Quarry

Nameless Detective #19

by Bill Pronzini

Old Man Hass is concerned by the near-catatonic behavior of his daughter, Grady. The young woman showed up at his doorstep a few days earlier, refused to admit that anything was wrong, and has been wandering around the farm, not talking and barely eating. The Nameless Detective thinks the old farmer would have been better off calling a psychiatrist-but he's at least willing to ask a few questions. As Nameless begins to investigate, he discovers that Grady's affliction is more than just a broken heart: she has been the victim of brutal psychological torture. In order to save her, he's not only going to have to find her tormentor, he's going to have to call on his own darkest impulses and turn the quarry into the victim.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook

MP3 CD

First published January 1, 1991

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

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this episode in the Nameless Detective series, our hero is hired by old man Arlo Haas to find out what is wrong with his daughter Grady. When she suddenly leaves her city job as an insurance adjuster and returns to the ranch to stay with him, Arlo finds she is woefully changed: despairing, emotionally deadened, and yet terrified too, hiding from something—or someone—she left San Francisco to escape. At first Nameless suspects a bad love affair may be the culprit, but, after he finds Grady’s apartment ransacked, he begins to look into her recent insurance cases, and soon uncovers a lead. Nameless then learns he is in pursuit of a vicious man who will stop at nothing to preserve his anonymity, and he learns something else too: he, the pursuer, may also have become the quarry.

I enjoyed this adventure, but found it to be the weaker than the last half a dozen entries. The comic subplot—involving Nameless’ partner Eberhardt’s wedding plans—is unusually tedious, there are few interesting suspects or additional characters, and the first half moves much, much too slowly. (If I had not come to love this series, I may have stopped a third of the way through.)

The second half of the book, though, is a great improvement, for it is filled with action and excitement, including a fiery trap for Nameless that brings back memories of his traumatic confinement in the snowy woods, and a final confrontation in—you guessed it—a gravel quarry. There our hero—a man who continues to travel through a new personal darkness—is confronted with a difficult moral choice.

I liked this book most for the way its final choice deepens and enriches the character of the hero. But as a mystery its only mediocre. Essential only to genuine fans of the series.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first contact with the series - book 19 - & yet I slipped into it without an issue. There's obviously a lot of back story & some is revealed. It's enough to lend some history, but there's never a dump & I'd guess it wouldn't grate on those who have followed the series.

It's a pretty typical detective series, but well done within those confines. The characterization is well done as is the overall mystery. I really liked the personal relationships. They're a lot more realistic than typical. Friends have limits & issues, not all is an extreme (love or hate). There's some awkwardness in relationships that was just the right touch.

I'm sure these are rather formulaic, but I like the formula. My library has more of the series into the 30s, I think. I'll definitely listen to another.

[Bebe · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the most unusual detective stories I ever read, an ex-cop turned detective chasing a deranged killer he calls the "executioner", yet he (the ex-cop)carries no gun (he loathes guns). The characters are off the wall, the victim of this "executioner" has the personality of a dead banana. Read this book only if there is absolutely nothing else at hand.

[ElaineY · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a snooze this was. Doubt I will try another.

[Michael Tildsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a tale of two halves.

The "hook" for this book doesn't come until around page 100. Keep in mind, the whole book is just barely over 200 pages. If I didn't like this author a lot, and I hadn't read him extensively in the past, I would not have finished this book, which is a shame. The first half of this book is only worth of a one-star rating. It commits the cardinal sin of fiction: it is deadly, deadly dull.

The second half is fantastic. It woke me up out of my stupor, stumbling from page to page, waiting for something to happen, and then it does. And then the next thing comes right behind it. And again, and again. It was like Pronzini finally decided to show up after phoning in the first half, and what a welcome his authorship was in the end.

The book has a great ending. I flew from page to page, chapter to chapter, racing along with the nameless protagonist to the finality. I will keep reading this author, and I do like this series of books, but I think one thing it has hammered into my head is this: never assume you have the luxury of the 'slow start' as an author.

Unless your audience is well-established, they will tune out and be forever turned off if this is their first taste of your work. Something I am going to internalize as I continue my path to becoming a published author myself.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4.0
SERIES: #20

Nameless is hired by an old farmer, Arlo Haas, to investigate what has happened to his daughter. She has returned home from SF. Always a very private person, Grady Haas is clearly tormented by something that has happened to her but won't discuss it with anyone. Nameless determines that she has been subjected to psychological torture, although that was never very clearly explained. The villain is adept and clever and outsmarts Nameless, even trying to kill him in a fire. Nameless resorts to desperate measures. A sub-plot involves the out-of-control wedding plans by his partner, Eb, which leads to a confrontation between the two of them as well as a change in wedding plans

[Stephen Brayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot

Old Man Hass is concerned by the near-catatonic behavior of his daughter, Grady. The young woman showed up at his doorstep a few days earlier, refused to admit that anything was wrong, and has been wandering around the farm, not talking, barely eating. The Nameless Detective thinks the old farmer would have been better off calling a psychiatrist – but he’s at least willing to ask a few questions.

As Nameless begins to investigate, he discovers that Grady’s affliction is more than just a broken heart: she has been the victim of brutal psychological torture. In order to save her he’s not only going to have to find her tormentor, he’s going to have to call on his own darkest impulses and turn the quarry into the victim.

My Analysis

The Nameless Detective series is so enjoyable. Very nice gimmick not to reveal the main character’s name. You learn he’s got an Italian background, but not much else. But, who cares? It’s the story and the plot and the character development that counts.

This one is a good one all around. Tragic characters throughout. From the guy’s partner Eb to Grady to the people Nameless interviews to the bad guy. Even, somewhat, to Nameless himself. Especially what he does and thinks about what he does at the end.

Setting is minimal, just enough to get you in the neighborhood. The one major action scene—the fire—just hammers away with no let up until it’s all over.

This is the way of the Nameless stories. I’ve read several and have several more to go and will enjoy them all (if Pronzini doesn’t change his style and I doubt he will).

This is your traditional PI even with the gimmick. He has faults and concerns and fears. He has gripes and complaints and a romance. The author does a marvelous job of weaving everything together without going into so much depth you’re drowning in confusion. He has a tale here that shows you everything and reveals everything but in a subtle manner that even with the fairy simple explanation, you might be amazed it was so easy, or relatively so.

My rank:

Blue Belt

[John Grazide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the new dark side of Nameless. The internal fights he has with himself over some of the choices he makes are getting less and less. This one finds him in a tiny town south of SF. Hired by an older men to find out what's wrong with his adult daughter. She showed up at his house and is just the shell of the woman he knows her as. Without much to go on Namless starts his investigation. Little by little a figure is starting to take shape and when that figure attacks Nameless personaly things get interesting.

[Ginny Braddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quarry is a bit of a departure from the norm for a Nameless Detective story. In most of the works, our hero, works to resolve one or more cases while running into some bad actors. In Quarry, it seems to be the same at first, with the additional complication of problems with his partner. However, by the end of the book, our hero, Nameless, is profoundly changed. He's made a conscious choice to kill the "bad actor" rather than present him to the police for trial.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 2013

[D. Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nameless is getting darker.

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

Still going strong, still solving those cases, still and forever Nameless.

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good hard-boiled detective type mystery.

2021 PopSugar Reading List #32

[La'Jacinth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Nameless has this innate ability to see what is not easily seen in each person he comes in contact with.

I love that Kerry balances him and accepts him for exactly who he is..hers.

[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

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#19 in the Nameless Detective series. Take note that this is a 1992 entry in the series; the timing is significant because there is talk of the earthquake damage and rebuilding of the San Francisco waterfront as well as the drought damage in the Salinas Valley. In addition to the case where Nameless is engaged in a straightforward case of eliciting clues and tracking down a villain, subplots include Kerry's mother is looking at an assisted living facility and Eberhardt's fiancée is fed up with his constant revision of their wedding plans.

Nameless Detective series - Set on the earthquake-ravaged San Francisco waterfront and in the now-arid salad-bowl country to the south. Here the Nameless Detective hunts for a methodical, brutal stranger who is pursuing withdrawn Grady Haas, 31, daughter of rancher Arlo Haas, the detective's old friend. Secretive Grady won't tell why she has suddenly left her job as an insurance adjuster specializing in marine claims and returned to the Salinas Valley . Nameless finds that her San Francisco apartment has been thoroughly tossed. All he has to go on are the three claims Grady had been investigating and her ex-boyfriend's savage beating by a stranger seeking Grady's whereabouts.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Nameless Detective comes across as a hard-bitten cynic, which I like. I also like him as a person. The bad guy, not so much. There was definitely not enough development of this character, which made the story seem loosely tied.

I didn't see the connections until about 2/3 of the way through, so it was enough to keep my interest. Some of the descriptions come across a little reaching. A geographical feature like a brown, ashy nippleless breast? I don't think Mr. Pronzini is trying to write for a classic, though. He's trying to explore a character and write for an audience that clearly likes what he does. He does a lot of it (writing books in this series).

The edition ought to drop it a full star, but is unfair to Mr. Pronzini: the audio version (which I audio read) is awful. Much too quiet. Cut, produced, or mastered incorrectly, it does not even make the meters on my car stereo spectrum analyzer display come off zero.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entirely OK Nameless mystery. It presents an interesting sort of investigation, since the prime question is just "What's going on?" and that slowly leads Nameless deeper and deeper in murky criminality. There's some nice San Francisco and central California color, though it's light.

The book fails to excel, however, because of the lack of human connection. The client is a far away presence, and the two targets of Nameless' investigation are both enigmas. He's mechanically moving through the motions of his investigation, but there's no human face there.

Things do turn up in the last 40 pages or so, when Nameless' investigation touches upon his own life, resulting in an ending that's phenomenal. But it's a pretty small part of an otherwise mediocre book.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ailing father hires Nameless to find out what is troubling his 31 year old daughter, who has fled from San Francisco and her job as an insurance adjuster to hide in her rural childhood home south of Salinas. The daughter is a shy almost selfish woman who won't tell anybody anything. Nameless has his work cut out for him. Her fear is palpable and justified. Pronzini masterfully has us turning the pages as the mystery unravels and Nameless gets personal with a nemesis who is always one step ahead of him.

[Marca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nameless is engaged by an elderly farmer to find out what is haunting his 31-year old daughter Grace. Grace suddenly returned to the farm from San Francisco; deserted her job as an insurance adjuster, and is a shell of her former self. Grace will not discuss her situation with anyone. Nameless goes to San Francisco to investigate and finds that Grace is in real danger from a mystery lover. But why?

[AnnieM · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well I can cross this series off my list. It is deathly slow detective novel. After four hours (well over half way through the novel) I couldn't make myself care what happens to any of these people. It was a slow narration. It was a slow progression of a novel. The ending wasn't interesting enough to make me care about anything else that happened in the previous 6.5 hours.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nameless is developing more and more, showing more of his dark side but with a strong central moral code. He's more prone to anger and has a firmer sense of justice rather than strict adherence to the law. A good tale told by a good storyteller.

[Bernadette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started slow for me. I suppose because I'm unfamiliar with the series. Enjoyed it more once the actual investigation got going. I don't agree with the protagonist all the time, but I appreciate that the author explores the ethical and moral implications of actions.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've liked all the Nameless Detective series. This one is fast-paced, good setting, and a good yarn to boot.

[Joe O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Good; Continuing character: "Nameless" detective; PI helps man whose daughter appears to have been traumitized and runs into an arsonist for hire

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

good suspense yarn, interesting characters

[Mom · Rating 1 out of 5]

pitiful --rates a negative star -- last of this Author that we will ever pick up

[Colleen Lahey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about arson.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not care for this one. I have been reading some of his newer stuff which I did like. I was able to finish this

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like this author and how he writes. Good detective mystery.