Savages: A Nameless Detective Novel (Nameless Detective Novels) [Paperback]

Bill Pronzini (Author)

Book Description

Series: Nameless Detective Novels | Publication Date: October 28, 2008

The police said it was an accident, the dead woman's sister said it was murder... and that she knew who did it.  Nameless isn't certain, but the more he learns about Nancy Mathias's life, the more inclined he is to accept the likelihood of murder--especially as the players still alive become more and more distasteful.  Combine that with the situation Jake Runyon, one of the agency's partners, is facing as he searches for a young man who is either a murderer or a victim, and life at their San Francisco detective agency has everyone on edge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tight writing and an unromantic portrayal of the work of a PI distinguish Shamus-winner Pronzini's solid 32nd entry in his Nameless Detective series (after 2006's Mourners). Distracted by wife Kerry's bout with breast cancer, Nameless is reluctant to return to work in his San Francisco office, especially when a former client, Celeste Ogden, seeks to retain his services again. Several years earlier, Ogden had hired Nameless to dig into the background of her sister's fiancé, a software mogul named Brandon Mathias, but the gumshoe's close scrutiny failed to uncover anything fishy. Now, Ogden's sister has died in a fall at her home, and Ogden wants Nameless to prove that Mathias killed her. Despite a less engaging subplot in which one of Nameless's associates tracks down an arsonist, this installment is sure to please series fans. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

"Nameless" did a background check on Celeste Ogden's future brother-in-law, Brandon is Mathias, a few years back but was unable to unearth the sinister devil Celeste knew was buried beneath the facade of an urbane, successful businessman. Now her sister, Nancy, is dead, and Celeste is convinced that Brandon is responsible. Even though the police are convinced it was an accidental death--Brandon was supposedly out of town when Nancy took her deadly tumble down the stairs--Celeste prods Nameless into investigating. Meanwhile, Jake Runyon, an operative for Nameless' San Francisco agency, gets tangled up in a brutal murder-arson case while serving a subpoena. This is another solid--if not outstanding--entry in an organic series that is gradually reinventing itself. Through 31 novels over at least 30 years, Nameless has gained a name, a wife, and a daughter; discovered the joy of living; and solved a lot of murders. As much as one can in a series, Pronzini has taken us on a real-time journey through the life of an truly memorable character. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765320355
• ISBN-13: 978-0765320353
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,523,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "There's more than one reason the statue of justice is blind.", July 22, 2007

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Savages: A Nameless Detective Novel (Nameless Detective Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Bill Pronzini's "Savages" is a Nameless Detective novel, but the sixty-two year old Nameless is no longer totally anonymous. As readers discovered previously, the protagonist, like his creator, is named Bill. He is also the first person narrator of the chapters dealing with a thorny situation: a wealthy woman, Celeste Ogden, wants Bill to unearth proof that her cold-hearted brother-in-law, Brandon Mathias, caused her sister's death. The late Mrs. Nancy Mathias died after falling down the stairs in her home; however, there is not a shred of proof that her death was anything but a tragic accident. Furthermore, Brandon has an ironclad alibi; he was out of town when Nancy fell to her death.

The other portion of the book is written in the third person and concerns Jake Runyon, Bill's investigator, a desolate widower who is still mourning for his deceased wife. Colleen Runyon suffered from ovarian cancer, which claimed her after "six months of pain and fading hopes." On a happier note, Bill and Kerry are encouraged by the apparent success of her treatment for breast cancer.

"Savages" refers to cold-blooded criminals--sociopaths who destroy their victims without remorse. Jake Runyon's "routine assignment" involves delivering a subpoena to a witness, but his task turns out to be anything but ordinary. He travels four hours outside of San Francisco to a small farm town called Gray's Landing; he intends to hand over the subpoena and leave soon thereafter. However, Runyon's plans change when he finds the body of a man hanging from a rope in a barn. Jake is then whacked by an unknown assailant and lands in the hospital with a concussion. Long story short, Jake unexpectedly finds himself in the middle of a case of murder and arson. He immediately gets on the wrong side of a nasty and arrogant sheriff, but Jake persists in following his investigation to its inevitably bitter end.

For his part, Bill reluctantly does Celeste Ogden's bidding. With the help of his partner, Tamara, Bill looks through Nancy's diaries and other papers to learn if she and her husband were having marital difficulties, and he interviews her neighbors to see what they know. It turns out that Mrs. Mathias was a deeply troubled and depressed individual whose self-esteem was being steadily eroded by her overbearing and controlling husband. Brandon may have been a nasty and sadistic man but, Bill points out to Celeste, that doesn't automatically make him a murderer.

"Savages" is trademark Pronzini: spare and cleanly written prose, crisp dialogue, a tidy plot and a conclusion that is not completely "happily ever after." The author also provides a sensitive treatment of Bill and Kerry's ordeal dealing with her debilitating cancer treatments. As always, Tamara Corbin stands out; she is a breath of fresh air and her dedication and competence have made her a mainstay of the detective agency. In five years, she has changed from "wiseass militant" to a poised and professional woman with "character, patience, and determination." Alas, she is still trying to get over her cello playing boyfriend, Horace, who unceremoniously dumped her three months ago to take up with a fellow musician. Tamara always has a witty remark to offer even when it's at her own expense: "I'm cool. My love life's ice cold" is a typical Tamara quip. Pronzini is also cool and "Savages" is a fast-moving story that shows just how much life is still left in this long-running series.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Savages, September 15, 2007

By 

maggie (napa, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Savages: A Nameless Detective Novel (Nameless Detective Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I truly enjoyed the double plots in this novel! As always, Bill writes with such detail I feel as if I am right there with the characters sharing their experiences. I think I have all of the Nameless Novels in my collection - so keep them coming!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly simple, August 17, 2007

By 

Michael P. Maslanka (dallas, texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Savages: A Nameless Detective Novel (Nameless Detective Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The nameless detective agency is working on two cases, different facts but---as we see at the end---the same theme to both:people do very bad things, and justice sometimes comes and other times does not."Some loose ends don't get tied off, some problems don't get solved, perfect crimes happen more often than you can imagine, the guilty too often go free, there's more than one reason the statue of justice is blind." Now that's writing and that's the truth. We learn something about the lives of the detectives but only enough to give texture, never too much to provide distraction. This is my first go around with this series. There will be more.