Agreeing to investigate threats by a mysterious extortionist against a newly rich young woman, Jake Runyon makes a series of surprise discoveries that cause him to be wrongfully accused of a crime and his employers to be subjected to a vicious legal vendetta.
Secret Service agent John Quincannon has found little joy in his life since the day his stray bullet killed an innocent young woman and her unborn child. Still in mourning a year later, Quincannon seeks his solace at the bottom of a jug of sour mash. But he'll have to buck up—and sober up—for his next mission: The Service needs him to bring down a major counterfeiting ring responsible for the death of one of his colleagues. And staying sober won't be easy when there's a young lady in town who's a dead ringer for his late victim... A new novel of frontier justice from the award-winning author acclaimed for his "stylish writing" (Publishers Weekly) and "unerring eye" (Kirkus Reviews).
A desperate father’s world explodes when his plan to eliminate his abusive son-in-law goes shockingly awry in this riveting thriller from a true American master of suspense fiction Many people would love to see powerful San Francisco attorney David Rakubian dead, but none more than his father-in-law, Jack Hollis. Rakubian has threatened to kill Hollis’s daughter and her toddler son from an earlier marriage if she tries to leave him. Enough, Hollis feels, is enough. This monster must die. But when the shark lawyer fails to show up for his own carefully planned assassination, Hollis seeks him out—only to find that someone has beaten him to the lethal punch. Now Hollis is being blackmailed for a murder he did not commit. And if he can’t uncover the true killer, he stands to lose everything in the world that he loves. Multiple award-winner Bill Pronzini delivers a riveting tale of desperate acts and personal justice, and the shocking lengths to which a parent will go to protect his family.
The "nameless" San Francisco detective and his partner Eberhardt are trying to prove that their client Thomas Lujack did not mow down his business partner with his car. Although he suspects his client's guilt early on, the 58-year-old gumshoe spends three weeks looking for flaws in the testimony of the hit-and-run's sole witness. Then Lujack is found murdered, the witness disappears, and the detective, instead of being asked to step up his investigation, is discharged by the victim's brother Coleman. In full moral outrage, the veteran detective bulldogs his way through the case, uncovering evidence about the brothers' employment of illegal immigrants.
The lives of two very different men collide with shocking consequences in the darkness of the California night in this gripping noir thriller from an acclaimed master Successful Northern California vintner Cameron Gallagher suffers from alcoholism, depression, and persistent nightmares. Truck driver Nick Hendryx lost everything when a hit-and-run accident put his wife in a coma. They are two men with seemingly little in common, but their disparate paths are about to intertwine in startling and dangerous ways. As Nick’s determined search for the man who wrecked his wife and his lives pulls him deeper into Cameron’s orbit, the wealthy wine executive struggles to hold on to a rapidly disintegrating personal life. And when there’s nothing but the night separating them, their entangled worlds and secrets will explode in ways neither man could ever have anticipated. Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini, a virtuoso of contemporary American noir fiction, delivers a relentlessly suspenseful novel that propels the reader on a twisting and breakneck downhill race that surprises at every turn. Nothing but the Night is nothing but remarkable.
Business is booming for Nameless; he's started in on three new cases in one week. But every single one of them turns bad some way. In the first, a husband disappears from a car that Nameless has been following. In the second, a woman is mysteriously murdered while Nameless stands outside her bungalow. In the third, a valuable ring disappears from a locked room that Nameless has been guarding. The papers are full of bad publicity. After being at the scene of two homicides, everyone is suspicious of him. He is at risk of losing his PI license. At the same time, he recently proposed to the woman of his dreams and she is becoming more distant from him every day. Scattershot presents more questions than answers in its exciting conclusion. The eighth novel in the Nameless Detective series.
When his wife goes missing from their Sierra foothills cabin after spotting a suspicious man, the Nameless Detective and his associate, Jake Runyon, launch a search and rescue mission that stretches legal boundaries.
Bill Pronzini's "Nameless" private eye and Collin Wilcox's Lieutenant Frank Hastings join forces to solve a grizzly case of murder and to crack a bizarre conspiracy surrounding an old California winemaking family.When "Nameless" is hired by Alex Cappellani, whose family owns the Cappellani Winery in the Napa Valley, it seems at first to be a routine investigation. But then the case veers in a deadly direction: there's a brutal murder in San Francisco. And Lieutenant Hastings is called in to investigate.As "Nameless" and Hastings delve deeper into the web of violence and mystery, the truth begins to unfold. A truth that will shock you. You're sure to enjoy this harrowing ride through the hills of San Francisco.
Broke and fleeing his shattered marriage, Jack Lennox takes a bus towards the southwestern desert. He takes work with Al Perrins, only to see two well-dressed men murder Perrins the following morning. But they see Lennox, and he becomes both hunter and hunted. A novel of suspense by the author of The Snatch.
Anticipating a peaceful and relaxing year in which to write and illustrate a book, college professor Jan Ryerson and his artist wife Alix move to the isolated Cape Despair Lighthouse on a desolate stretch of Oregon coast. But their well-laid plans are twisted awry shortly after their arrival. Jan experiences several terrifying blackouts, but conceals them from his wife, fearing that she will leave him if she knows that he will soon be blind. The villagers, suspicious of the couple from the start, become increasingly hostile and resentful. And when the murdered body of a young woman is discovered, they are quick to blame the stranger in town... "one of America's Fines writers of any genre. Muller is must reading for all mystery fans." -Cleveland Plain Dealer"Pronzini makes people and events so real that you're living those explosive days of terror."-Robert Ludlum"Pronzini is the master of the shivery, spine-tingling it-could-happen suspense story."-Publishers Weekly
A series of seemingly random murders along a fifty-mile stretch of the rugged northern California coast, committed by an unknown dubbed by the media the Coastline Killer. A young couple with marital problems, Shelby and Jay Macklin, who decide to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's at a friend's remote coastal cottage. Two couples in a neighboring home whose relationships are thick with festering menace. A fierce winter storm that leads to a night of unrelenting terror. These are the main ingredients in Bill Pronzini's chilling and twist-filled tale about the hidden nature of crime and its motives.
Investigating the death of a woman that has been ruled accidental by the police but that her sister insists was a murder by a known perpetrator, a reluctant Nameless begins to suspect that the victim's sister is telling the truth when he learns unsettling facts about her life.
A chilling, ingenious brain-teaser by two masters of the psychological thriller. Nicholas Augustine was a rancher and a railroad enthusiast, a popular maverick whose meteoric rise to the Presidency dumbfounded every self-styled expert in Washington. But scandal threatens when someone is murdered in the White House. Loyal secret service agent Christopher Justice will do anything to protect the President. A masterful thriller of murder in the White House.
The sunbaked expanse of Death Valley is a great place to visit but a bad place to die in this breathtaking thriller from acclaimed master of suspense fiction Bill Pronzini Rick Fallon has reached the breaking point. His wife left after their son’s tragic death, and Rick finds himself without purpose. He seeks out the peace and tranquility of the desert, setting up camp in Death Valley. On his fourth day there, Rick comes across an abandoned car. Inside is a woman on the brink of death, beaten and blistered by the sun. Her name is Casey, and her young son has been kidnapped by her ex-husband. After fruitlessly searching for him for months, Casey has decided to end it all. But Rick is determined to make her mission his own, even if it means risking his life. He’s been given a chance to atone for one of his greatest regrets; no amount of danger can stop him now.
A collection of “mesmerizing tales, each one creepier than the next” that go beyond the traditional vampire myths (Library Journal). When we think of vampires, an image instantly arises: fangs sunk deep into the throat of the victim. But bloodsucking is merely one form of vampirism. For this brilliantly original anthology, multiple award-winning editor Ellen Datlow solicited stories from many of the most powerfully dark voices in contemporary horror, who conjure tales that will chill readers to the marrow. In addition to the traditional fanged creatures, Datlow presents stories about the leeching of emotion, the draining of the soul, and other dark deeds of predation and exploitation, infestation, and evisceration . . . tales of life essence, literal or metaphorical, stolen. Seventeen stories by such acclaimed authors as Elizabeth Bear, Richard Bowes, Kathe Koja, Margo Lanagan, Carol Emshwiller, and Lisa Tuttle redefine the terror of vampirism.
Bill Pronzini’s riveting western mystery, The Peaceful Valley Crime Wave, takes on the modern world with old-fashioned violence--and his Peaceful Valley is anything but... Nothing much happens in Peaceful Valley, Montana. And that’s just how Sheriff Lucas Monk likes it. Aside from the occasional drunken brawl or minor disturbance out on the reservation, he hasn’t had to resort to his fists or sidearm in years. That is, until mid-October, 1914, when the theft of a wooden cigar store Indian sets off a crime wave like nothing Lucas has ever seen. Teenager Charity Axthelm goes missing, Reba Purvis’s housekeeper is poisoned with cyanide Reba is sure was meant for her, and Lucas’s gut tells him that this is only the beginning. It’s not long before the first corpse shows up, bringing the peace in the valley to a thundering end. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Bill Pronzini's “Nameless Detective”—the San Francisco-based, Italian-American, slightly overweight, thoroughly charming favorite of mystery aficionados, whose name is never revealed—returns with one of his cleverest, most intense cases. Why would a successful, good-looking young man, who had just won two hundred thousand dollars at a Lake Tahoe casino, kill himself? That's the question Nameless asks himself when he finds a friend's brother dead--an apparent suicide, was more than luck involved in his windfall? Or was his good fortune reason enough for murder? The investigation takes Nameless inside the seamy and dangerous world of high-stakes gambling and mob-run casinos—and into the middle of a complex scam that has left at least one man in his grave, with others, including Nameless, odds-on favorites to follow.
Follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated Gun in Cheek further celebrates neglected classics of substandard mystery writing, uncovering even more twisted treasures for connoisseurs of hideous prose.
Jordan Wise is a mild-mannered accountant with a large San Francisco engineering firm in the late 1970s. By his own admission, the first thirty-four years of his life were dull, empty. But that all changes when he meets and falls in love with Annalise Bonner, an ambitious young woman who craves excitement, a life on the edge. With her as the catalyst, Wise concocts and executes a meticulous plan to steal more than half a million dollars from his firm. They escape to the Virgin Islands, but their plans to live a life of quiet luxury are beset by unexpected pitfalls -- and Wise is forced to carry out two more ingenious schemes as a result. All three of his crimes are perfect -- or are they? THE CRIMES OF JORDAN WISE is a classic tale of love, greed, betrayal, and violence told with Bill Pronzini's characteristic twists and turns and his special brand of suspense. It is also a powerful psychological examination of a man, a woman, and the wages of sin.
When three outlaws try to steal a cache of illegal guns and ammunition from lumber baron Austin Trace, they bungle the job, setting fire to the town instead.
His name was Roy Sands, and he had everything to look forward to. He was getting out of the service and coming home to marry his beautiful fiancee. He had his debts paid, money in the bank, and a happy new life ahead of him. Then he disappeared. There wasn't much to go on -- just three telegrams apparently sent by Sands from Eugene, Oregon, to three of his old army buddies. But one tough detective took the case, surviving death threats and a savage beating to trace the trail of Roy Sands to its stunning conclusion.
Nameless is called in by his friend, police lieutenant Eberhardt, when a dead woman's purse contains Nameless's business card. Nameless has never met her, and cannot make a connection. Next, Nameless is hired to track and protect a disturbed man, Martin Talbot, who may be harmed by the husband of a woman who died when Talbot's car collided with theirs after Talbot fell asleep at the wheel.
Things are heating up in Big Coulee. Unorthodox road agent Horse-shy Halloran, who got his name because horses always do him dirt, has been seen in town buying women's clothing. The gold miners' association is about to ship $70,000 of gold dust. The brutal and fearsome Burgoyne brothers are in the neighborhood. And Wells Fargo agent Samuel Quarternight has fallen in love with the banker's daughter, Faye. Halloran just wants to make off with the gold, but he gets far more deeply involved with this cast than he'd like and becomes an unwilling and thoroughly despised hero.
A New York Times Notable Book: A woman’s suicide leads a man to a Nevada mining town—and a nest of poisonous secrets—in this “top-notch thriller” (Publishers Weekly). There is something about the sad woman eating alone night after night at the Harmony Café that intrigues San Francisco CPA Jim Messenger. Unfulfilled himself, Jim feels a kinship with her—and later, when she commits suicide, he resolves to find out why. His search leads him to Beulah, a middle-of-nowhere mining town in the Nevada desert, where hatreds run deep, where secrets are as venomous as a rattlesnake bite, and where a stranger asking too many questions might inexplicably disappear. Still, in this dusty, barren landscape, Jim feels completely alive. And he’s not going anywhere until he uncovers the truth, even if it rips the whole town apart. Richly atmospheric and peopled with achingly human characters, Blue Lonesome is a crime novel as tense and coiled as a rattler ready to strike and as dark and hypnotic as the lonesome desert night.
In a story of ordinary people trapped in extraordinary and deadly circumstances, two friends are faced with the possibility that someone they know well--for reasons they cannot fathom--is plotting to destroy them and everyone they love.
The Flimflam Affair is the latest charming historical mystery in Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini's detective series. Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services is a fixture in San Francisco at the dawn of a new century. While the future is unclear, Sabina and John know one thing for certain; they will protect their clients from flimflammers, thieves, and murderers, and do whatever it takes to run these dregs of society into the arms of the law. Sometimes, that requires a subtle touch. Professor A. Vargas, self-styled medium extraordinaire, and his partner Annabelle, use guile and trickery to swindle bereaved men and women eager to contact the spirits of deceased loved ones. John and Sabina must not only unmask these charlatans, but also solve the riddle of an impossible murder in the midst of a séance. Other cases involve brute force and personal danger. Such as the theft of a burglarproof safe mysteriously emptied of gold bullion. And John’s pursuit of a ruthless gang of counterfeiters, whose leader appears to be a man from John’s past in the Secret Service—a man thought long dead. Adding spice to these exploits is Sabina and John’s personal relationship, which is rapidly progressing to an exciting new level. The Carpenter and Quincannon Mysteries: #1 The Bughouse Affair #2 The Spook Lights Affair #3 The Body Snatchers Affair #4 The Plague of Thieves Affair #5 The Dangerous Ladies Affair #6 The Bags of Tricks Affair #7 The Flimflam Affair
The bestselling author of The McCone Files teams up with the creator of the Nameless Detective for a collaborative mystery that bridges the San Franciscos of 1894 and 1986. Muller and Pronzini masterfully parallel the investigations of turn-of-the-century detective Quincannon and Chicana amateur sleuth Elena Oliverez..
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