Nothing but the Night [Paperback]

Bill Pronzini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

For some people, the night is a cloak, helping them to hide. For others, it's a bright light, exposing things better left unseen. The lives of Cam Gallagher and Nick Hendryx have taken separate courses; their roads will cross and cross again, with increasing threat, in the nights they begin to share. With perfect pacing and keen psychological insight, Bill Pronzini proves yet again that his ability to weave a novel of suspense is unsurpassed. Distinctive, chilling, and with never a false note, he peels away the layers of his characters' lives until they finally stand exposed, with nothing but the night between them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pronzini (A Wasteland of Strangers) appears determined to keep the noir tradition intact. His new novel, about two anguished men whose lives collide violently, could easily have been made into a black-and-white film starring Robert Mitchum, Victor Mature or Dane Clark. Cameron Gallagher has all the trappings of success: a devoted wife, two young daughters and a wine business in Northern California. But Cam is deeply troubled by repressed secrets from his past that threaten to erupt and destroy his life. His depression and alcoholism are exacerbated by recurring nightmares of the night his father murdered his adulterous mother when Cam was a boy, and the stress is beginning to undermine his own marriage. Nick Hendryx's life, on the other hand, has already been ruined, by a hit-and-run accident that put his young wife in a coma. Nick now roams the West, surviving on minimum-wage jobs, showing everyone he encounters a police artist's sketch of the driver. When Nick finds Cam in Paloma, Calif., he begins plotting a slow revenge. Pronzini traces both men's lives in alternating chapters. The prose is workmanlike, but the characters are superb, complex yet appealing. Pronzini pulls readers' strings like the expert he is, keeping them unsure of whose side to take and whom to believe (Cam doesn't remember the accident). This six-time nominee for an Edgar could get a seventh for this highly suspenseful tale. Agent, Dominick Abel Literary Agency.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

From its suspenseful beginning to its jaw-dropping conclusion, this taut thriller is a fascinating read. Against the rainy setting of Northern California's Russian River, prolific novelist Pronzini (A Wasteland of Strangers, Walker, 1997) builds sympathy for night rider Nick Hendryx, whose comatose wife was the victim of a hit-and-run accident. Nick's vengeful search for the man in the police sketch leads him to wine executive and family man Cam Gallagher, tortured by childhood guilt for his mother's death. His drinking and incipient affair turn up the heat. Nick stalks Cam obsessively, but then the intricate yet symmetrical plot shifts subtly, revealing shocking truths. Although Pronzini tends to rely on staccato dialog too often, his descriptive powers are compelling, whether he's conjuring up the urgent desires of love or a ghost house inundated by fast-rising floodwaters "clutching like dead hands." Pronzini created the "Nameless Detective" series, has been nominated for the Edgar Award, and has received two Shamus Awards. Recommended for all suspense collections.AMolly Gorman, San Marino, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802775829
• ISBN-13: 978-0802775825
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,699,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Haunting Tale of Grief and Despair, August 14, 2000

By 

Michael Butts (Berkeley Springs, WV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nothing but the Night (Paperback)

One thing for sure---this is not the kind of book to read when you want something light or cheery! Bill Pronzini spins a tale of two men, both of them harboring deep secrets and hurts from their pasts, who will come to meet in an absorbing tale of deception. Pronzini's prose is crisp, terse, and gripping. The characters of Cameron Gallagher, a man haunted by the tragic deaths of his parents, and Nick Hendryx, the husband of a woman comatose from a hit and run accident, are complex and very human. There are times when you're rooting for one character and then find yourself rooting for the other. The supporting characters are interesting too, particularly Cameron's sister, Caitlin, and Cameron's wife, Hallie. Nothing is what it seems as the plot flows effortlessly on, and by the end of the book, you're finding yourself surprised at how the twists work. A deep, dark, unsettling, but excellent read.

Michael Butts

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I highly recommend this book!, August 24, 1999

By 

R. Reese "Reader" (San Francisco, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nothing But the Night (Walker Mystery) (Hardcover)

In "Nothing but the Night", Bill Pronzini tells a shrewd tale of misdirection. High style without being stylish, the author probes the pathos of disparate characters with a heck of a good plot mixed in. The story unwinds effortlessly and is impossible to put down. Its surprise ending resonates - a great book on many levels!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A dark but compelling novel of obsession and suspense, May 28, 1999

By 

Carl Brookins - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nothing But the Night (Walker Mystery) (Hardcover)

Two men on an inevitable collision course, both are driven and mightily affected by horrific past incidents. Their lives intersect on the shores of the flooding Russian River in Northern California. The suspense grows with every page. The twists and turns and the surprising conclusions will leave any reader marveling at the Pronzini's skill.