Nameless Detective Novels

David Virden's case is simple enough: Namless must find his ex-wife and deliver some papers to her. But she refuses the papers, sends a message to Virden to never contact her again, and slams the door. His colleague, Tamara, tells Nameless that Virden threatens to sue, stops payment on his checks, and claims that the woman they located isn't his wife. Then he disappears and his fianc├®e hires Nameless to find out why. Clearly, someone is trying to make Nameless the monkey in the middle. Then things take a decidedly more deadly turn… "The Nameless series continues to be a wonder of great plotting, long-term character development, and insight into the chilling banality of evil." "Can doing first-rate work as consistently as Pronzini really be as effortless as he makes it seem?" "One of the best in the mystery-suspense field." "Pronzini is a greatly gifted storyteller who never fails to deliver topflight entertainment."

Bill, the "Nameless Detective," and his wife Kerry were in the Sierra foothills, just outside of Six Pines, falling in love with a cabin. It was all perfect, until Kerry went missing. They'd seen Balfour at breakfast at the diner, and Kerry remembered his name-PR people are like that-which was unfortunate, because when she ran into him along the trail on that sunny afternoon and called him by name, he panicked. And that's when Bill's nightmare began. In a small town with limited resources, where a major case was keeping everyone busy, a private investigator demanding action wasn't very popular. They were doing all they could, Bill was told. But it wasn't enough. With the help of his longtime associate Jake Runyon, Bill begins a search that uncovers just what price the citizens in a town without pity might have to pay. Bill and Jake follow the few leads they have and come face to face with the Hellbox. "Expect the best from Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Pronzini." "Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective series will continue to draw fans with this newest installment. Full of small-town dynamics and fleshed-out characters, Hellbox is a wild read and nearly impossible to put down."

Young, newly rich Verity Daniels claims to be receiving threatening demands for money from a mysterious caller. When Jake Runyon agrees to investigate, it seems a relatively simple matter to expose the extortionist by setting a trap for him. The case, however, is nowhere near as clear-cut as it first appears. And Verity Daniels is nowhere near the helpless victim she pretends to be. A series of surprise revelations culminates in Runyon being falsely accused of a crime that never happened, and he and his employers then become the targets of a vicious legal vendetta. A sudden act of violence turns the case upside down, leading to a much more serious charge against Jake. With the help of partner Tamara Corbin, Nameless (known as Bill to his associates) puts aside the difficult personal issue that has kept him sidelined at home and works to clear both Runyon's and the agency's good names. The task requires untangling Verity Daniels' bizarre past and present relationships, and before Bill succeeds, he must overcome a deadly threat to his own safety. "There isn't a significant award for crime fiction that Pronzini hasn't won, and this is a fine sample of his work. His core of protagonists continues to evolve, his plotting is always masterful, and his shifting narrative viewpoints add additional context to the work. Never, ever miss a Nameless case." "Well written…An engaging quick read." "Smooth, readable…better than much of the noir material out there."