Twospot

Nameless Detective #5

by Bill Pronzini and Collin Wilcox, Collin Wilcox

Pronzini and Wilcox combine their superlative talents--and their two popular San Francisco-based detectives, "Nameless" and Lieutenant Frank Hastings--on a harrowing case of murder and bizarre conspiracy surrounding an old California wine-making family.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is all well and good to have rules to govern your reading, but what do you do when two of your rule conflict? I was confronted with just this dilemma when I sat down to read Bill Pronzini’s Twospot, the fifth entry in his “Nameless Detective” series.

The two rules in question: 1) If you consider a detective series worthy of exploration, you should begin with the first book and proceed until either a) you reach the end of the series, or b) you decide the series isn’t worthy of exploring after all, and 2) read no collaborative works of fiction, for you should only choose creative work that is the product of a single mind, the expression of a unique spirit. My dilemma: Twospot is a collaboration between Bill Prinzini and Collin Wilcox, author of the Frank Hastings police procedurals (and best known as the creator of the TV series Sam McCloud, starring Dennis Weaver). Solution: I went with rule number one, the more useful and less capricious of the two, and read Twospot anyway.

I’m glad I did. The mystery, in which Nameless is hired to investigate a suspicious suitor of the matriarch of a local winery, held my interest, and, although I didn’t care much for the shift into international intrigue about halfway through the book, the final chapters were filled with a good deal of suspense and kept me turning the pages.

Even more important, though, I could sense a maturing in both Pronzini’s writing style and the attitudes of his detective. He still loves pulp detective fiction as much as he used to, but he is much less sensitive about it; as a matter of fact, he seems to take life, love and crime a lot easier than before. He still cares, but he has learned how to handle it better. Reading Twospot gives me confidence that the Nameless Dectective novels to come will be better than the first five.

Something else the reading of this novel gave me was further confirmation of rule #2. The change of voice was never exactly jarring, since each writer narrated a different part of the adventure featuring their own particular detective, but still, the novel never felt like a unified thing to me, and I suspect that is the reason why I was only mildly pleased by Pronzini and Willcox’s Twospot.

[Damo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twospot is the 5th book in the Nameless Detective series and is the first that is written as a collaborative effort. The book brings the Nameless Detective into contact with Lieutenant Frank Hastings of the SFPD. Hastings is the main character of the long running series of books written by Collin Wilcox.

The story starts with the detective being hired by a man named Alex Cappelani to investigate the background of his mother’s fiancé, Jason Booker. The family is successful in the wine-making business and he wants to ensure the man is not simply trying to get a stake in the family business. But by the time the detective arrives at the winery to speak to him Alex is unconscious and the attacker turns his attention to the detective in his bid to get away.

After Alex recovers he heaps plenty of suspicion on Booker and organizes to meet the detective at the other man’s San Francisco apartment. What they find when they get there, though, is a dead body.

​When murder intervenes the involvement of Detective Frank Hastings begins.

We are treated to shared story narration as the viewpoint of Hastings takes over in one chapter and is then passed on to the detective in the next. It is effective and is a refreshing way to broaden the series.

The detective is five months into life after cigarettes and is quite motivated to leaving them alone. In fact, it seems that he has hit upon the key to quitting and is happy to share it:

​“I had given them up. Cold turkey. I had consumed an average of two packs a day for thirty-five years, and had tried to quit several times with no success; but when a doctor tells you point-blank that you’re going to die if you don’t quit, you do it and you stick to it. I had not had a cigarette in five months. Every time I thought about having one, which was less and less frequently now, I reminded myself that it would be like putting a knife in my own chest. And the craving would go away”

​When Frank Hastings enters the story the style displays an obvious diversity because his part is told by Wilcox. He carries out his investigation based very much on forensic evidence and it is a clearly more procedural type of style. Although it is different to the style of the Nameless Detective’s it works well when the two get together and incorporate both the strict structures of the police department and the relative freedom of the private operative.

It is in the course of the book, through the narration of Hastings that we hear the first mention of the detective’s name when he refers to him as Bill. This is confirmed in later books in the series from Spook (2003) onwards when the name Bill is regularly used.

[John Culuris]

.
★ ★ ★ 1/2

With the Nameless Detective’s fifth outing Bill Pronzini has taken the opportunity to introduce (at least to me) the work of Colin Wilcox and his literary creation, Lieutenant Frank Hastings. This is not the first time two authors have teamed up to produce a book (and it won't be the last time for Pronzini), but it was still an interesting effort. Admitting limited experience in these matters, I’ve found that, usually, the writers either rewrite each other's pages until everyone is satisfied, or they take turns, alternating chapters, each featuring his protagonist. And quite a few of the reviews I read after writing my own seem to think this was the case here. Actually the authors split the body of the novel into quarters. This method was new to me. It also surprised me that Pronzini went first, which would eventually allow the lesser-known Wilcox to wrap up the book. “Lesser known” I will admit is also an assumption on my part, as I can find no background information on how or why this book came to be. To the best of my knowledge publishers prefer to put the more famous or better selling writer’s name first, and that's what I'm going with here.

For the most part I got what I expected from a “Nameless” novel: the gradual establishing of characters and situations, each of which will in turn redefine the problem to be solved. What I did not expect was a chase sequence so early in the novel. I understand that Pronzini tries to do something different with each outing without straying too far from the framework of a detective story, but it's hard to be invested in a chase when your only anchor is the viewpoint character. Even knowing the stakes it helps to have some idea of who else is involved. After a while I started to feel that my time was being wasted, particularly as it was an extended chase.

When Wilcox took over, I have to admit that I was not impressed, at least until I realized the situation he was up against. It's hard to continue any established momentum when you have to introduce a whole new set of protagonists. Once Wilcox created some momentum of his own, interest was rekindled. I was particularly impressed at how he handled action. Even in one sequence where the expected action never developed, he still built considerable suspense. By the time Pronzini took the reins again I had gone from unimpressed to being willing to pick up a Lieutenant Hastings novel if I came across it.

The balancing act was pulled off as well as could be expected. Nameless was able to do some legitimate detecting and he did expose the more immediate villains. Because Hastings had the finale, he had the more dramatic and interesting conclusion, appropriate because, apart from the epilogue, he was responsible for the ultimate resolution of the story.

Despite some initial sputtering from both writers, they eventually produced a successful book. Nothing memorable but an entertaining ride. That's usually worth the price of admission.

[Carla Remy]

1978
I read half of this book. I hope it's only this entry of the Nameless Detective series that has a co - writer.
This one flips back and forth between two characters, Nameless and a police lieutenant (who does have a name, but I've already forgotten it). I assume this is Collin Wilcox's character. This part is more about the cops, procedural like. I'm not so into this, but that's not the annoying thing about flipping between the characters.
I found it very jarring to go back and forth between two first person narratives.

[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

[Clark Hallman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twospot (Nameless Detective #5) by Bill Pronzini and Collin Wilcox (1978) – Twospot is the fifth novel in Pronzini’s Nameless Detective series, but this one is a little different because coauthor, Collin Wilcox, brings his investigator, Lieutenant Frank Hastings, to the story. Nameless and Lieutenant Hastings work together to solve this complex and interesting murder case and to prevent an additional murder. It’s a lengthy and complex story, focusing on an old California wine-making family. Pronzini and Wilcox adeptly weave each of their detectives into the story and I found the result to be a very enjoyable novel. However, I am hoping that Nameless returns to his own solo investigations in the succeeding novels. I seem to be very loyal to my detectives.

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

Yet another great Nameless Detective mystery! This one is a bit different, as it was half-written by another dude with another SanFran-based sleuth character, and they kinda alternate back and forth through the book. But you do not need to have familiarity with the other dude to enjoy the story, and I actually think I might check out that other series after I finish this one!

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Nameless Detective is hired by a winery man named Alex Cappellani to find some background information on a shady guy who is dating his mother. He thinks this bum might just be trying to marry her for the family's winery business. Alex is attacked by an unknown assailant at the book's start and then (spoiler removed) is found murdered.

"Twospot" (1978) then has a narrative shift as the murder investigation is shown to us through the eyes of police Lieutenant Frank Hastings. Pronzini's co-author Wilcox has his own series of police novels starring this character Frank Hastings in San Francisco, this book being a collaboration between the two authors; it sits as the fifth Nameless Detective book and the ninth Lt. Hastings book. Hastings' investigation crosses paths with the detective's, the various Cappellani people in San Francisco and the valley, and some other fun cops and criminals. We also learn the Nameless Detective's actual name so he's not quite "nameless" anymore I guess.

The authors' immersive use of the fog-riddled alleys and estates of scenic San Francisco and the contrasting hills and vineyards of the Napa valley while the two protagonists hunt down the killer and try to figure out the motive work really well. The fact that two different authors combined efforts here was both interesting and a little choppy; I found myself liking the detective's mystery narrative better than the straight police-procedural found in the cop's sections, but both still work.

Verdict: A smart and fun mystery, some pacing issues at times, with the two relatable and interesting protagonists. Kept me guessing up to the very end.

Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#5 in the Nameless Detective series. This 1978 mystery is very enjoyable read produced by two writers of San Francisco based mysteries. Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective is joined by Collin Wilcox's Lt. Frank Hastings to solve a mystery that starts with Nameless' case in Napa Valley's wine country and continues with a murder in Lt. Hastings' SF jurisdiction. (By coincidence, I reviewed a Napa Valley wine country mystery last month - Bruce Zimmerman's Full-Bodied Red (1993); and I will be reviewing another one, Linda Barnes' Bitter Finish (1983).) The novel starts by Nameless doing a background check for a member of an old winemaking family. When he arrives to deliver his report, he finds his client being attacked; he intervenes but can't identify the attacker in the dark. His client later asks Nameless to meet him at the client's SF address - when he arrives, the client is not there but a dead body is. The police are called and Lt. Frank Hastings responds. The novel is told with successive sections narrated by Nameless and Lt. Hastings. An interesting sidenote: Hastings slightly knows Nameless through Nameless' SFPD friend Lt Eberhardt and a few poker games. He reports that the cardplayers refer to Nameless as Bill. My notes indicate that in Nameless #32 - Mourners (2006) - he is again referred to as Bill.

Nameless Detective & Frank Hastings - Bill Pronzini's "Nameless" private eye and Collin Wilcox's Lieutenant Frank Hastings join forces to solve a grizzly case of murder and to crack a bizarre conspiracy surrounding an old California winemaking family. When "Nameless" is hired by Alex Cappellani, whose family owns the Cappellani Winery in the Napa Valley, it seems at first to be a routine investigation. But then the case veers in a deadly direction: there's a brutal murder in San Francisco. And Lieutenant Hastings is called in to investigate.

[EuroHackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A HUGE step up from The Vanished, this is a fun mystery/suspense novel that sees our nameless detective team up with Lt. Frank Hastings (creation of Collin Wilcox) to determine who is attempting to kill a member of the prestigious Cappellani winery family, and why.

Even though this was a dual first person POV (and I wasn't sure how that'd work), I wound up really enjoying this tag-team effort. Our nameless detective got a name, if only to keep the characters straight in the opposing narratives. The misogyny from The Vanished got dialed back a good 90%, though it was (unfortunately) replaced by lot of homophobia, rather ironic considering this takes place mostly in 1970s San Francisco. But other than some culture clash, the story was well plotted, paced nicely, and very easy to read. It is terribly dated, but that's always a risk when technology is involved.

I'd love to read more of the Hastings series, which appears to be flying under the radar at GR, at least. I'm definitely going to put it on my library list, though - hopefully the solo work holds up to the promise shown here.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twospot was a fun book because it was a crossover with Colin Wilson's Frank Hastings novels. I hadn't been aware of Wilcox's books before, but they're yet another mystery series set in San Francisco, but whereas Pronzini writes detective, Wilcox writes police procedural.

Though the book fit together fine as a whole, the differences in style were notable. Pronzini writes a much more casual book, and one much more focused on characters and their internal lives, while Wilcox is extremely careful with his forensic details and his case work. They both write pretty authentic feeling novels, unlike a lot of the pulp.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Nameless Detective has a first name! Bill. This novel is co-written with another author whose main character becomes a character in this book. Our detective, Bill, is a private eye. The other character is a police lieutenant. Each author wrote alternating sections of the book that intermeshed but from a different point of view. There was suspense and action and I was completely surprised by the who in whodunnit! I didn't see that coming ...

[John Grazide · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, but it was a little confusing. As it was written by two authors and each chapter was written from the perspective of their character. It wasn't that confusing but enough.

This one finds Nameless in wine country on a pretty basic job, to find "dirt" on a shady character who might be trying to falsely marry the family matriarch. But of course there is murder and a plot to assassinate a well know political figure. And not everyone appears to be who they seem.

[Cat. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mystery/suspense novel told from two points of view: Pronzini's Nameless character, and Wilcox's Hastings (presumably a series character of his, though I wouldn't know).

The story revolves around a family winery and a visiting dignitary (ahem) in San Francisco. Very much a product of the era in which it was written: 1978.

[Eliana]

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

[John Bunyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nameless #5 from Pronzini and Lt. Hastings #9.5(?) from Wilcox. The collaborators alternate sections of the book, with each of their characters narrating those sections. I haven’t read and of Collins’s books better and Hastings is a police procedural series I will look into.

The alternate sections of the book become two stories. It’s a bit awkward and the two main characters don’t really work together on the case(s).
According to the setup of the story, the two men play poker together. In Lt. Hastings intro he says, referring to how the other players address Nameless, “they call him Bill”, as if maybe that’s not his name. He addresses Nameless as Bill throughout, just highlighting the awkwardness of putting these two together.

Nameless doesn’t fare so well in this story as far as strength of character. He’s interested in a woman who dislikes San Francisco because “there are too many gay men” though she uses a hateful slur for the gay men. Nameless is a bit put off but it doesn’t bother him very much really. He still wants to pursue her. In fact when he’s supposed to be bodyguarding someone he goes off with this woman, hoping to get laid (his words). It doesn’t matter if anything happened to his client or not, it’s out of character for him to abandon his job.

Both authors make breast size a defining characteristic of women. If they are not well endowed they are boring or mean. They are likely homely as well. And of anyone is fat, they are likewise lesser people.

The story has a lot going for it and there’s plenty of suspense in the final sections but overall it’s just “good”.

[Kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book dragged and I mean it D.R.A.G.G.E.D. The pacing was awful, the characters lackluster and the plot contrived. Several points off for the continuous use of "girl" to describe grown women and to the casual approach to police violence. "Oh you shot the suspect? Darn, now we can't ask him who hired him." Well, ain't that a shame....

[Joe]

Ended up mostly skimming this. a fun experiment but didn't really cohere for me

[John Raspanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors teamed up well...

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as strong as the first couple in the series, and suffers a bit from the multiple author/multiple viewpoint schtick, but not bad overall.

[Tessa in Mid-Michigan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unoriginal and boring.

[Al · Rating 2 out of 5]

The two author idea just didn't wot park. I abandoned it.

[Sally Plunkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

#5 of The Nameless Detective Series

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Combo written with Collin Wilcox's character Lt. Frank Hastings, switching between the 2 characters entirely every few chapters.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

good not great