Customer Reviews

Betrayers (Nameless Detective Novels)

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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.

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.

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.

Bill Pronzini has been writing the adventures of his "Nameless" detective for 39 years. That's a long run, and I've been following the stories since I was an impressionable teenager, with the publication of The Snatch, the first book in the series. Overall, I've enjoyed the books. Admittedly, some of them have been better than others. Throughout the series, Nameless has grown and changed, reflecting the world around him. He has been through a cancer scare, got married, taken on partners for good and bad, and adopted a daughter.

In Nameless's latest outing, the book isn't really a novel. It's more four novellas shuffled into one long presentation. His partner, a young black woman named Tamara Corbin, is still smarting over been jilted by an ex-lover. Feeling betrayed, which is the theme of this book, Tamara decides to find out who this man was and thoroughly screw up his world if he's got it coming. He does, because Lucas Zeller turns out to be a con man of the first water.

I really liked Tamara's story for the most part because this is a revenge tale that pays off. I'm sure most readers have dealt with some kind of heartbreak or betrayal and they can empathize with Tamara's situation and feelings. However, the investigation gets to be somewhat plodding and repetitious. It pays off satisfactorily and there is definitely some suspense.

The second story, one of the two that Nameless investigates, has to do with an old woman who is the victim of scare tactics designed to get her out of her house. The house and property is worth a lot of money, but the woman simply wants to live out her life there.

This tale is a little over the top for me. Especially when it got to a guy showing up in a sheet trying to scare off the old woman. The solution came too easily as well, and I was a little disappointed with the endgame.

Jake Runyon's story has him chasing after a bail jumper for a client. This one has a little more action in it and possessed more of the sense of a hardcore detective investigation. There were even reversals that caught me off guard at times. I wasn't totally sold on the characters though. Pronzini usually makes them deeper and more complex. The motives were clear, as was Jake's pursuit.

Pronzini also throws a bone to long-time readers because he sets up what will probably be one of the main plots in the next book. I was somewhat disappointed that the plot did not get resolved in this one, but I'm willing to wait because I do enjoy the series.

Nameless's second case involves his 13 year old daughter. From everything I've read, Pronzini has never been a father. I've had five kids, including one daughter. I couldn't believe Nameless's reaction when he discovered his daughter brought home a stash of cocaine. Something like that could have cost him his license, a matter that never seemed to come up. And I didn't quite get the way he casually just let her keep her promise not to tell. Families come first, and the survival of the family unit is paramount. Kids understand that, and parents know when to point that out when those kids forget.

As a result of his reticence, Nameless potentially breaks a few laws himself by investigating the kids at his daughter's school. I had as much of a problem with that as I did with his low-key reaction to the cocaine in his house. Also, at the very least, I would expect his daughter to flush the drugs down the toilet because she knew they were bad. Her innocence about everything seemed too convenient to the plot.

I enjoyed the book. It was a solid base hit for me, but not a home run. A good writer doesn't always hit a home run but always delivers a good story. Betrayers has four of those and I enjoyed them all. Fans will enjoy this book as well, but this may not be one for a new reader. The series, though, is definitely a keeper.

Nameless wanted to say no, but knows he is unable to deny the septuagenarian client Mrs. Abbott who asks him to look at threats, a poisoned cat and ghosts over a real estate deal. On a personal note, Nameless investigates how a package of cocaine ended up in his daughter Emily's bedroom.

At the same time his partner Tamara Corbin tracks down Lucas Zeller who broke her heart; her odious former lover seems involved in a charity scam. Their third partner Jake Runyon searches for Madison a bail jumper whose family is a piece of work.

The best of the four cases by far is Tamara's as she and readers realize she learned a hard core lesson from Zeller and has come out of that bad relationship much stronger of a person. The Runyon investigation and the two Nameless inquiries are solid but not inspiring. Fans of the Nameless detective tales will enjoy the latest entry though not as strong as most of his caseload (see Schemers and Fever).

Harriet Klausner

Even the best authors can't hit a home run every time, though Pronzini has come very close. The Nameless Detective series is superficially a pulp mystery series. But they're really wonderful short novels all full of believable characters that develop and grow, good tight plots, and pleasing dollops of philosophizing and introspection. A good series builds a world, and the world of the Nameless Detective is a great world to escape into.

The Nameless Detective series shifted to a three-part plot structure with the introduction of Jake Runyon in Spook. Nameless (not really nameless anymore because everyone calls him "Bill"), Tamara, and Jake each get a separate, unrelated storyline. The Nameless books are so short they barely support a main plot with a secondary plot, so I've been wishing these tri-part stories were longer. For me, Betrayers was not as satisfying as the previous Nameless books because it was three under-developed stories.

Jake Runyon went wrong soon after he was introduced. Making him a lonely, grieving widower who loses himself in work had potential, but of course that can't go on forever. Making his relationship with his estranged son so cartoony and over-the-top was rather grating, and now he has an uninteresting relationship with a physically and emotionally wounded woman, Bryn. She's a one-note wounded bird, and that storyline is headed down the overly-worn path of evil ex-husband ruining her life. She has no inner life or resources of her own; she's just a plot device so Runyon can be a shining knight, the rescuing hero.

Don't even get me started on Tamara's misadventures with Lucas Zeller, con man. Seriously, Tamara? Again? The guy with the blond wig way back in whatever book he appeared in was hilariously funny. Zeller is just tiresome. One of the elements that makes Nameless so interesting is the everyday details of working a case-- traveling, talking to people, the research-- not knowing when some piece of paper, or asking just the right question breaks the case. I'd like to see more details of Tamara's computer work, a more realistic look at what she can dig up in an online, interconnected world, and all the privacy invasions we suffer everyday without even knowing it. That would give Tamara plenty of conscience fodder just like Nameless has when he bullies people and takes questionable shortcuts to get answers.

Betrayers illustrates the thin line between breathing life and excitement into a story, and missing the mark just enough so that it comes out a little flat. It's a high-wire act that makes me appreciate how good Pronzini is.

I am a die-hard fan of Bill Pronzini's and I absolutely think that his "nameless Detective" series is the best of its kind. I am biased and have nothing but praise for any Nameless Detective title, this new one included. Mr. Pronzini doesn't need all the sex and violence that is so popular these days in mysteries in order to write an outstanding series himself. He is different and damn good and you should make his acquaintance as soon as you can.

"Now as they were eating, He said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.'" -- Matthew 26:21 (NKJV)

Modern life requires a lot of trust. You have to assume people will drive on their side of the road, that the bank will process your check deposit correctly, and that people are who they say they are.

In four passing glances at modern noir, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini reminds us that appearances and stated intentions can be deceiving. A new-found lover may have interests other than drawing closer to Tamara. Nameless takes on a pro bono assignment for an old lady who is being harassed by someone pretending to be a spirit. Nameless also finds a dangerous secret being kept by his adopted daughter, a secret that requires unraveling. Runyon draws a bail-jumping investigation, one that's more complicated than it seems. A new example of betrayal grabs Runyon by the throat at the end.

The overall message of these stories is that we should be mistrusting rather than trusting, and be prepared for danger. It may well lurk when we least expect it. At a deeper level, Mr. Pronzini's point is that people are phonies, and you have to assume that they are.

I was interested to see what Mr. Pronzini's ideas were about the kind of chilling danger and threat that made thirties noir so irresistible. I agree that these are some pretty sleazy people, but I wasn't chilled to the bone.

The mysteries (except for Tamara's) are a little more like the kind of short puzzle stories that Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine featured for many decades. They are fun, but not too meaty to solve.

Although there are some interactions among the staff at the agency, this is pretty much a series of short stories where you jump from one to the next as time passes.

It's not Mr. Pronzini's finest hour . . . some of the grit seems to have leaked out . . . but it's perfectly fine mystery reading.

Who might be scamming you right now?

In Bill Pronzini's "Betrayers," set in San Francisco, sassy private investigator Tamara Corbin is not a happy camper. The unlucky in love Tamara, who is brilliant with computers but naïve in matters of the heart, has once again allowed herself to be sucked into a dead-end relationship. This time, the name of the two-timing, low-down skunk is Lucas Zeller. Or is it? It turns out that Lucas is not only a bounder but also a liar and a con man. Tamara is determined to make this creep pay for his sins.

Meanwhile, Bill, who is semiretired and partnered with Tamara, is hired to find someone who is harassing an eighty-five year old woman. In addition, Bill and Kerry's adopted daughter, Emily, brings home a tin box that, shockingly, contains a controlled substance. Could this previously reliable and respectful thirteen-year-old girl have fallen in with the wrong crowd? Finally, Jake Runyon, who works for Bill and Tamara, is on the lookout for a bail jumper, while his girlfriend, Bryn, is slowly adjusting to their new relationship.

Pronzini's long-running Nameless Detective series has always been a model of excellence. The author's narrative flow and dialogue are as smooth as ever, and the details about background checks, skip traces, and other investigatory procedures have an authenticity that comes with careful research.

However, "Betrayers" lacks the excitement and substance of the best Pronzini novels. There is something formulaic about the villains, all of whom are one-dimensional, stupid, and rather dull. Aficionados of this consummate craftsman have come to expect fleshed out characters and substantial themes. For example, when Bryn first appeared, her unusual story was haunting and poignant. Her slowly evolving relationship with Jake kept us riveted; we wondered if these two wounded souls would somehow be able to connect. In "Betrayers," Pronzini effectively explores the ways in which people we rely upon can sometimes let us down. Unfortunately, the author does not dig deeply enough below the surface. If he had, this might have been a more memorable work of fiction.