Crazybone (Hardcover)

If you have not read any other Nameless books, I suggest that you at least read Hoodwink, Double, Shackles and Hardcase before this one. Much of the pleasure of this book comes from the context of the series. You can enjoy Crazybone without that context, but it will be only a 3 star book if you lack the context. I have reviewed almost all of the books in the series (and tried to avoid spoilers) so feel free to look for those comments. The series begins with The Snatch and follows on in order with The Vanished, Undercurrent, Blowback, Twospot, Labyrinth, Hoodwink, Scattershot, Dragonfire, Bindlestiff, Casefile, Quicksilver, Nightshades, Double, Bones, Deadfall, Shackles, Jackpot, Breakdown, Quarry, Epitaphs, Demons, Hardcase, Spadework, Sentinels, Illusions, Boobytrap, Crazybone, Bleeders and Spook.

Any reader who thinks that most men are lecherous will find that this book mostly confirms their convictions.

As Nameless nears 60, he is becoming more crotchety and less in tune with what's going on. In some ways that's good. He's principled in a world in which many are not. On the other hand, he's also unable to open his assistant's computer to get a message. That's really weird to anyone who enjoys the online world.

In recent books, Mr. Pronzini has been adding more and more humor. In Crazybone, you will find one of the funniest descriptions of attending a spouse's company cocktail party that you can imagine. In the process, Nameless even acquires a name (not really his). It would be fun to see what Mr. Pronzini could do with a whole book of humorous adventures about Nameless.

The plot begins with a fascinating premise: Why would a widow refuse to accept a $50,000 payout on a double indemnity term life policy? Nameless is hired to find out why and to see if the company would gain good publicity by insisting that she take the money.

The quirkiness of the premise is quickly switched into a feeling that something's rotten in Denmark (or in this case, Greenwood, a tony suburb between San Francisco and Silicon Valley) beginning with the male chauvinist insurance agent who sold the policy, Rich Twining. He's more interested in sleeping the widow than delivering a check.

When Nameless meets Sheila Hunter, the widow, she's clearly terrified of something. She inadvertently says "Crazybone" which turns out to be an important connection to the mystery. Her ten-year-old daughter, Emily, takes a liking to Nameless though, and they begin establishing a bond. Emily turns out to be one of the most interesting characters that Mr. Pronzini has ever written about in the series.

Nameless decides that he'll look into matters a little more on his own, even though he won't be paid for it. The insurance company agrees that something is strange and does hire him to continue, so it's a more profitable venture than most for Nameless. With Tamara's help (his assistant), Nameless quickly sees that the surface reality is hiding something more sinister.

At the same time, one of his mother-in-law's friends dies. As a mystery writer herself, she detects possible foul play. She tells Nameless about it, and he begins to investigate. This puts him a little off his feed, because her fictional private detective is a lot smarter and tougher than he is. So he ends up making self-deprecating jokes about what the fictional detective would do in Nameless's place.

With the dual investigations in place, Nameless learns a lot more about greed, deception and infidelity than he ever wanted to find out.

One of the most appealing parts of the book is its ending. I highly commend Crazybone to you.

As I finished the book, I found myself thinking about how we usually treat children better than adults. I wonder how life would improve if we treated adults as well as we do children.