Hardcase (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From a slapstick beginning to an edge-of-your-seat ending, Pronzini (Shackles; Demons) demonstrates why he remains such an enduring force in the genre. The 23rd adventure for his Nameless Detective opens as the California PI, approaching 60, marries his longtime girlfriend, Kerry. After a civil ceremony marked by his nervous clumsiness, Nameless takes on a client who wants him to find her birthparents. Melanie Ann Aldrich has just discovered that she was adopted and is sure there's a reason her adoptive parents, who are deceased, kept this information from her. Nameless fairly quickly identifies the woman's birthparents, but that's just the beginning. Melanie was conceived when a young man raped a disturbed young woman. Nameless discovers that the man, who is now middle-aged and living in a San Jose, Calif., suburb, may be responsible for a series of rapes and murders over a 20-year period. When Nameless's investigation gets too close to the suspect, the women in the case?Melanie, the man's wife and even Kerry?are threatened. Pronzini chillingly captures the volatility of the brutal and truly frightening criminal, a very sick man who hides behind a veil of normalcy.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Nameless, Pronzini's extraordinary San Francisco detective, takes on three challenges in the series' twenty-third entry. First, the aging bachelor finally marries Kerry, the much younger love of his life. Second, at Kerry's urging, he reluctantly moves into the computer age by hiring a young college hacker and buying the equipment she'll need to tap into the appropriate databases. Third, Nameless accepts a case from Melanie Aldrich, an aspiring young model who recently lost both her parents and then discovered that she was adopted. She wants to find her birth parents and hires Nameless for the job. The trail leads to a small northern California town where Melanie's adoptive parents had vacationed. The secret Nameless uncovers there soon endangers everyone involved in the case. An exciting entry in an excellent series. Wes Lukowsky --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Dell (June 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440221498
• ISBN-13: 978-0440221494
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,788,722 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nameless delievers page turning mystery, August 17, 1998

By A Customer

Bill Pronzini's continuing series of the Nameless Detective who is drawn into another puzzling case of abuse and murder. Pronzini is excellent in building suspense and is superb in using simply dialogue to "paint" a character, to reveal the dark and disturbing side of people. Prejudice-yes! I love this series and hope the detective continues to take me on his twisting adventures as I keep-my-eye-on-that-book-so-I-don't-lose-it (my no.1 indicator of affection).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent entry, May 19, 2003

By A Customer

In one of the best, and certainly most under-appreciated, mystery series around. Why aren't these books bigger sellers? Why aren't the new entires available in paperback? One tip on reading Nameless: Read the books in order. The character changes and develops more than almost anyone in the field.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent tale by Pronzini, June 23, 2004

By	David C. Roller (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hard Case (Nameless Detective Mystery) (Hardcover)

Summer 2004 Reading List - Mini Review

I have been reading Bill Pronzini for over 20 years but somehow never read this one. Pronzini's protagonist titled "The nameless detective" is an endearing staple of modern detective fiction because while we are never told the character's name, he is one of the better developed characters I have ever experienced.

Hardcase begins with a wedding and ends with a honeymoon and in between deals with adoption, rape, racial prejudice, technophobia and the risks involved in knowing too much about your past.

Pronzini's prose blends great character driven drama with excellent descriptions of Nameless's San Francisco and other California locales.