Dragonfire (A Nameless Detective Mystery)

Rating:
Summary: Nameless Hits Bottom
Review: 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 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, four 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 comes next 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, three books prior in the series, the plots become less simple. Beginning with Hoodwink, two books prior in the series, locked room mysteries became important.

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 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 do contain witty references to early mysteries and their characters.

Dragonfire is my favorite of the early Nameless novels. The man has absolutely hit bottom. Nameless has lost his detective's license and will soon be out of money. His friend, police lieutenant Eberhardt has lost his wife to another man. The two of them are consoling one another when Eberhardt answers his door. Gunshots follow, and both Eberhardt and Nameless are seriously wounded. While Eberhardt lies for days in a coma, Nameless drags himself through the streets to find out who did it . . . and why. The answers will chill him to the depths of his soul. At the end, he will be faced with a moral dilemma that brings much personal discomfort.

The story employs wonderful details about San Francisco's Chinatown that make the book seem even more mysterious than the crime itself would suggest. The action is much more fast-paced than in other Nameless novels, and marks a brief return into the tough guy genre featuring hard detectives.

Fans of the earliest Nameless books will probably enjoy this book the most of the next few novels. Dragonfire is a good combination of adding more about Nameless's personal life without losing the great elements of the earlier books. In making changes beginning in Scattershot, the prior book in the series, these books are moving away from the classic hardcore genre into the classic California private detective mystery style of the 1970s and 1980s. Those who enjoy Sue Grafton and Marcia Muller novels will probably be big fans of these later books. Dragonfire is dedicated to Sharon McCone and Marcia Muller.

I was reminded by this book that we sometimes have to make tough moral choices, even when we are committed to always doing the right thing. What is the right thing? Can we find it? Can we create the right results from our own efforts? It's tough, as this book so ably shows.

Rating:
Summary: Almost A Vigilante
Review: Pronzini's nameless detective is by his own admission very much in his own likeness. Nameless is a big Italian who drinks beer, smokes a lot and collects pulp magazines. Pronzini claims that his hero also has the author's same personality and values. Nameless is Pronzini if Pronzini was a private detective.

Nameless verges on becoming the vigilante while working on this case, but he catches himself in time. He also operates outside the law by practicing without a license, witholding evidence, breaking and entering, and failing to report a homicide.

Rating:
Summary: Just when you think things couldn't get any worse...
Review: The Nameless Detective has lost his license and his lady; his friend on the police force, Eberhardt, has been dumped -- his wife left him for another man. How could things get worse? Well, a gunman attacks them and they both get shot. Eb lands in a coma, Nameless takes a bullet in his left arm. As his friend lies unconscious in the hospital, Nameless investigates the crime, which leads him to the narrow alleyways of San Francisco's Chinatown. Lots of great local color in this one; Nameless fans won't be disappointed.