Oddments a Short Story Collect (Five Star First Edition Mystery) [Library Binding]

Bill Pronzini (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Plump, nondescript Theodore Conway works as a file clerk in a Manhattan law firm. His passion is collecting memorabilia related to the pulp-fiction heroes of his youth, especially The Shadow. Then one day this quiet little man learns that he, too, has the supernatural power "to cloud men's minds" and fight crime under the cloak of invisibility. "The Man Who Collected The Shadow" is just one of 14 stories in this collection of short fiction by the versatile Pronzini, author of the "Nameless" detective series as well as westerns, science fiction, and stand-alone crime novels. Among the other highlights here are "Shade Work," in which a con man picks the wrong marks; "The Arrowment Prison Riddle," a locked-room puzzler that is solved by a pulp-fiction writer; and "Bank Job, which illustrates why it's sometimes better to be lucky--and quick on your feet--than good. Pronzini's work is consistently entertaining, and these "oddments" are no exception. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Library Binding: 225 pages
• Publisher: Five Star (ME) (November 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786228946
• ISBN-13: 978-0786228942
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,977,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars STRANGE TWISTS AND TURNS, June 18, 2001

By 

Bonita L. Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oddments a Short Story Collect (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Library Binding)

Private eye writer, Bill Pronzini, takes us on a roller coaster of strange twists and turns in this collection of fourteen short stories. Oddments is truly odd in terms of its strange, yet endearing characters, and the various subjects which are presented. You will be surprised about how far reaching the imagination of our private eye author can go.

"And Then We Went to Venus" sounds more like a science fiction story than a mystery. Our author adds a twist to the story which keeps you on edge as to what happened to those astronauts who visited the planet. Compulsive gamblers will be delighted by the irony that touches "Shade Work" and driven crazy by figuring out the odds in "Liar's Dice". Do you hate practical jokers? Find out what happens to one when he goes too far in "The Dispatching of George Ferris".

The stories are entertaining, some are to easy to figure out but overall Pronzini has given readers a broad spectrum of his short stories. A collection such as this would not be complete without a "Nameless" Detective story. Pronzini obliges us with one where Nameless takes on more than he can handle.

Sit back and enjoy these stories. They are a fast read and touch on areas that causes you to think twice before making your own judgement.