Nameless Detective
| Nameless Detective | |
|---|---|
First appearance | "It's A Lousy World" (short story, 1968) |
Last appearance | Endgame (novel, 2017) |
| Created by | Bill Pronzini |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Private detective |
| Nationality | American |
The Nameless Detective is the protagonist in a long-running mystery series by Bill Pronzini set in the San Francisco area.
Overview
The character made his debut in the short story "It's a Lousy World", published in 1968. The first novel, The Snatch, was published in 1971. The series concluded in 2017 with the novel Endgame. There are 40 novels featuring "Nameless," several novellas, and four short story collections.
Though the character's full name is never revealed in the series (his first name is Bill), some background details of the detective's life have been occasionally mentioned. An Italian American (Quarry, 1992), born and raised in Outer Mission, San Francisco (Zigzag, 2016), he was raised by a devoutly Roman Catholic mother, and an abusive alcoholic father, as described in Demons (1993). Nameless served in U.S. military intelligence during the Vietnam War era, and then became a police officer before working as a private investigator. He had an on-again, off-again romance with a woman named Kerry; the pair married in Hardcase (1995). He is a connoisseur of beer, collects old pulp magazines, and generally does not carry a firearm. As the character ages, he eases into semi-retirement in the 2000s (when he's in his seventies), coming into the agency he founded two days a week. In the later novels and stories, investigations and stories often focus as much on his younger partners Jake and Tamara as they do on "Nameless". Twice at least, other characters call the usually unnamed character "Bill" : In Boobytrap (1998) and in Strangers (2014).
Thrilling Detective cites Pronzini as stating that when he imagines the Nameless Detective, he sees Bill Pronzini.[1] The Readers' Advisory Guide to Mystery describes Nameless as rooted in the classic private investigators of American mystery fiction, but updated as a "more realistic detective, someone who ages and changes" over the course of the series.[2]
Two of the novels have been co-written with other authors: Twospot with Colin Wilcox, and Double with Marcia Muller, Pronzini's wife. Each book paired Nameless with one of the other writer's own respective sleuths: Wilcox's Frank Hastings, and Muller's Sharon McCone.
Nameless Detective bibliography
Novels
- The Snatch, Random House, (1971)
- The Vanished, Random House, (1973)
- Undercurrent, Random House, (1973)
- Blowback, Random House, (1977)
- Twospot, (With Collin Wilcox, crossover with Wilcox's Frank Hastings series), Putnam, (1978)
- Labyrinth, St. Martin's, (1980)
- Hoodwink, St. Martin's, (1981)
- Scattershot, St. Martin's, (1982)
- Dragonfire, St. Martin's, (1982)
- Bindlestiff, St. Martin's, (1983)
- Quicksilver, St. Martin's, (1984)
- Nightshades, St. Martin's, (1984)
- Double (With Marcia Muller, crossover with Muller's Sharon McCone series), St. Martin's, (1984)
- Bones, St. Martin's, (1985)
- Deadfall, St. Martin's, (1986)
- Shackles, St. Martin's, (1988)
- Jackpot, Delacorte, (1990)
- Breakdown, Delacorte, (1991)
- Quarry, Delacorte, (1992)
- Epitaphs, Delacorte, (1992)
- Demons, Delacorte, (1993)
- Hardcase, Delacorte, (1995)
- Sentinels, Carroll & Graf, (1996)
- Illusions, Carroll & Graf, (1997)
- Boobytrap, Carroll & Graf, (1998)
- Crazybone, Carroll & Graf, (2000)
- Bleeders, Carroll & Graf, (2002)
- Spook, Carroll & Graf, (2003)
- Nightcrawlers, Forge Books, (2005)
- Mourners, Forge Books, (2006)
- Savages, Forge Books, (2007)
- Fever, Forge Books, (2008)
- Schemers, Forge Books, (2009)
- Betrayers, Forge Books, (2010)
- Camouflage, Forge Books, (2011)
- Hellbox, Forge Books, (2012)
- Nemesis, Forge Books, 2013
- Strangers, Forge Books, 2014
- Vixen, Forge Books, 2015
- Endgame, Forge Books, 2017
Novellas and short stories
- Booktaker, (novella), Reader’s Digest, 1982
- Case File (short stories), St. Martin's, (1983)
- Spadework (short stories), Crippen & Landru, (1996)
- Scenarios (short stories), Forge Books, (2005)
- Kinsmen, (novella), Cemetery Dance Publications, (2012)
- Femme, (novella), Cemetery Dance Publications, (2012)
- ZigZag, (collection), Forge Books, 2016
References
- ↑ Thrilling Detective entry on Nameless Detective
- ↑ Charles, John; Clark, Candace; Hamilton-Selway, Joanne; Morrison, Joanna (2012). The Readers' Advisory Guide to Mystery. American Library Association. ISBN 9780838911136.