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Title: Quicksilver (A Nameless Detective Mystery) by Bill Pronzini, Nancy Parent ISBN: 0-7701-0704-4 Publisher: Paperjacks Pub. Date: November, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $3.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Chilling Look at Memory
Comment: In 1971, author Bill Pronzini was only 27 when he wrote The Snatch, building on a shorter and different version of the story that appeared in the May 1969 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine under the same title. With the publication of this book, one of detective fiction's great characters was born with full fledged power and authenticity. If you have not yet read the 25 plus Nameless Detective novels by Mr. Pronzini, you have a major treat ahead of you. Many of these are now out-of-print, so be sure to check your library for holdings in near-by cities.
The Nameless Detective is referred to that way because Mr. Pronzini never supplies a name until Twospot, several books prior in the series, when police lieutenant Frank Hastings tells what his poker playing friends call Nameless, employing a first name. But it's never acknowledged by Nameless that this is his name . . . so it's probably a nickname. That name is not then used again until much later in the series in Nightshades. You can learn about why Nameless has no name in an author's note in Case File, which precedes Quicksilver in the series.
Mr. Pronzini presents a world in which people take evil actions to further selfish interests, and many innocents struggle because of that selfishness. The police and private investigators suffer along with the victims, for evil-doing has painful consequences for everyone. Mr. Pronzini's plots are complex, yet he provides plenty of clues to help you identify the evil-doer on your own. Despite the transparency of many of the early plots, he successfully uses plot complications to keep the action interesting and fresh. Beginning with Labyrinth, the plots become less simple.
But the reason to read the books is because of the character development for the Nameless Detective. Nameless is a former police officer in San Francisco who collects pulp fiction about tough private detectives. Overcome by the evil he sees as a police officer and drawn to the complex imagery of the strong, silent hero who rights wrongs, Nameless tries to live that role as a private detective. But he has trouble getting clients, and operating as a one-man shop causes him to lead a lonely existence. In his personal life, his career keeps women at a distance. Beginning with Hoodwink, he has a love interest, Kerry Wade, who is the daughter of two ex-pulp authors. Like a medieval knight errant, he sticks to his vows and pursues doing the right thing . . . even when it doesn't pay. At the same time, he's very aware of art, culture and popular trends. And he doesn't like much of what he sees. He's also skeptical about technology, and doesn't want to become a snooper using electronic gadgets. He's a proud Italian in his 50's, could stand to lose some weight, and is really messy. So there's an element of Don Quixote here, too.
The books are also written in a more sophisticated version of the pulp fiction style, employing a better writing style and greater range through language and plot. The whole experience is like looking at an image in a series of mirrors that reflect into infinity.
These books are a must for those who love the noir style and the modern fans of tough detectives with a heart of gold like Spenser . . . and can live without the wise cracks and repartee. Beginning with Scattershot though, the books increasingly contain witty references to early mysteries and their characters.
In Quicksilver, we find Dragonfire's actions coming to completion. Nameless has agreed to take on Eberhardt as his partner . . . who will begin on Monday. They've taken on a new office, in a better neighborhood. The only problem are . . . the views don't exist and the light fixture as an obscene resemblance to an intimate part of the male anatomy.
Nameless gets an unexpected and unusual case. A young woman, Haruko Gage, is getting expensive presents from an unknown admirer. Ms. Gage wants to find out what it is all about. Nameless feels like he can quickly clear it up. Instead, he drops into one of his most chilling cases in which the evil spreads in all directions and from far in the past.
The story takes a close look at the Japanese-American community in California dating back to the internment camps in 1942. It's an important reminder of this shameful part of our nation's history.
Although the book pursues a typical mystery's path to a solution by solving clues, the context of the book is Byzantine in its connections, Oriental in its actions and Gothic in many of its scenes. The combination is unsettling and more than a little bizarre. As a result, the style overcomes the mystery and left me feeling like I was reading a horror tale. This book is my least favorite in the series, but one that is still well worth reading because of the power in the writing to move the reader.
As I finished the book, I couldn't help but think about Lady Macbeth and her futile efforts to wash the blood from her hands. Where do we have such guilt today that cannot be easily removed?
Rating: 4
Summary: THE LAST SOLO
Comment: Against his better judgement and the advice of his friends, Nameless decides to take on a partner, his old friend Eberhardt. Gone are the fourteen years of him being the lone wolf detective but before he makes the final commitment he has just one more case to solve.
It is an easy case. Find out who is sending unwanted gifts to his client. What could be simpler? As Nameless finds out there is no such thing as a simple case. His clients previous lovers and aquaintances leads him into the world of Japanese American culture. Travel with him to San Francisco's Japantown where he finds himself confronting the Yakazu, the equivilent of the Italian Mafia. While there he finds the hacked up body of one of its members which further leads him into a search where bizarre things from the past make their mark.
Pronzini takes us on a great adventure with Nameless in exploring the secrets of the relocation centers for Japanese-Americans during World War II and the psychological damage that experience has on the present. Nameless encounters a web of interconnected murders which lead back to his client. Why they are happening and the connection to the relocation camps is a mystery that only Nameless can solve.
Quicksilver is a thriller which will keep you guessing but will also make you aware of the shameful incident in the United State's past. Nameless takes us down this dangerous and convoluted pathway where there may not be an easy return. I enjoyed this thriller because it wove an important historical event with the plot. I appreciated the tension built up in the characters as they deal with theirnown demons. Pronzini's characterization of Japanese Americans can come across as stereotypical but the basic plot remains strong. You will find yourself totally immersed in this great adventure of Nameless's last solo case.
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