The Snatch [Paperback]

Bill Pronzini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1984

In his first chronicled adventure,the NAMELESS DETECTIVE hires on to handle the ransom payoff in a kidnapping case. Financier Louis Martinetti doesn't trust the police to deal with the man who snatched his 9-year-old son from his military prep school, nor is it clear that he trusts the members of his own household. On the apointed evening, NAMELESS takes a briefcase that contains $300,000 in cash to a secluded loaction chosen by the kidnapper. Then all hell breaks loose.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Backcountry Pubns (April 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881500216
• ISBN-13: 978-0881500219
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,469,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introducing the Nameless Detective, October 19, 2003

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Snatch (Hardcover)

In 1971, author Bill Pronzini was only 27 when he wrote The Snatch, building on a shorter and different version of the story that appeared in the May 1969 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine under the same title. With the publication of this book, one of detective fiction's great characters was born with full fledged power and authenticity. If you have not yet read the Nameless Detective novels by Mr. Pronzini, you have a major treat ahead of you. Many of these are now out-of-print, so be sure to check your library for holdings in near-by cities.

The Nameless Detective is referred to that way because Mr. Pronzini never supplies a name until late in the series. I won't reveal that name here.

Mr. Pronzini presents a world in which many men take evil actions to further selfish interests, and many women and children suffer because of that selfishness. The police and private investigators suffer along with the victims, for evil-doing has painful consequences for everyone. Mr. Pronzini's plots are complex, yet he provides plenty of clues to help you identify the evil-doer on your own. Despite the transparency of many plots, he successfully uses plot complications to keep the action interesting and fresh.

But the reason to read the books is because of the character development for the Nameless Detective. Nameless is a former police officer in San Francisco who collects pulp fiction about tough private detectives. Drawn to the complex imagery of the strong, silent hero who rights wrongs, Nameless tries to live that role. But he has trouble getting clients, and operating as a one-man shop causes him to lead a lonely existence. In his personal life, his career keeps women at a distance. Like a medieval knight errant, he sticks to his vows and pursues doing the right thing . . . even when it doesn't pay. At the same time, he's very aware of art, culture and popular trends. And he doesn't like much of what he sees.

The books are also written in the pulp fiction style, but with greater style of language and plot. The whole experience is like looking at an image in a series of mirrors that reflect into infinity.

These books are a must for those who love the noir style, and the modern fans of tough detectives with a heart of gold like Spenser.

In The Snatch, wealthy real estate developer Louis Martinetti contacts the Nameless Detective when Martinetti's nine-year-old son is kidnapped and held for a $300,000 ransom that Martinetti doesn't have the money to pay. The kidnapper has insisted that the money be delivered by a third party, and Nameless has been recommended as being reliable. Nameless knows that Martinetti should get the police involved, but reluctantly agrees to deliver the money (after Martinetti raises it by borrowing from a friend).

That decision leads him into a dangerous path full of danger, betrayal and righting wrongs.

Perhaps because the story was rewritten so thoroughly, the dimensions of the mystery are deliciously more complex than what you are used to reading. The challenges for Nameless are beyond what most could bear. Yet he perseveres . . . duty above all.

This is a great book to read on a dark night with the wind howling, and a chill in the air. You'll feel a chill in your bones before you are done.

After you finish enjoying this superb story, think about how you can run your life so that your loved ones will always be safe.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Nameless Detective Mystery, September 20, 2000

By 

Ricky N. "Ricky C. Nelson" (Commerce, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Snatch (Paperback)

"The Snatch" is the first Nameless Detective mystery, even though the series doesn't become known as the "Nameless Detective" series until some time later. Gary Martinetti, son of wealthy Louis Martinetti, is kidnapped. The kidnapper leaves a message that the ransom money of $300,000 be delivered by a third party. Martinetti hires Nameless to be the third party. When the next call comes Nameless takes the money and drives to an isolated spot where he is supposed to make the drop. As he leaves, he hears a terrible cry, goes back and finds a man, Paul Lockridge, murdered. Someone had also taken the ransom money. Nameless' mission is twofold; he must find Lockridge's murderer and find Gary Martinetti before it is too late. Pronzini is a master of suspense, and even though this is the first novel in the series (written in 1971), the plot is strong. No one can put the reader at the scenes with the detective like Bill Pronzini. I believe he is the best writer of mystery fiction working today.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pronzini is one of the masters, October 8, 2007

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Snatch (Paperback)

First Sentence: Tamarack Drive was one of these oak- and elm- and eucalyptus-shaded affairs that are supposed to make you think of rustic country lanes.

"Nameless" is hired by a financial speculator whose son has been kidnapped. This job, deliver the $300,000 ransom. This supposedly simple task leads to a murdered man and 27 stitches for our detective. Now he's investigating who kidnapped the boy in the first place. To complicate his life, "Nameless'" lady love has issued an ultimatum for his to choose between her and his job.

Although he had written several short stories, it's fun to go back and read the second full book by Pronzini, and the first in the "Nameless" series. It was interesting to see how Pronzini created the character, fully developed but without taking a lot of the story to so do. There is a particular section toward the end which explains why being a PI is so important to the character. One of Pronzini's great strengths is his ear for dialogue. The plot is quite good and even though I suspected the villain, I enjoyed watching the investigation unfold and I completely missed one of the clues that brought the investigation to it's conclusion. It is interesting to read a book set in a time when people had answering services and had to look for a pay phone, and the cars included a Plymouth Valiant and a Chevy Corviar, but that only added richness to the story. Even with this early book, it is clear to see why Pronzini is one of the masters of the detective genre.