Bones

Nameless Detective #14

by Bill Pronzini

Thirty-five years after Harmon Crane's suicide in a locked room, the Nameless Detective attempts to uncover the reasons behind the kingpin of pulp detective fiction's death, and by so doing, he enters into a deadly game

Genres: Mystery

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

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

[Carla Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

From 1985
Nameless, a Pulp collector is called to investigate a 1949 suicide of a pulp writer named Hermon Crane.
The suicide is a murder. A Locked Room mystery, Nameless’s thing.
Russel Dancer, an elderly drunken Pulp writer is here. He appeared in a former book (I forget which) then Hoodwink (when Nameless went to the Pulp convention and met his girlfriend Kerry, daughter of Pulp Writers Ivan and Cybil Wade).
So, I realized that in 1985, 1949 was so long ago… it is the equivalent in 2025 of the ancient 1989. When I was 12.

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another satisfying, though not exceptional, adventure from our series’ non-eponymous hero, who is hired by the long-estranged son of vintage pulp mystery writer Harmon Crane, creator of the Johnny Axe detective series (Axe Marks the Spot, Axe and Pains, Don’t Axe Me) to find out why his father blew out his brains thirty-five years ago. Nameless figures that, after all these years, it is probably a hopeless quest, but his interest in difficult problems—plus his enthusiasm for old pulp fiction—convince him to take the case.

The problem takes a good deal of digging (metaphorically speaking), and the help of two literal earthquakes (one contemporary, one thirty-five years in the past), but eventually our hero uncovers some valuable clues, including the “bones” of the title.

The novel has its flaws. There is the dreary account of a disastrous restaurant dinner-date with Nameless, his gal pal Kerry, Nameless’ partner Eb, and his gal pal, the big-breasted, small-brained Wanda. It is supposed to be funny, but it is overly long and overdone. And the resolution to the mystery is a little less compelling than it usually is in the Nameless Series, a series know for its well-constructed plots.

Still, the book keeps moving and kept my attention. And besides, who can you not love a conversation about a murder between two detectives—one police, one private—that goes like this:

”Why now though? The same week a thirty-five-year-old can of worms opened up.”

“Coincidences happened.”

“Sure. I’ve had a few happen to me over the years. But this time . . . I don’t know, it doesn’t feel right that way.”

“Hunches,” DeKalb said. “You can’t always trust ‘em.”

“Granted.”

Stop and think about this for a moment. Two different detectives, and both agree that 1) coincidences sometimes happen, and 2) you can’t always trust hunches.

There it is. Two tired cliches demolished. In less than fifty words.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the compact novels. Think of Gatsby. Bones by Bill Pronzini loads a tender, moody, and vivid murder mystery in less than 200 pages. I've read it twice now. Our favorite private eye, Nameless is retained to unearth why a distraught pulp writer killed himself thirty-five years ago. The writer's son is Nameless's client. Nameless, it so happens, is also an avid reader and collector of the old pulps, many published in the 1940s. There is humor in Nameless trying to understand just why his PI firm's partner Eberhardt is so smitten by a brassy, big-busted lady. The 1980s San Francisco makes for a colorful setting. An entertaining read, for me, lasted over several night.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a list of all the books (in order) Happy Reading.

1971 The Snatch Random House
1973 The Vanished Random House
1973 Undercurrents Random House
1977 Blowback Ramdom House
1978 Twospot Putman
1980 Laybrinth St. Martin's Press
1980 A Killing In Xanadu Waves Press
1981 Hoodwinked St. Martin's Press
1982 Scattershot St. Martin's Press
1982 Dragonfire St. Martin's Press
1983 Bindlestiff St. Martin's Press
1983 Casefile St. Martin's Press
1984 Quicksilver St. Martin's Press
1984 Nightshades St. Martin's Press
1984 Double St. Martin's Press
1985 Bones St. Martin's Press
1985 Grave Yard Plots St. Martin's Press
1886 Dreadfall St. Martin's Press
1988 Shackles St. Martin's Press
1988 Small Fellonies St. Martin's Press
1990 Jackpot Delacorte
1991 Breakdown Delacorte
1992 Quarry Delacorte
1992 Epitaths Delacorte
1993 Demons Delacorte
1995 Hardcase Delacorte
1996 Spadework Crippen & Landru
1996 Sentinels Carroll & Graf
1997 Illusions Carroll & Graf
1998 Boobytrap Carroll & Graf
1999 Sluths Five Star
1999 Duo Five Star
2000 Crazybones Carroll & Graf
2002 Bleeders Carroll & Graf
2003 Spook Carroll & Graf
2003 Scenarios Five Star
2005 Nightcrawlers Forge
2006 Mourners Forge
2007 Savages Forge
2008 Feaver Forge
2009 Schemers Forge
2010 Betrayers Forge
2011 Camouflage Forge
2012 Hellbox Forge
2012 Kinsmen Cemetery Dance
2012 Femme Cemetery Dance
2013 Nemesis Forge

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Nameless Detective
SETTING: San Francisco, CA
SERIES: #13 of 40
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Harmon Crane was a pulp fiction writer and had a son he never knew about, Michael Kiskadon. Nameless has been hired by the son to look more closely at his father's suicide 35 years earlier. It was a bit of a stretch to believe that an investigation so many years later would really turn anything up, but Nameless manages to figure out what really happened. At the same time, Nameless's relationship with Kerry Wade continues to grow; he also deals with personal and professional issues with his partner, Eberhardt. Pronzini writes as well as ever.

[Nat Kidder · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Pronzini's best, skillfully written with compelling characters, atmosphere and plot.

[Gabriele Crescenzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Letto nell'edizione italiana "Ombre sul passato", ancora una volta Bill Pronzini si dimostra un autore molto in linea con i miei gusti. Una scrittura piacevole, non priva di grandi momenti di introspezione sia del protagonista Senzanome che degli altri personaggi della storia, accompagnata da un'enigma di ottimo livello. Qui abbiamo a che fare con un delitto retrospettivo, classificato come suicidio dal momento che la vittima, il famoso scrittore di pulps Harmon Crane, si trovava in grave stato di depressione e lo studio in cui è stato trovato era chiuso ermeticamente dall'interno. Sarà compito di Senzanome, ingaggiato dal figlio per scoprire i motivi dell'orrendo gesto, scoprire vecchi scheletri tra personaggi ambigui e segreti mai rivelati.
Il libro è pervaso da un tono malinconico: la figura dell'investigatore è caratterizzata forse meglio degli altri due che ho già letto dell'autore. Il protagonista capisce e allo stesso tempo comprende le pene dei vari personaggi nella vicenda, restando però impotente di fronte al flusso inesorabile della vita. La soluzione è buona, ottima la camera chiusa sebbene classica, ma gli indizi sono pressoché inesistenti, tanto che la verità è scoperta più per intuizione che per deduzione. Insomma, un ottimo Pronzini anche se più debole di "Hoodwink" e "Scattershot", che mi invoglia a leggere altro dell'autore.

[Andrew Pender-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading 'BONES'. A cold case takes the Nameless Detective on a potentially hazardous quest, requiring some sharp sleuthing, in which he needs to discover whether the death of a well known writer of pulp crime fiction was murder or suicide. An off-beat character with a laconic sense of humour, the Nameless Detective interacts with a number of sometimes less than salubrious individuals in his seeking of the truth. One of the characters with whom he becomes entangled proves to be particularly deceitful and downright murderous. As part of the denouement, the answer to the question: "Did the writer commit suicide or was he murdered?" is finally answered. Though not particularly original, it is a deftly crafted work with a strongly drawn protagonist and I look forward to reading others in the "Nameless Detective" series.

[The Shayne-Train · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best in the series so far! Nameless is at the top of his game on this one, and the personal side of his life in this story was just as good as the detective side!

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#14 in the Nameless Detective series. Novel names as Finalist 1986 Shamus Award for Best Novel. Nameless, known as a collector of pulp fiction (as is author Pronzini), is hired by the son of an old contributor to the pulps to find out why his father committed suicide 35 years earlier. A twist to the plot is that the writer never knew about his son from his second marriage and the son only recently learned the identity of his biological father. That's the setup for a twisting detective novel, well handled by Pronzini. Adding comic relief, is the odd romance of Nameless' partner, former SF homicide detective Eberhardt. Highly recommended.

#14 Nameless Detective series - Nameless is hired by the son of a classic pulp fiction writer to investigate his father's suicide, but soon a complicated puzzle starts to unfold. Thirty-five years after Harmon Crane's suicide in a locked room, the Nameless Detective attempts to uncover the reasons behind the author of pulp detective fiction's death, and by so doing, he enters into a deadly game.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of the Nameless Detective series that I've read, and I enjoyed it. Maybe I should have started with #1, and maybe I will take that on next. This one was a fun read, the humor definitely good enough for a lot of audible chuckles. I give it four stars, it does show, to some extent at any rate, its age. And it's a fairly quick book to go through, holding my interest throughout. Predictable? Not really, although some spots do shine through with an "a-HA" or two.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short great read in which Nameless solves a 35 year old suicide mystery which induces several recent deaths. A dinner experience with Kerry and another couple leads to many chuckles. Pronzini is the master. I love his little sermons on geography, class, and life that are sprinkled through this series.

[John Grazide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good story. Nameless is hired by a guy who wats to know why his father killed himself, thirty-five years ago. Nameless almost doesn't take the case, but when he finds the father was a pulp author, his fan-boy takes over.
Also, a funny little side story with Eb.

[Harry Addington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nameless is asked to find out why a man killed himself 35 years before. Talk about a cold case. Great story.

[Michael Zhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well structured story set in a very compact time frame, yet the story itself reaches far beyond current days towards a mystery over thirty years ago. This time the tone is more on the dark side.

[Dwight · Rating 2 out of 5]

These are decent noir detective stories. The thing I mostly remember is that I found the gimmick lacking, to say the least.

The protagonist’s name is never mentioned. That’s it. Before reading this I thought it would mean the character was mysterious, off the grid, or something like that. You know, something interesting. Instead he has a life, relationship, health problems, debts, back story, etc.

All the people in the story theoretically know his name. We, the reader, just never see it. Felt like a fake out gimmick.

[Victoria & David Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another capable Nameless yarn.
This was one of three dozen books we picked up on a recent swing through Oregon. A particular shoutout to Powell's in Portland (but of course); Robert's Bookshop in Lincoln City (more mysteries than at Powell's and better prices); and the Smith Family Bookstore in Eugene ( just a nice big collection of all sorts of books you didn't know you needed).

[D. Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read. This one had some very funny scenes, and the areal descriptions are always top notch.

[Didy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corto y fácil de leer ! Entretenido desde la primera página!

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read any of my commentary on the later Nameless Detective books, you know they tend to go something like this: "I like the setting and the writing mainly stays out of the way, but why in God's name does he insist on locked-door mysteries?"

So the next Nameless Detective story opens with ... a locked-door mystery, with the twist this time being that its 35 years' old. There's actually another twist, which is that the death was ruled a suicide at the time. I had real, real hope that Pronzini realized he'd overdone things and that this time he was going to offer us up a locked-door mystery tricked up to look like a suicide ... that really was a suicide.

No such luck. The second locked-door mystery (in the present-day) reveals how the first one was committed too. Sigh.

Still interesting reading, and I've actually stopped being majorly annoyed at the format, I'm just hopeful that we might get more of what the series used to be before this obsession.

And I still enjoy reading them for the Bay Area color. This one was was particularly interesting because it visited Berkeley. Pronzini describes Berkeley as an absolute cesspool, like a combination of a ghetto and an open-air drug market. That, I had to grin at, because he was writing in 1985, just four years before I moved here. I guarantee you his description was largely inaccurate unless there was an urban renewal of epic scale in those scant years in-between.

Sadly, at the time of the writing of this book, Pronzini was entering his early 40s, and think that the conservative curmudgeonly attitude that sometimes comes with middle age is clearly developing. "If kids these days weren't ruining things ... " I shouldn't be surprised given the curmudgeonly attitude of Pronzini's Nameless protagonist, who is his alter ego, but 20 (now 10) years older.

[Nrool · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by Pronzini...

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable (thanks Ed). Pulp fiction, the Bay Area in the 80s, a 35-year-old crime.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

humor and style compensate for lack of justice

[Sally Plunkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

#14 of The Nameless Detective Series

[Eliana]

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

[La'Jacinth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've just discovered this writer and I love his style. this was great novel and love the concept of the PI being nameless.....I can't wait to read his first novel to now.