Bleeders [Import] [Hardcover]

Bill Pronzini (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C; Large Print Ed edition (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754049213
• ISBN-13: 978-0754049210
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pronzini is a master!, April 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bleeders: A "Nameless Detective" Novel (Hardcover)

Whether you're a veteran reader of P.I. novels or a neophyte who doesn't know his Hammett from his Chandler, you'll love the latest in Pronzini's "Nameless" series. This writer is a master, a benchmark against whom all the others compare themselves. A craftsman of both plot and language, Pronzini delivers each and every time. And in this way, he's that rarest of things: the sure bet. He knows how to deliver. He doesn't waste a detail or sling an extra word. "Bleeders" shows him at the pinnacle of his powers. Not only is it a fine mystery, thoroughly entertaining and beautifully paced, but his protagonist is entirely real. Nameless has aged and in this outing, he's feeling the weight of his cumulative history, the burden of all the pain and tragedy he's participated in over the course of 20+ books. Why fool with the latest flash-in-the-pan, when the king is still writing stories this engrossing and rewarding?

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nameless Earns His Name, January 3, 2002

By 

Kent Braithwaite (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bleeders: A "Nameless Detective" Novel (Hardcover)

From the moment one reads the dedication of this Nameless mystery, one realizes what a special book BLEEDERS is. Bill Pronzini dedicates BLEEDERS to himself "without whom this series would never have been written."

As in the recent Nameless mysteries, Nameless is showing his age and his maturity. He is realizing that, while his work is important to him, there is more to life than merely running his PI agency. He is married now, of course, and he has an adopted daughter he acquired in the previous novel. His family responsibilities are becoming more and more important to him.

The plotline of this story involves a grifting scheme that leads to murders. It nearly costs Nameless his life, too. As with all Pronzini works, the book moves far beyond the mystery genre and addresses serious moral themes. As always, Pronzini is a moralistic writer in the best senses of the term.

The plot works fabulously, and the characters seem realistic. The interaction between everyone on stage couldn't work better. In the end, Nameless realizes his name is Daddy. It is bestowed on him by his adopted daughter, and he decides to make certain major life changes.

While it is suggested throughout the work that BLEEDERS may mark the end of this long-running series, I hope the series continues. Bill Pronzini, in my opinion, is the finest mystery writer of his generation. The influence of this series will long be felt in the mystery genre. His Nameless character may now be Daddy to a little girl, yet he has always been the father of the private detectives created by those of us who have begun our writing careers in recent years.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LETTING GO, March 17, 2002

By 

Bonita L. Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bleeders: A "Nameless Detective" Novel (Hardcover)

A gun is placed on the back of your head. Click, nothing happens. You know that you're dead. Click again, and you're still breathing. The weapon misfired and you've been given another chance for life. Now what do you do with it?

Nameless has faced death many times in the past but when he barely escapes from this episode of death he is forced to re-evaluate his relationships (with wife and daughter) and his professional life. Let's face it, at age sixty you can't do the things that you used to and still come out alive. Now what?

Bleeders explores the changes Nameless has to go through in reordering the priorities in his life. The catalyst for this is a failed scam attempt on his client. Her crank head husband attempts to extort $75,000 from her. Nameless intervenes and recovers the money. Unfortunately he is unable to return it to his client who is found dead. On finding the body, Nameless is beaten and has the money taken from him.

Thus begins a series of events that leads Nameless into the bottom dregs of society. Angry, he is determined to have justice done for his client as he goes on his determined search for the man who nearly killed him. We witness a detective who explores all of the angles and finds that he shares just as much in common with these bleeders than he is willing to admit.

Pronzini does a good job in presenting us with a Nameless who for the first time in his life has to step back and say is this worth it? As an old man of sixty with a wife and child can he still afford to play this tough detective game which can result in far more than beatings? The answer to that question as you move through the undercurrents of criminal activity will surprise you. Once again, Nameless is a far complex character than we would have ever thought. Enjoy this great thriller.