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Nameless Detective #33
Schemers
Reluctantly agreeing to investigate the theft of a valuable rare book collection, Nameless finds the heist tied to a stalking case involving a pair of brothers who are being hounded by a twisted adversary who has decimated their father's grave.
355 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
4 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Bill Pronzini
627 books236 followersMystery 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
April 29, 2024
Who would hate someone so much that they would desecrate a father’s gravesite? Or stalk the sons? One of them being brutally attacked and ending up hospitalized. The only thing he could recall was the overwhelming smell of soap.
“Something to do with the father after all?”
And in another crime, who and how did someone get into a locked room to steal some rare books in a private library?
“Then with all of that security and your precautions with the key, it doesn’t seem possible anyone could have gotten in here, does it?”
And yet, they did.
These become the interesting cases for the Nameless detective and Jake Runyon to solve.
And then there is a murder.
All the more for them to figure out why this is all happening.
As both cases twist and unfold more information is revealed. Suspects come forward for readers to consider and a past is revealed that blow both cases wide-open. Where old-fashioned detective skills are displayed imperfectly, but honorably.
Pronzini’s writing draws a reader in with very few words that put us in the middle of the story and make us want to stay there until the satisfying end.
“Something to do with the father after all?”
And in another crime, who and how did someone get into a locked room to steal some rare books in a private library?
“Then with all of that security and your precautions with the key, it doesn’t seem possible anyone could have gotten in here, does it?”
And yet, they did.
These become the interesting cases for the Nameless detective and Jake Runyon to solve.
And then there is a murder.
All the more for them to figure out why this is all happening.
As both cases twist and unfold more information is revealed. Suspects come forward for readers to consider and a past is revealed that blow both cases wide-open. Where old-fashioned detective skills are displayed imperfectly, but honorably.
Pronzini’s writing draws a reader in with very few words that put us in the middle of the story and make us want to stay there until the satisfying end.
February 26, 2020
The principal mystery in the 33rd entry of the Nameless Detective series involves three things dear to the hearts of Nameless and his creator Bill Pronzini: vintage literary detectives, antique book collecting, and the classic locked room mystery. Nameless is hired by investigate the theft of eight rare books (including the British first edition of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) that have disappeared from millionaire Gregory Pollexfen’s locked, secure library, to which he possesses the only key. Nameless must discover who is the schemer. Is it Pollexfen’s alcoholic adulterous wife? His devious brother-in law? Or is the shemer Gregory Pollexfen himself?
There is a second case also—as is now customaryual with this series—in which Nameless trusted operative Jake must discover who is invaded the properties--and attack the persons--of the two middle-aged Henderson brothers and their families. Could this possibly be related to the recent disturbing incident when acid was used to deface—and erase—the name on their father’s grave? There’s an evil schemer at the bottom of this adventure too, but Jake will have to dig deep into the past to expose him.
Another satisfying entry in a dependable series.
February 6, 2017
A nice detective story in which the main character never mentioned by name, hence the nameless, gets caught up in a closed room mystery, first a theft of priceless books [Actually appraised for half a million] and then a murder.
A colleague working for the same agency is checking out a case of serious stalking which leads to the past of the families being harassed.
Both stories are alright and somewhat predictable but easy to read, the solution was in both case fairly easy to solve. But Pronzini has an easy writing style that is not too taxing for any reader. I would not advising reading this book first, if you want to explore the long series of which this book is an installment, as it leaves the reader somewhat dissatisfied.
A colleague working for the same agency is checking out a case of serious stalking which leads to the past of the families being harassed.
Both stories are alright and somewhat predictable but easy to read, the solution was in both case fairly easy to solve. But Pronzini has an easy writing style that is not too taxing for any reader. I would not advising reading this book first, if you want to explore the long series of which this book is an installment, as it leaves the reader somewhat dissatisfied.
October 27, 2018
Catching up on some of this series that I skipped. I enjoyed the two different mysteries in the book. Nameless agrees to a case where several valuable books are missing from a millionaire’s collection. Of course, he solves this clever case. Jake Runyon, the other detective in the agency takes another interesting case of two brothers being stalked. And then there is Tamara, Nameless’s partner. Sometimes she adds to the book—not so much this time. Still, another great episode!
February 9, 2019
Nameless is my favorite PI due to his attitudes, vulnerability, sensitivity, doggedness and side interests. Some of his scenes here are like visits with an old friend. His case will entertain on both story and literary levels.
Jake Runyon has partially inherited Nameless' role and personality in this split-narrative series installment. His case evokes the mood of the series' earlier episodes, while his personal life develops further.
Office manager Tamara's doings are cursory, with strong foreboding at tale's end.
Rewards are high, reading effortless.
Jake Runyon has partially inherited Nameless' role and personality in this split-narrative series installment. His case evokes the mood of the series' earlier episodes, while his personal life develops further.
Office manager Tamara's doings are cursory, with strong foreboding at tale's end.
Rewards are high, reading effortless.
October 17, 2018
Two good mysteries solved by the agency...one by Nameless and one by Jake.
February 11, 2018
# 33 in the Nameless Detective series. Finalist 2010 Shamus Award for Best Novel. Author Pronzini is: The Eye Lifetime Achievement Award, 1987; Grand Master Award from Mystery Writers of America, 2008. Although listed as a novel, there are two segments with no interaction except alternating chapters that might as well have been listed as novellas. Nameless is engaged by an insurance company to investigate a claim for $500,000 covering 8 stolen rare mystery novels. It is a classic locked room mystery and is solved by reference to a classic mystery. Agent Jake Runyon is looking for the person making acid attacks on two brothers' property. The first attack was on their father's grace but he is regarded as saintly, so of course the attacks couldn't be associated with him. Of course, investigating the father is Jake's first move. Meanwhile, after a dry spell Tamara has a sexual interlude. Enjoyable book.
Nameless Detective series - Nameless Detective takes on a challenging locked-room puzzle. When Gregory Pollexfen, a wealthy bibliophile, reports the theft of eight rare first edition mysteries from his collection, which he keeps in a secured room in his San Francisco home, Nameless investigates on behalf of the insurance company. The subsequent shooting death of the victim's ne'er-do-well brother-in-law in the locked library complicates the original case, though Pollexfen's wife, who was also in the sealed room and whose prints are on the weapon, is the obvious suspect. Meanwhile, a subplot has Nameless's colleague, Jake Runyon, tracking down a stalker targeting a pair of Los Alegres brothers.
Nameless Detective series - Nameless Detective takes on a challenging locked-room puzzle. When Gregory Pollexfen, a wealthy bibliophile, reports the theft of eight rare first edition mysteries from his collection, which he keeps in a secured room in his San Francisco home, Nameless investigates on behalf of the insurance company. The subsequent shooting death of the victim's ne'er-do-well brother-in-law in the locked library complicates the original case, though Pollexfen's wife, who was also in the sealed room and whose prints are on the weapon, is the obvious suspect. Meanwhile, a subplot has Nameless's colleague, Jake Runyon, tracking down a stalker targeting a pair of Los Alegres brothers.
June 20, 2009
First off, I'm a big fan and have been for years. This is the best Nameless P.I. title I've read in a while. Two stories are going on: Jake Runyon and Nameless (aka Bill) in alternating viewpoints solve two different cases. Less ink is devoted to Nameless' family life and more on the cases. Great use of CA setting, especially in Frisco.
October 1, 2021
Still delivering every single thing you need.
March 1, 2020
A friend suggested I would like Bill Pronzini’s books and now that I have read this one I agree with him. I can tell from the first that his books will be the sort of dependable easy reads I enjoy from writers like Robert Parker, Sue Grafton, and Dick Francis. Schemers, as many books do now, solves not one but two mysteries, and although I thought I had everything figured out, I didn’t, in a good way. Just enough of the characters personal situations are revealed so as to not interfere with the story and to make them likeable. I will be reading more of this author in the future.
November 3, 2016
PROTAGONIST: Nameless Detective
SETTING: San Francisco
SERIES: #37
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Now working part time, Nameless takes on a case from an insurance agency that turns out to be a locked room murder. It involves the theft of several rare first editions of crime classics. Everyone involved is quite unlikable. At the same time, Jake Runyon picks up a case where 2 brothers are being stalked, most likely as a result of a vendetta someone has against their late father. Solid detective work, but actually more intriguing is the personal lives of the lead characters.
SETTING: San Francisco
SERIES: #37
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Now working part time, Nameless takes on a case from an insurance agency that turns out to be a locked room murder. It involves the theft of several rare first editions of crime classics. Everyone involved is quite unlikable. At the same time, Jake Runyon picks up a case where 2 brothers are being stalked, most likely as a result of a vendetta someone has against their late father. Solid detective work, but actually more intriguing is the personal lives of the lead characters.
November 12, 2017
Schemers • by Bill pronzini
(Nameless Detective Series, 2009)
Description: Nameless and his partner Jake Runyon.
Nameless (gets a call)... The investigation was relatively simple: a multimillionaire rare books collector had reported the theft of eight volumes, worth a half million dollars. From a locked library. To which he has the only key.
G.P. the millionaire hates his wife (she's a cheating whore) and he hates her brother who once tried to blackmail G.P. So G.P. plans murder for the brother and prison for his wife. G.P. drugs them both and puts a gun in the brother's mouth with his finger on the hair trigger. When the brother wakes up he causes the gun to fire. The wife is alone with the brother and is accused of killing him. Nameless figures out the set up using the knockout drugs and the books were hidden out of place in the library.
...a second oddball case. The Henderson brothers were being stalked. Someone had dug up the ashes of their late father and poured acid over them, then destroyed the headstone the same way, and left a sign warning that this was just the beginning. ...Jake Runyon is more than happy to bring an end to the brothers' terror.
The Henderson stalking; their dad had affairs. Tucker age 27 has information from his mom's old papers that sends the half crazy Tucker on a rampage. Tucker is the son of a gal that Dad Henderson slept with some 27 years ago. Tucker thinks his biodad / Mr. Henderson killed his mom when he didn't want to date her anymore (maybe, we don't know) but Jake tracks Tucker down before he kills the Henderson brothers.
And okay mystery although a bit dull. Bill Pronzini is another anti-gun writer who uses his protagonists to vilify guns and gun owners. No respect.
The Series:
The Snatch 1971
The Vanished 1973
Undercurrent 1973
Blowback 1977
Twospot 1978
Labyrinth 1980
Hoodwink 1981
Scattershot 1982
Dragonfire 1982
Bindlestiff 1983
Case File 1983
Quicksilver 1984
Nightshades 1984
Double 1984
Bones 1985
Deadfall 1986
Shackles 1988
Jackpot 1990
Breakdown 1991
Quarry 1991
Epitaphs 1992
Demons 1993
Hardcase 1995
Sentinels 1996
Spadework 1996
Illusions 1997
Booby Trap 1998
Crazybone 2000
Bleeders 2002
Spook 2003
Scenarios 2003
Nightcrawlers 2005
Mourners 2006
Savages 2007
Fever 2008
● Schemers 2009
Betrayers 2010
Camouflage 2011
Hellbox 2012
Kinsmen 2012 (novella)
Femme 2012
Nemesis 2013
Strangers 2014
Vixen 2015
Zigzag 2016
Endgame 2017
•
(Nameless Detective Series, 2009)
Description: Nameless and his partner Jake Runyon.
Nameless (gets a call)... The investigation was relatively simple: a multimillionaire rare books collector had reported the theft of eight volumes, worth a half million dollars. From a locked library. To which he has the only key.
G.P. the millionaire hates his wife (she's a cheating whore) and he hates her brother who once tried to blackmail G.P. So G.P. plans murder for the brother and prison for his wife. G.P. drugs them both and puts a gun in the brother's mouth with his finger on the hair trigger. When the brother wakes up he causes the gun to fire. The wife is alone with the brother and is accused of killing him. Nameless figures out the set up using the knockout drugs and the books were hidden out of place in the library.
...a second oddball case. The Henderson brothers were being stalked. Someone had dug up the ashes of their late father and poured acid over them, then destroyed the headstone the same way, and left a sign warning that this was just the beginning. ...Jake Runyon is more than happy to bring an end to the brothers' terror.
The Henderson stalking; their dad had affairs. Tucker age 27 has information from his mom's old papers that sends the half crazy Tucker on a rampage. Tucker is the son of a gal that Dad Henderson slept with some 27 years ago. Tucker thinks his biodad / Mr. Henderson killed his mom when he didn't want to date her anymore (maybe, we don't know) but Jake tracks Tucker down before he kills the Henderson brothers.
And okay mystery although a bit dull. Bill Pronzini is another anti-gun writer who uses his protagonists to vilify guns and gun owners. No respect.
The Series:
The Snatch 1971
The Vanished 1973
Undercurrent 1973
Blowback 1977
Twospot 1978
Labyrinth 1980
Hoodwink 1981
Scattershot 1982
Dragonfire 1982
Bindlestiff 1983
Case File 1983
Quicksilver 1984
Nightshades 1984
Double 1984
Bones 1985
Deadfall 1986
Shackles 1988
Jackpot 1990
Breakdown 1991
Quarry 1991
Epitaphs 1992
Demons 1993
Hardcase 1995
Sentinels 1996
Spadework 1996
Illusions 1997
Booby Trap 1998
Crazybone 2000
Bleeders 2002
Spook 2003
Scenarios 2003
Nightcrawlers 2005
Mourners 2006
Savages 2007
Fever 2008
● Schemers 2009
Betrayers 2010
Camouflage 2011
Hellbox 2012
Kinsmen 2012 (novella)
Femme 2012
Nemesis 2013
Strangers 2014
Vixen 2015
Zigzag 2016
Endgame 2017
•
January 19, 2020
Who doesn’t love a locked-room mystery? This won’t be the most riveting locked-room mystery you’ve ever read; leave that to the late Edward D. Hoch, who was a master if the genre. But it’s well written, compelling, and you’ll enjoy it to its rapid conclusion.
The Great Western insurance company taps “Nameless” to help it find a stolen collection of rare mystery books valued at half a million dollars. That’s a plus, since “Nameless” collects pulp magazines and can at least have some understanding as to what’s missing. Gregory Pollexfen, the private book collector, insists that no one can enter his library nearly on pain of death. He is security minded, and he insists that the keys are with him always except when he’s in the shower.
Pollexfen’s family is a dysfunctional horror show. He and his wife share a mutual intense hatred, and the book collector is equally disgusted with his brother-in-law. He keeps them around the house nonetheless, and “Nameless” assumes they have dirt on him that enables them to stay there.
“Nameless” is baffled by the loss of the books, but things heat up when it looks like someone has been murdered in the locked library.
I enjoyed this plot a great deal; there’s a subplot here that has “Nameless”’s associate investigating the desecration of a grave and the stocking of two brothers.
I had avoided this series for quite some time, thinking perhaps it had sputtered into lethargy a few books back. I was wrong about that. This was a quick Sunday read that I enjoyed enough to revisit the series.
The Great Western insurance company taps “Nameless” to help it find a stolen collection of rare mystery books valued at half a million dollars. That’s a plus, since “Nameless” collects pulp magazines and can at least have some understanding as to what’s missing. Gregory Pollexfen, the private book collector, insists that no one can enter his library nearly on pain of death. He is security minded, and he insists that the keys are with him always except when he’s in the shower.
Pollexfen’s family is a dysfunctional horror show. He and his wife share a mutual intense hatred, and the book collector is equally disgusted with his brother-in-law. He keeps them around the house nonetheless, and “Nameless” assumes they have dirt on him that enables them to stay there.
“Nameless” is baffled by the loss of the books, but things heat up when it looks like someone has been murdered in the locked library.
I enjoyed this plot a great deal; there’s a subplot here that has “Nameless”’s associate investigating the desecration of a grave and the stocking of two brothers.
I had avoided this series for quite some time, thinking perhaps it had sputtered into lethargy a few books back. I was wrong about that. This was a quick Sunday read that I enjoyed enough to revisit the series.
November 19, 2021
This was my fourth book in the Nameless series. Although I thought it was a good book featuring two mysterious story lines, I liked it the least of the four. One plot concerned a wealthy book collector and was a locked room mystery. I love locked room mysteries but none of the characters were good people, no one to root for, and I wasn't as invested in their story.
The second plot was much more interesting to me, the threat to two families, truly scary and the weapon used by the stalker was acid. I will continue tracking down Mr. Pronzini's books, he is a great writer, so glad I discovered his work.
The second plot was much more interesting to me, the threat to two families, truly scary and the weapon used by the stalker was acid. I will continue tracking down Mr. Pronzini's books, he is a great writer, so glad I discovered his work.
March 4, 2018
Nameless is brought on by an old friend to investigate an insurance claim. The claim is for eight books that were apparently stolen and insured for half a million dollars. And when a murder takes place in the middle of the investigation, Nameless has to really put on his thinking cap.
While that's going on, Jake's case has him looking for a crazy person tormenting a rather ordinary pair of brothers.
Oh and Tamara moved into her new apartment and finally go laid, and now has to get tested. Yeah...
While that's going on, Jake's case has him looking for a crazy person tormenting a rather ordinary pair of brothers.
Oh and Tamara moved into her new apartment and finally go laid, and now has to get tested. Yeah...
December 6, 2023
Probably closer to 3 1/2 . Bill Pronzini is married to Marcia Muller and I have to say I prefer her Sharon McCone series, but I like the concept of the Nameless detective and have enjoyed those books I’ve read in the series. This one has two plots, one involving Nameless in a locked room type of mystery and the other involving his partner Jake Runyon on the trail of a stalker/potential murderer.
I listened to this as an audio book and the narrator does a good job voices the various characters, even the female one.
I listened to this as an audio book and the narrator does a good job voices the various characters, even the female one.
January 4, 2019
Earliest "nameless" book I could get from the library for Kindle. I don't think I've missed much by starting in the middle. Structure is the type where 2 or 3 stories/mysteries are going on at the same time with characters interacting. Ok...may try some more of them.
May 15, 2023
Refreshing read on a series I read years ago. Lately new crime thrillers that I have read has been too dark, gory and at the end though good left me disappointed. This book is and easy read, not much violence but great character studies along with good story lines. As I said "refreshing"
April 23, 2019
Read 2013
Read
June 19, 2019Pretty interesting locked room mystery.
December 2, 2020
The rare book mystery was the best of the two in this book. On the con side, the photography details were shameless product placement and seemed forced.
May 23, 2022
It was fine, I got through 42% before I got bored and moved on.
December 28, 2025
a good, direct detective story
November 7, 2016
A workmanlike mystery thriller that sets up a couple of intriguing situations but the solution for both turns out to be somewhat lacking in thrills. Ironically the two plots show off different aspects of thrillers, with one coming across as an antique approach and the other more modern.
The A plot, involving the series hero who has no name, aka "The Nameless Detective," is the more gimmicky of the two and the one that resembles a Golden Age detective yarn. The detective is hired by a guy he doesn't like to solve a locked-room puzzle. Valuable old books have been stolen from a locked library. The gimmick: the books are all first edition mysteries -- Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon," for instance. Turns out the library belongs to a rich old guy who loves classic mysteries and collects them. (I kept waiting for someone to mention the king of the locked-room mystery, John Dickson Carr, but no one did.) Before the ND can solve this mystery, a murder is committed inside that same locked room, and now he's got to figure out if the two are connected. The solution to the book theft is pretty sweet, but the solution for the murder seems just a tad TOO gimmicky.
The B plot is the one that's more like a modern detective story. Someone is harassing two brothers who as far as they know have no enemies. They're baffled about who would pour acid on their father's headstone at the cemetery, destroy construction equipment at a job site and burgle a garage, beating one brother with a tire iron. An operative for the ND's agency, Jake Runyan, applies some shoe leather to the question and quickly figures out what the readers will have spotted right away, namely that this has something to do not with the brothers but with their dead father. After that the detective never makes a single wrong move and all his hunches pay off, which robs the plot of any real suspense. It's about as thrilling as watching an old episode of "Cannon" or "Barnaby Jones."
All in all, a diverting book but not a satisfying one. But if you write 23 mysteries starring the same character or two, at least some are bound to be clunkers, I guess.
The A plot, involving the series hero who has no name, aka "The Nameless Detective," is the more gimmicky of the two and the one that resembles a Golden Age detective yarn. The detective is hired by a guy he doesn't like to solve a locked-room puzzle. Valuable old books have been stolen from a locked library. The gimmick: the books are all first edition mysteries -- Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon," for instance. Turns out the library belongs to a rich old guy who loves classic mysteries and collects them. (I kept waiting for someone to mention the king of the locked-room mystery, John Dickson Carr, but no one did.) Before the ND can solve this mystery, a murder is committed inside that same locked room, and now he's got to figure out if the two are connected. The solution to the book theft is pretty sweet, but the solution for the murder seems just a tad TOO gimmicky.
The B plot is the one that's more like a modern detective story. Someone is harassing two brothers who as far as they know have no enemies. They're baffled about who would pour acid on their father's headstone at the cemetery, destroy construction equipment at a job site and burgle a garage, beating one brother with a tire iron. An operative for the ND's agency, Jake Runyan, applies some shoe leather to the question and quickly figures out what the readers will have spotted right away, namely that this has something to do not with the brothers but with their dead father. After that the detective never makes a single wrong move and all his hunches pay off, which robs the plot of any real suspense. It's about as thrilling as watching an old episode of "Cannon" or "Barnaby Jones."
All in all, a diverting book but not a satisfying one. But if you write 23 mysteries starring the same character or two, at least some are bound to be clunkers, I guess.
September 12, 2013
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
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
February 8, 2012
This mystery is really two mysteries in one. The first mystery involves the theft of rare books from a locked library. Nameless agrees to conduct an investigation into the theft of rare books for Great Western Insurance. The investigation seems relatively simple: a multimillionaire rare books collector had reported the theft of eight volumes, worth a half million dollars. From a locked library. To which he has the only key. The books were all crime fiction and suspense, a locked room mystery about mysteries. However,things are not what they seem. Later in the novel, there is a murder in the same locked room. Leave it to Nameless to figure out how it was done. The second mystery involves the hunt for a phantom stalker who using acid to make his point. Nameless' partner, Jake Runyon, investigates this oddball case involving the Henderson brothers. Someone dug up the ashes of their late father and poured acid over them, then destroyed the gravestone the same way, and left a sign warning that this was just the beginning. Searching for peace of mind and the distraction of work, Jake Runyon is more than happy to bring an end to the brothers' terror. Again, things are not what they seem. Jake solves the case in the end and prevents another death.
August 10, 2009
Hey pretty good. The book features 2 plots, either of which would have been a fantastic short story, but since they are stitched together the individual taste of each is nullified. It's as if you mixed two different jello powders in one bowl expecting the best of both flavors, but once the thing is set it turns out bland. I still read the book though, i didn't do anything else today, I wanted to find out what was what, whodunit so to speak. One of the story lines is also more intriguing than the other, which makes the balance get thrown off. One of the plots is about a stalker committing crimes against an average family. The other centers around a millionaire bibliophile and his boozing wife and scheming brother in law, which I liked better, because it's much more droll than the other story. Solid.
August 17, 2016
Maybe it's my fault for picking up book #33 in a series. I liked the two mysteries that the two separate main characters followed, but it was strange bouncing back between two very dissimilar cases. I thought Tamara's brief point of view chapters didn't add much to the story, and really grated against the other character's viewpoints (i.e. a tender scene with Jake and his disfigured girlfriend followed up with Tamara boasting about her sexual escapade), so I didn't enjoy that. Maybe my issue is that I am book #33 and I haven't been following the progression or growth of these characters. Still, the locked room mystery was interesting, and I liked seeing how Jake Runyon discovered the truth in the second case, but the novel felt a tad disjoint and the mysteries overall, just okay.
July 25, 2009
I do not normally read contemporary American detective fiction, but I needed a book and this one caught my eye. I actually began reading it while at a cemetery, which was kinda creepy since that is where the book begins. There are actually 2 cases here, and both are engaging enough to hold your attention. The book swings from one to the other, with chapter titles indicating which character you are following. I would have liked to have had a more complete resolution to one of the mysteries (it involved a cold case, and you get an idea of who might have done it, but no real verification). I am still mostly a fan of the "English Village Mystery", but this was an interesting diversion.
October 21, 2009
Two stories in one--parallel and virtually no overlap; I didn't find the structure particularly appealing. The settings made the book for me--San Francisco, north coast, Vacaville--and Sacramento. Nameless' case is a closed room library drama set in SF, while a colleague solves the more psychotic case, which involves poking through old memories and more. Pronzini and his wife, Marcia Muller, are being highlighted in by the Sacramento Bee Book Club this month, so I'm glad to have read his title. Hers is on hold and will probably be more to my liking.
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