The police said it was an accident, the dead woman's sister said it was murder... and that she knew who did it. Nameless isn't certain, but the more he learns about Nancy Mathias's life, the more inclined he is to accept the likelihood of murder--especially as the players still alive become more and more distasteful. Combine that with the situation Jake Runyon, one of the agency's partners, is facing as he searches for a young man who is either a murderer or a victim, and life at their San Francisco detective agency has everyone on edge.
Description:
The police said it was an accident, the dead woman's sister said it was murder... and that she knew who did it. Nameless isn't certain, but the more he learns about Nancy Mathias's life, the more inclined he is to accept the likelihood of murder--especially as the players still alive become more and more distasteful. Combine that with the situation Jake Runyon, one of the agency's partners, is facing as he searches for a young man who is either a murderer or a victim, and life at their San Francisco detective agency has everyone on edge.
From Publishers Weekly
Tight writing and an unromantic portrayal of the work of a PI distinguish Shamus-winner Pronzini's solid 32nd entry in his Nameless Detective series (after 2006's Mourners). Distracted by wife Kerry's bout with breast cancer, Nameless is reluctant to return to work in his San Francisco office, especially when a former client, Celeste Ogden, seeks to retain his services again. Several years earlier, Ogden had hired Nameless to dig into the background of her sister's fiancé, a software mogul named Brandon Mathias, but the gumshoe's close scrutiny failed to uncover anything fishy. Now, Ogden's sister has died in a fall at her home, and Ogden wants Nameless to prove that Mathias killed her. Despite a less engaging subplot in which one of Nameless's associates tracks down an arsonist, this installment is sure to please series fans. (July)
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From Booklist
"Nameless" did a background check on Celeste Ogden's future brother-in-law, Brandon is Mathias, a few years back but was unable to unearth the sinister devil Celeste knew was buried beneath the facade of an urbane, successful businessman. Now her sister, Nancy, is dead, and Celeste is convinced that Brandon is responsible. Even though the police are convinced it was an accidental death--Brandon was supposedly out of town when Nancy took her deadly tumble down the stairs--Celeste prods Nameless into investigating. Meanwhile, Jake Runyon, an operative for Nameless' San Francisco agency, gets tangled up in a brutal murder-arson case while serving a subpoena. This is another solid--if not outstanding--entry in an organic series that is gradually reinventing itself. Through 31 novels over at least 30 years, Nameless has gained a name, a wife, and a daughter; discovered the joy of living; and solved a lot of murders. As much as one can in a series, Pronzini has taken us on a real-time journey through the life of an truly memorable character. Wes Lukowsky
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