Young, newly rich Verity Daniels claims to be receiving threatening demands for money from a mysterious caller. When Jake Runyon agrees to investigate, it seems a relatively simple matter to expose the extortionist by setting a trap for him.
The case, however, is nowhere near as clear-cut as it first appears.
And Verity Daniels is nowhere near the helpless victim she pretends to be.
A series of surprise revelations culminates in Runyon being falsely accused of a crime that never happened, and he and his employers then become the targets of a vicious legal vendetta. A sudden act of violence turns the case upside down, leading to a much more serious charge against Jake.
With the help of partner Tamara Corbin, Nameless (known as Bill to his associates) puts aside the difficult personal issue that has kept him sidelined at home and works to clear both Runyon's and the agency's good names. The task requires untangling Verity Daniels's bizarre past and present relationships, and before Bill succeeds, he must overcome a deadly threat to his own safety. Nemesis continues author Bill Pronzini's acclaimed Nameless Detective Series.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
**
From Booklist
Starred Review Verity Daniels recently inherited a considerable sum and decides to live the good life in San Francisco. But life isn’t all sunshine and lollipops. Someone is threatening to harm her unless she gives them $10,000. She’s distrustful of the police so she hires Nameless’ detective agency to deal with the threat. With Bill, the agency owner, on temporary leave to deal with the recent trauma his wife experienced (Hellbox, 2012), the case falls to Jake Runyon. The client seems more flirty than terrified, and Jake proceeds warily. A couple of aborted money drops later, Jake finally abandons the case after he rebuffs Daniels’ aggressive sexual advances. She sues, alleging he was the aggressor. As annoying as lawsuits can be, they don’t compare to a murder charge, which is what Runyon faces after Daniels is found dead with a button from Jake’s sport coat clenched in her fist. Bill swings out of partial retirement, and Tamara, the office manager and Internet whiz, shifts into overdrive to help their beleaguered colleague. What they find is a string of embittered former lovers and a fiancéwho likely committed suicide rather than deal with Daniels’ wrath. There isn’t a significant award for crime fiction that Pronzini hasn’t won, and this is a fine sample of his work. His core of protagonists continues to evolve, his plotting is always masterful, and his shifting narrative viewpoints add additional context to the work. Never, ever miss a Nameless case. --Wes Lukowsky
Review
“Can doing first-rate work as consistently as Pronzini really be as effortless as he makes it seem?” ― Kirkus Reviews, starred review on Camouflage
“The Nameless series continues to be a wonder of great plotting, long-term character development, and insight into the chilling banality of evil.” ― Booklist, starred review on Camouflage
“Pronzini is a pro at PI fiction: he never cheats on the reader, respecting the conventions of the hard-boiled detective stories and puzzle mysteries he employs so well.” ― Library Journal on Schemers
Description:
Young, newly rich Verity Daniels claims to be receiving threatening demands for money from a mysterious caller. When Jake Runyon agrees to investigate, it seems a relatively simple matter to expose the extortionist by setting a trap for him. The case, however, is nowhere near as clear-cut as it first appears.
And Verity Daniels is nowhere near the helpless victim she pretends to be.
A series of surprise revelations culminates in Runyon being falsely accused of a crime that never happened, and he and his employers then become the targets of a vicious legal vendetta. A sudden act of violence turns the case upside down, leading to a much more serious charge against Jake.
With the help of partner Tamara Corbin, Nameless (known as Bill to his associates) puts aside the difficult personal issue that has kept him sidelined at home and works to clear both Runyon's and the agency's good names. The task requires untangling Verity Daniels's bizarre past and present relationships, and before Bill succeeds, he must overcome a deadly threat to his own safety.
Nemesis continues author Bill Pronzini's acclaimed Nameless Detective Series.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. **
From Booklist
Starred Review Verity Daniels recently inherited a considerable sum and decides to live the good life in San Francisco. But life isn’t all sunshine and lollipops. Someone is threatening to harm her unless she gives them $10,000. She’s distrustful of the police so she hires Nameless’ detective agency to deal with the threat. With Bill, the agency owner, on temporary leave to deal with the recent trauma his wife experienced (Hellbox, 2012), the case falls to Jake Runyon. The client seems more flirty than terrified, and Jake proceeds warily. A couple of aborted money drops later, Jake finally abandons the case after he rebuffs Daniels’ aggressive sexual advances. She sues, alleging he was the aggressor. As annoying as lawsuits can be, they don’t compare to a murder charge, which is what Runyon faces after Daniels is found dead with a button from Jake’s sport coat clenched in her fist. Bill swings out of partial retirement, and Tamara, the office manager and Internet whiz, shifts into overdrive to help their beleaguered colleague. What they find is a string of embittered former lovers and a fiancéwho likely committed suicide rather than deal with Daniels’ wrath. There isn’t a significant award for crime fiction that Pronzini hasn’t won, and this is a fine sample of his work. His core of protagonists continues to evolve, his plotting is always masterful, and his shifting narrative viewpoints add additional context to the work. Never, ever miss a Nameless case. --Wes Lukowsky
Review
“Can doing first-rate work as consistently as Pronzini really be as effortless as he makes it seem?” ― Kirkus Reviews, starred review on Camouflage “The Nameless series continues to be a wonder of great plotting, long-term character development, and insight into the chilling banality of evil.” ― Booklist, starred review on Camouflage “Pronzini is a pro at PI fiction: he never cheats on the reader, respecting the conventions of the hard-boiled detective stories and puzzle mysteries he employs so well.” ― Library Journal on Schemers