Showing results by author "Bill Pronzini" in All Categories

The West Coast crime cartel known as "The Organization" has been beset by a series of problems: members are being murdered and merchandise hijacked. In walks troubleshooter Flagg, whose methods are those of a sharp-witted detective rather than a criminal. Soon he lays bare a plot behind the Organization's front - and now everyone is in danger.

This is a collection of fifty short stories by veteran mystery and crime writer Bill Pronzini, best known as the creator of The Nameless Detective series. This collection crosses over a broad range of styles and characters, settings and plots, showing the breadth and depth of Pronzini's prodigious talent. Included are murders, swindles, double-crosses, crazed children, and much, much more.

Nameless wasn’t supposed to come into the office on Mondays. He wasn’t supposed to answer the phone. On this Monday he did both. The call was from Barney Rivera - once a friend, now despised - at Great Western insurance. Against his better judgement, Nameless agreed to meet him. The investigation was relatively simple: a multimillionaire rare books collector had reported the theft of eight volumes, worth half a million dollars. From a locked library. To which he had the only key...

The Nameless Detective may not like David Virden, but the case is simple enough: Find his first ex-wife, deliver some papers to her and it's all done. But she refuses the papers, sends a message to Virden to never contact her again, and slams the door. Then Virden threatens to sue Nameless, stops his payments and claims that the woman they located isn't his wife. Then Virden disappears himself and his fiancée hires Nameless to find out why.

Carmody, a sometimes detective who also works as a freelance bodyguard and smuggler, operates off the Mediterranean island of Majorca. There he deals with thieves, smugglers, murderers, and other desperate men. By the author of Breakdown.

For over 30 years, Bill Pronzini has created fictional sleuths. The most famous dubbed the "Nameless Detective" appeared in 25 novels. But there are many others like Fergus O'Hara who, with his wife Hattie, plies his trade at the time of Civil War; John Quincannon and Sabina Carpenter, a mismatched pair who operate a detective agency in 1890s San Francisco; Christopher Steele the magician who specializes in solving impossible crimes; and so many more. Each of these colorful characters is represented in this detectives' round table - a must-listen for mystery lovers.

A series of random murders along a stretch of northern California coast, committed by an unknown perpetrator dubbed the Coastline Killer. A young couple with marital problems who decide to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's at a friend's remote cottage. Two couples whose relationships are thick with festering menace. A fierce winter storm. These are the main ingredients in Bill Pronzini's twist-filled tale about the hidden nature of crime and its motives.

Bite into this delectable collection of "whodunits" from some of today's hottest mystery writers. Whet your appetite with Sara Paretsky's "Skin Deep," in which V.I. "Vic" Warshawski takes on a chi-chi salon after one of its clients turns up dead. For your next course, try Wendy Hornsby's award-winning "Nine Sons," a country schoolteacher's recollection of a gifted student whose farm life was more troubled than it seemed.

"Checkmate." That was the last word uttered to Charlie Chan and Prefect of Police Claude DeBevre by a dying reporter. The man had been murdered....stabbed to death and left to die in a vacant hotel room. It is the second murder in 24 hours at the Transcontinental Chess Tournament, and Charlie Chan has been summoned from a peaceful and long-deserved vacation to help solve the crime before international scandal ruins the tournament's good name!

An empty train yard at midnight...a small cabin bathed in the light of a full moon...a seedy Skid Row hotel in San Francisco....These are the places where fear lives, where the chill in the air has nothing to do with the temperature, and where Death can be someone you've already met. Collected here for the first time are twenty-six terrifying stories by Bill Pronzini, a master of dark suspense and horror. These chilling stories span nearly three decades in his award-winning career, and most have never been published in book form.

A "botched" hit and blackmail turn to revenge and betrayal in this gripping mystery by a master mystery writer.

In a remote spot, Hannigan is burying a body he claims is his dog. A man suddenly emerges from the fog, asking if he can call for help, since he had to quickly escape a nearby house from a jealous husband. The district is tense, since the news warns of an escaped lunatic killer from a mental hospital is on the loose. The two men return to Hannigan’s house and unexpectedly meet a third man in the fog, claiming to be a policeman, whose car broke down. Is one of them the escaped lunatic killer?     

For each of the detectives at the agency, a betrayal becomes not only the driving force behind an investigation, but the source of the kind of resolve that cannot be derailed by threats. Tamara’s case began as something personal but explodes as an investigation of her former lover leads to a scam that cheats charities. For Nameless, trying to find out who is manipulating an old woman only exposes the ugly side of family. We’re told that there are seven deadly sins.

Spadework was published on the 25th anniversary of The Snatch, the first Nameless Detective novel. Spadework collects 15 short stories perfect for those who love the Nameless Detective. Two of the stories appear in print for the first time ("Worried Mother Job" and "Zero Tolerance"). The book has an excellent foreword by Marcia Muller about her take on her husband's work, and an interesting afterword by Mr. Bill Pronzini in which he talks about his dedication to the needs of the story.

Big, sort-of-sloppy, brew-loving P.I. opens up his files on some of his most fascinating cases. Here are 10 stories and two novelettes, giving Nameless fans a page-turning potpourri of his toughest and most dangerous adventures. Case File is a 12-pack to be popped open and enjoyed on an off-duty afternoon. So sit back and spend some time with one of America's favorite P.I.'s who has caught more criminals - an imaginations - than any other gumshoe in recent American fiction.

Few characters have the loyal readership of Bill Pronzini's "Nameless Detective." The 14 stories in this collection span his entire 35-year life on the printed page. They include "It's a Lousy World," where Nameless proves that a friend did not commit the crime he was accused of; "Dead Man's Slough" and "The Ghosts of Ragged-Ass Gulch," which take him out of San Francisco into the hinterlands; and "Souls Burning," where he tries to help an old friend make one last try at setting things right.

A collection of short mystery stories by award-winning author Bill Pronzini. In "The Man Who Collected the Shadows", a mild-mannered file clerk with a passion for pulpy detective stories learns that he has supernatural powers. In "Shade Work", a con man picks the wrong marks. Fans of mysteries and detective novels will enjoy listening to these 14 entertaining stories.