- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: CARROLL & GRAF PUBLISHERS (Nov 25 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0786710861
- ISBN-13: 978-0786710867
- Product Dimensions: 23.5 x 16 x 2.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 485 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,753,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Deaths among the homeless don't usually provoke background probes. But when a transient known as Spook (because "he had ghosts living inside his head") is shot outside the offices of a San Francisco film-industry supplier, employees there want to know why. "He didn't have a mean bone in his body," one staffer assures Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective in Spook. So was this just the random slaying of a street crazy, or had someone from Spook's unknown past--maybe Dot or Luke, the apparitions he was always jabbering to--finally come gunning for him?
In Nameless' 28th novel-length outing, but his first since the pivotal Bleeders (in which he almost hung up his gumshoes for good), Pronzini's classically wrought sleuth is preparing for semiretirement, turning over responsibilities to his young PI partner, Tamara Corbin. He's also breaking in a new investigator, reserved ex-cop and widower Jake Runyon, to whom he hands off the identity search--little knowing how quickly that case will turn ugly, linking the "gentle, friendly" Spook to the murder of another homeless man and a long-ago triple homicide in the California Sierras. Meanwhile, Nameless finishes up a high-profile dig into questionable practices among city employees. This secondary plot lacks the intrigue of Runyon's task; however, both investigations generate action, including a hostage situation and a not-so-merry chase during a Christmas benefit. More than two decades after this series' initial installment, The Snatch, Nameless's assignments have become less conventional, and he's been mellowed by age, marriage, and too much death. Yet, even at age 61, he's more vital than many newer, less deservedly cynical competitors. --J. Kingston Pierce
From Publishers Weekly
Hints of the Nameless Detective's death or forced retirement in his last book, Bleeders (2002), turn out to be premature. (He isn't all that nameless, either-everyone calls him Bill. Could his last name be an Italian one ending in "ini"?) Nameless is slowing down, though, while the central plot of this 28th book in the honored series is one or two twists short of exciting. Hired by a San Francisco filmmaker to discover the identity of a gentle, spook-haunted homeless man shot to death in the production company's doorway where he camped out at night, Nameless spends far too many pages doing just that and far too few offering alternative possibilities for the murder other than the glaringly obvious one: realistic, maybe, but certainly not riveting. Perhaps building a foundation for a series without Nameless, who talks often about "semi-retirement" as he approaches 60, Pronzini gives his hero's young partner, Tamara Corbin, more to do this time out. Unfortunately, it mostly involves being nasty to her family and associates after hitting a speed bump in the road of love. A new addition to the agency staff, Jake Runyon, a seasoned Seattle investigator trying to connect with a lost son, is more appealing here. Three-time Shamus Award-winner Pronzini can still capture the sleazy underside of San Francisco's glitz as quickly and as well as anyone, so, Nameless lives-at least for one more book.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Polished and humane entry in the quality series,
By F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... (Birmingham England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Spook: A 'Nameless Detective' Novel (Hardcover)
Bill Pronzini has in the Nameless Detective created a fihure who unlike many similar series protagonists ages as the series progresses and in this book he is 61 years old and on the verge of semi-retirement .To this end he and his streetwise young black partner Tamara engage another operative ,the troubled Jake Runyon .Runyan is still in a state of depression following the death through cancer of his second wife and has returned to San Francisco to try and rebuild a relationship with his gay son from whom he is estranged .The man case concerns the death of a harmless street person ,Spook ,who is murdered in the entryway to a low rent film company whose proproetor engages the agency to trace his identity . The bulk of the investigative work is undertaken by Runyan who , after encounters with the more violent and psychotic aspects of the homeless world ,in thr form of the vicious " Big Dog " traces the origins of the killing to an incident some 20 years previously in which 3 people were gunnned down in a remote Clifornia town .This not only points up the true identity of the deceased Spook but enables his slayer to be traced . This is polished and proficient in its unravelling but is not the only starnd to the book -there is a sub -plot which sees Nameless co-operating with Sharon McCone ( a creation of the authors wife ,Marcia Muller ) in acase exposing City corruption . Much of the book is taken up with the personal problems of Tamara whose relationship with cellist boyfriend Horace is in trouble ,and with Runyan' s situation as he tries to rebuild his life There is an air of transition hanging over the book and it seems to be that Pronzini is about to retire his character and maybe start a new series cenred on Tamara and Jake Its a mellow and thoughtful book shot through with realistic compasssion and seems to point the way to a new development in the career of its prolific and reliable author Satisfying as a mystery and a well wrought and compassionate study of lives in transition
5.0 out of 5 stars
Detective Nameless goes after the homeless,
This review is from: Spook (Hardcover)
Detective Nameless, whose name is Bill, has reached the age of 61 and plays with the idea of retirement. For a start, he promoted his investigator Tamara Corbin to partner. But then a new case comes up, and he can't refuse to get involved.Spook, a penniless homeless person, is shot to death. What is his identity? Our detective is hired to find out. First off, he hires a taciturn and depressed ex cop as the new investigator. And then the case starts to unravel in a most satisfying way. In the end, the identity is established and, for good measure, the killer is caught. A very satisfying mystery, several cuts above the usual and doing honor to Pronzini's reputation.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Nameless Detective Acquires a New Op,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Spook: A 'Nameless Detective' Novel (Hardcover)
Seldom does a wonderful series like that of the Nameless Detective suddenly add an exciting character who makes you anxious for the next book. If you've liked any of the books in this series, you must read this one . . . because it is the beginning of much potential for the future.Nameless is back (and called "Bill"). He's in the process of moving towards retirement . . . beginning with semi-retirement. To facilitate the changes, he's taken his former assistant, Tamara, as his partner. They need to hire a new operative to help handle the street work that Nameless did in the past. After considering two potential men, Tamara insists that they hire Jake Runyon, a silent-as-the-grave ex-cop, ex-detective who looks like he's just lost his last friend. Jake turns out to be the kind of dandy character that Raymond Chandler would have been glad to write about. He loves the grime of the streets and the challenge of the chase. He's smart, tough, focused and self-contained. But he hurts, and his work is his therapy. You'll enjoy learning about him. The action in the book centers on the murder of a street person named Spook who talks to ghosts. I especially enjoyed the way that several people contributed to identifying Spook. It's imaginative problem solving at its best. Each of the detectives has personal issues that develop in interesting ways. Bill is having trouble deciding how to wind down his work and deal with his need to be a lone wolf. Tamara is shaken to the core when her boyfriend decides to move to Philadelphia and proposes marriage. Jake is looking to make a connection with his estranged son while grieving for his lost love. I don't want to say any more because the prose and story line are so smooth and balanced. You should be able to enjoy the development without interruption from me. Fans of Marcia Muller (Mr. Pronzini's wife) will be delighted to see that Bill and Sharon McCone end up working together on a case. It's neat! After you finish this wonderful novel, I suggest that you think about what you will regret if you don't change your ways. How can you begin making the necessary changes?
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