WHO, WHAT, WHERE?
The murder investigation in The Montfort Prescription takes place in San Francisco over a six week period in 2016. All of the locations in the novel actually exist as described. The following map and images may help orient readers unfamiliar with the city. Click on a marker to see where you are. Click on any of the individual images below for more information about each location.
(Map courtesy of Michael Bootz.)
Russian Hill—the scene of the crime
After a night of drinking at the Black Magic Voodoo Lounge, Matt Glover is found dead on the steps of Lombard Street, “the Crookedest Street in the World”. Was it an accident? Oh c’mon, you know better than that!
These former inhabitants involve themselves in a murder investigation.
San Francisco has a 150 year history of being a home to writers and artists., and Elizabeth Mills is happy to tell Franklin (and the reader) about some of her favorites.
Bush Street (Lower Nob Hill) was the location of Robert Louis Stevenson’s lodging house in 1880.
Stevenson abandoned Scotland for San Francisco in the winter of 1880 to pursue his future wife, an Oakland girl named Fanny Osbourne. The trip nearly killed him, and Fanny was already married at the time. But it all turned out well in the end.
Dreams, Nightmares, Premonitions
A combination of closed head trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder has left Franklin Washborne with nothing worse than occasional headaches, vivid dreams and occasional nightmares—or so he thinks.
Nob Hill: Grace Cathedral. Huntington Park and the Fountain of the Turtles.
The park is a small, very peaceful space … unless you’re a homicide detective.
In The Montfort Prescription, a lot of crime solving gets done during meals.
But hey, this is San Francisco so what else would you expect?