Betrayers (Nameless Detective Novels) [Hardcover]

Bill Pronzini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2010 | Series: Nameless Detective Novels

We’re told that there are seven deadly sins; not on the list is the deadliest of them all: Betrayal.  For each of the detectives at the agency, a betrayal—personal, against a child, against the elderly—becomes not only the driving force behind an investigation, but the source of the kind of resolve that cannot be derailed by threats of any kind.

Tamara’s case began as something personal but explodes as her investigation of her former lover Lucas Zeller leads to a scam bilking charities in the name of helping the homeless and indigent.  For Nameless, with a case he doesn't want but can't turn down, trying to find out who is gaslighting an old woman only exposes the ugly side of family. When he goes home, tired and annoyed, he discovers that his adopted daughter, Emily, has a secret of her own. Runyon has a different difficulty: his case of a bailjumper with some bad family ties is easy enough as these things go, but he’s being confronted by a demon that is going to try to force him into a betrayal….

Three people who care, three people devoted to helping others trying to help themselves, three people finding themselves in a world of hurt because of the betrayers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

MWA Grand Master Pronzini's Nameless Detective series is showing its age in the tepid 35th entry featuring the unnamed San Francisco PI (after 2009's Schemers). In the book's less than compelling first case, Nameless looks into a dispute over real estate that may be connected with a campaign of harassment, which includes a ghost and a cat poisoning. Nameless's side inquiry into how his daughter ended up with a box of cocaine in her bedroom doesn't raise the temperature much either. Meanwhile, one of his two partners, Tamara Corbin, pursues a private matter--tracking down the man who called himself Lucas Zeller when he slept with her. In another unrelated case, Nameless's other partner, Jake Runyon, goes after a bail jumper. Pronzini offers only superficial character insights, as shown by Tamara's realizing in the end that "she'd learned some things, some hard lessons. About men and relationships, about professional ethics and self-protection, about herself."
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From Booklist

Even in partial retirement, the nameless detective can't extinguish his investigator's instincts. His wife, Kerry, finds a small stash of cocaine in their adopted daughter's bedroom. Emily says it's not hers. Nameless believes her but is determined to find out who would ask a child to hold drugs. In the meantime, Nameless' partner, Tamara, is still smarting from an encounter she had with a con man. Through a mutual friend, Tamara learns the con man has been approaching members of the black community, raising money to help black home owners avoid foreclosure. Exposing the scam would be sweet revenge, indeed. The firm's third associate, Jake Runyon, is involved in what seems to be a simple bail-jump case that reveals itself to be much more deadly. As Nameless inches closer to retirement, Pronzini has taken to giving readers three cases per novel, one involving each of the agency's three principals. And, as always, each case reveals a little more of each character, which at this stage of the series—more than 30 novels plus short stories—is the greatest pleasure of all. --Wes Lukowsky

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (July 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765318202
• ISBN-13: 978-0765318206
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not his best work!, July 31, 2010

By 

Pronzini lover "Mystery solver" (Wyoming) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Betrayers (Nameless Detective Novels) (Hardcover)

Far be if from me to want to give a less-than-rave review to one of my all-time favorite authors. But if I'm honest, I'd have to say this truly was not his best effort. It's almost as if he had a deadline he had to meet, and didn't have time for an intricate plot, well developed characters, or an interwoven connection to the whole. While this series has produced some of the finest material of any writer in this genre, I do believe the character may be played out. After such intricate and refreshing works such as "The Crimes of Jordan Wise" and "The Other Side of Silence" it's difficult to not see the nameless series as becoming somewhat stale. Even the description "nameless" no longer applies.

Perhaps it's just that we've come to expect so much from Pronzini. He's so extremely talented, that anything less than his best is more noticeable than it is with other authors. Regardless, the story lines in his latest novel are pretty predictable and ordinary.

Personally, I'm waiting for his next departure from the nameless series into something fresh and intriguing again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Three Cases, August 24, 2010

By 

Ted Feit (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Betrayers (Nameless Detective Novels) (Hardcover)

The three partners in the detective agency founded by the Nameless Detective undertake three separate cases, each exhibiting a common characteristic: betrayal. In alternating chapters, each case is developed until solved, whether the driving force is personal (in the case of Tamara), involves a child (Runyon) or the elderly (Nameless).

Tamara's case begins as something personal, but evolves into something deeper as she learns more about a sometime lover. It appears he and his mother are con artists bilking gullible marks for phony charities. Runyon's assignment is to find a bail jumper, which leads to finding a different kind of betrayal, pitting brother against brother and husband against wife. Nameless takes on a pro bono case in which an old woman is being harassed, possibly to force her out of her home so her relative can gain access to funds from its sale, and. more importantly, when Nameless returns home to discover his adopted daughter has a secret which leads him to yet another ugly situation.

The Nameless Detective series began in 1966 and now constitutes 34 novels and three short story collections, and is said to be the longest running of its kind. This novel easily could have been three separate short stories, comprising equally entertaining, classic private eye fiction, but is well-written and splendid in its present form nonetheless. Recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars My favorite author - not my favorite of his books, August 3, 2010

By 

Phoenix_dream (Wheaton, Il USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Betrayers (Nameless Detective Novels) (Hardcover)

Let me start by saying that a 'bad' Pronzini Nameless detective book is already head and shoulders above the work of lesser authors. That said, this book was definitely not one of my favorites. I love, love, love Pronzini, and look forward to his books as the treat they are. This one left me a little bored at times, and only somewhat interested. I actually was kind of anxious for it to be over, to be totally and painfully honest. (and it does indeed pain me to write such negative words about such an outstanding author). The plots were pretty boring, and I had a hard time caring what happened (except to his daughter, although even that story seemed to be reaching a bit). I read these books in particular because I love following 'Nameless/Bill' around as he works, and it bums me out that he was less than a third of the book. Tamara is just fine - as a supporting character, but that storyline just left me cold. I don't think her character is strong enough to carry so much of a book. Or maybe it is just that I have stayed loyal to this series because Bill's character intrigues me and if I wanted a Tamara-like character to follow I would pick a series that featured one. Jake is a little easier to care about, as he reads like a younger 'Nameless', although his lady friend and her issues are beginning to be annoying and add little (nothing?) to the story.

One last comment regarding this outstanding husband and wife (Marcia Muller) writing duo. I have been a faithful reader since the very beginning of each of their wonderful, well-written series. But each of their most recent books left me lukewarm at best. My message to them would be- your books and characters are just wonderful as they are. You do not need to try to be creative and make changes to try to make them better. One, it is not working and two, it is not needed. Sometimes change is good; sometimes change is just change.