Nothing but the Night

by Bill Pronzini

The lives of two different men collide as Nick Hendryx searches for the man responsible for the hit-and-run accident that left his wife in a coma, and Cam Gallagher struggles to cope with his terrifying memories of his parents' murder-suicide, a crime that he witnessed as a child. Read by Brian O'Neill. Book available.

Genres: Mystery

30 pages, Audio Cassette

First published December 28, 1999

About the author

Mystery Writers of America Awards "Grand Master" 2008
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1999) for Boobytrap
Edgar Awards Best Novel nominee (1998) for A Wasteland of Strangers
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) for Sentinels
Shamus Awards "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) 1987
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1982) for Hoodwink

Married to author Marcia Muller.

Pseudonyms:
Robert Hart Davis (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann)
Jack Foxx
William Jeffrey (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann)
Alex Saxon

Reviews

[Ermocolle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An "old style" noir novel, captivating and full of suspense. Main characters are well outlined and the story is intriguing. A vintage thriller, printed in 2000 and found on the shelf, that I decided to read. A very good decision.

Un racconto noir di altri tempi ma avvincente e pieno di suspense.
Ben tratteggiati i protagonisti e intrigante la storia.
Un thriller vintage, del 2000, rinvenuto sullo scaffale e che ho fatto bene a intraprendere.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say too much about this without spoiling it. So I'll just say, maybe I'm slow, but I didn't see the twist coming until I was on that page. Great suspense story and the character portraits are very well done.

[Trudy Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really entertaining read -- this kept me turning the pages and proclaiming, just one more chapter! Told from two entirely different perspectives, this is the story of two men: one, Cam Gallagher, who seems to have the ideal life -- amazing wife and kids, a fantastic job, a beautiful home, and great wealth -- but hides some dark secrets and a stormy past. The second man, Nick Hendryx, is a tortured soul who is on the road endlessly searching for the man who took Nick's wife away from him in a hit-and-run accident. While she was still hospitalized and in a deep coma, Nick took off to find the guy who did this. When the novel opens Nick is zeroing in on a man who looks remarkably like the witness sketch of the hit-and-run driver...and that man is Cam Gallagher. It is Nick's fervent belief that when he finds and kills the driver, he can return to his wife and tell her and she will awake from her coma. Yeah, life is NEVER that simple. Each man is a fascinating character and I found myself rooting for both of them. As the book drew to a conclusion, I began to suspect a few of the twists but that didn't make it any the less satisfying.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Pronzini is one of those authors I think of as born storytellers. There's just such an ease and natural grace to his writing. Particular favorite of mine is his short scary story collection I've read twice, but this was just as enjoyable of a read. Pronzini is a crime writer and accordingly this book is a story of a crime, but isn't really a mystery of a thriller per se, more of a psychological exploration of the darker sides of one's mentality. The basic plot is a revenge tale...though there's so much more to it than initially meets the eye. Clever split perspective narration reveals secrets at just the right pace to make for a very compelling read. Even the title offers a certain duality. Night riding literally, which is something of an innocent relaxing activity or riding into the darkness of the night, metaphor for a descent into madness. Very entertaining quick read. Recommended.

[Joshua Pesikoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable page-turner, well-written, with a few twists and turns, but nothing earth-shattering. I did really enjoy the dual-narrator form (the chapters alternate between two protagonists) and it was interesting trying to figure out how reliable each one was as the book progressed.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 2013

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2000. An old style noir novel, captivating and suspenseful.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Suspenseful.

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

I really like Pronzini's style. The plot's simmering with undercurrents and I haven't a clue what's going to happen with them all.
This book's made it onto my 'best books of 2001' list. I was worried that I'd feel the same about it as I did about Blue Lonesome. With that book I thought it was really good until everything was wrapped up and then I felt disappointed. But the ending of this book was the best bit and considering how good the rest of the book was that's doing pretty well.

The story begins with chapters alternating glimpses into the lives of the two main characters and continues to switch viewpoints every few pages even after the story has linked the two together. It would be easy for this to make the narrative very disjointed but it actually flows very well and you get so used to it that Pronzini can just use 'he' and you know which character he's referring to.

There's a real sense of place too. I often find setting to be the most anonymous thing in a book but here I could feel the damp in the house by the Russian River and feel for the characters as the rains came down.

And to top the book off the title is taken from an AE Housman poem (LX from A Shropshire Lad):

Now hollow fires burn out to black,
And lights are guttering low:
Square your shoulders, lift your pack,
And leave your friends and go.

Oh never fear, man, nought's to dread,
Look not to left nor right:
In all the endless road you tread
There's nothing but the night.

What more could you want?

[Johnika Dougan · Rating 4 out of 5]

YYYAAAYYY... THIS IS A GOOD BOOK...ITS VERY WIED IN THE WAY THAT IT'S WRITTEN , BUT ITS A NICE CHALLENGE.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

suspense not mystery and too grim

[Monica Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of two men, one haunted by the past, the other looking for revenge.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. If you like suspense this is a good read.

[Eliana]

Old style detective series with excellent writing, plots and characters throughout