still no answers. I will caution that the story is gritty. There are mentions of sexual diseases, prostitution, shootings etc. If any of that offends, don't pick up the book. I loved it, the story, the setting and the characters.

[John Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems like forever since there's been a Miranda Corbie mystery, but there's the newest one out this year. I had thought I'd missed one. Good to have her back.
1940 and the world is slipping into World War Two. Miranda's still in San Francisco but while waiting to get on a boat for London to maybe, hopefully to find her mother. She take one last (can it really be) case of a worried secretary who thinks someone is trying to kill her. Miranda enters into Alexander Publishing and the world publishing to find out who is.
What she into is murder of the owner, strange authors, who seems to on her list, editors...ditto, and ties to Alcatraz and the mysterious tell-all book. Makes your mind spin and Miranda's too.
I do hope this isn't the last we'll see of Miranda Corbie, no matter where she ends up, her character is one tough cookie and the historical feel for Sn Francisco is great. So I do hope Ms. Stanley will keep writing about Miranda's adventures.
A real pip of a mystery.

[Glen U · Rating 3 out of 5]

"City of Sharks" is Kelli Stanley's 4th book in the Miranda Corbie mystery series. Set in San Francisco, Stanley displays her devotion to the City on the Bay with numerous mentions of the landmarks and locations in San Francisco in the late 1930's. In fact, for me, the too numerous remembrances resembled an overly avid name-dropper and detracted from her story. The story itself is well written, as all her books are, but the plot has a lot of characters from her previous books and a lot of differing plot lines to follow. I would recommend reading her first three Corbie mysteries to enhance the enjoyment of reading this one as she refers back to the previous adventures, many times. Very akin to Jaqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, the heroine protagonist agonizes over her lost loves and present circumstances, and introspection is a major part of the characters psyche. I enjoyed this book, but I did not think it lived up to her previous offerings. A good read.

[Nina Mazzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious! Yep - as I read I kept thinking of a favorite dinner in North Beach - I began my read with an appetizer (caught up on Miranda ); as I sipped my Chianti I looked around the room and it was filled with journalists from the Chronicle and there was the one and only Herb Caen! Then the tuxedo clad waiter brought my lasagna - and this entree aptly describes what the author has accomplished in her book - it is layered with interesting sights and sounds and smells; it is rich in characters the reader wants to cheer on or knock off; the plot is satisfying and one keeps reading as I would keep eating my lasagna even if full and for dessert - well of course I nibble on an It's It as I smile with satisfaction at the ending! Thank you Kelli Stanley for your detailed work on taking the reader back in time to a San Francisco full of interesting characters.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was sure an easy on the eyes mystery set in the 1930's/1940's San Francisco.

The author did her research and was not afraid to throw in a lot of historical facts to make the story and the setting a very interesting read.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy.

[Cathy Zane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Kelli Stanley book. Noir. 1940’s San Francisco. Treasure Island World’s Fair on one side of The City and Playland on the other. And Herb Caen thrown in for good measure! I couldn’t not enjoy this book. Miranda Corbie is a great character – I’ll be going back to earlier books to read more Miranda!

[Mandy Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was definitely interested throughout the entire book, it I had a suspicion of ‘who done it’ by about half way through, and was certain by about 30 pages to the end.

Just a side note, I’m thoroughly jealous of the main character, Miranda Colbie. How does she have such a seemingly nice bod but all she goddamn eats is fried crap?! Especially since she’s supposed to be in her early 30s.

[Ellen Dark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final book in a quartet of books set in San Francisco of 1940. Miranda Corbie is working on her last case as a private detective before she leaves for England to look for her mother. Lots of details of brand names, places and people from that time in San Francisco. Alcatraz Island plays a part as well. Lots of loose ends at the end for Miranda.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous descriptions of San Francisco in 1940. Author evokes the fell, atmosphere and scents of the City by the Bay along with its people and buildings, many of which are still in use today. I look forward to the next Miranda Corbie book.

[Jenn Kurrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

#21/2018 ..

[Cherie O'Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neo-noir for those with a taste for the literary and an abiding love of San Francisco. If you were as completely freaked out as a child as I was by Laughing Sal, you'll enjoy this story.

[Malachi Antal · Rating 2 out of 5]

remained a good read minus repetitious blasphemy overkill.

set theme for San Fran in 1940s the competing ideologies of Communism versus Fascism.

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would NOT read again.