Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780786709427
ISBN number: 0786709421
Label: Carroll & Graf
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 224
Printing Date: January 09, 2002
Publishing house: Carroll & Graf
Sale Popularity Level: 321196
Studio: Carroll & Graf
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Product Description:
A simple case gets murderously complicated when 'Nameless,' Bill Pronzini's seasoned private-eye, exposes a nasty scam that involves junior account executive Jay Cohalan, his unhappy wife, and a mistress with a serious drug problem. It's the kind of case 'Nameless' likes, because bleeders—the blackmailers, extortionists, small-time grifters, and other opportunists who prey on the weak and gullible—top his list of worthless human parasites. So there's nothing he enjoys more than putting another one or two of them out of commission and returning the $75,000 in blackmail cash to its rightful owner. 'Nameless,' though, cannot so easily close his Cohalan file—not when he finds his client face down in the middle of a four-poster bed with a bloody, powder-scorched hole behind the right ear. And only by a hair's breadth does 'Nameless' himself escape a similar cold-blooded fate. His mind and gut wrenched by his brush with death, 'Nameless' embarks on a relentless hunt for his unknown assailant in San Francisco's shadowy underworld. There he encounters bleeders of every ilk before he finds his quarry—and confronts his own demons—in a climax as powerful as it is shocking and unexpected.
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Rated by buyers 
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As a devotee of Bill Pronzini's nameless detective series, I have a few expectations when I very first read one of the entries. I expect narrative sequences describing the local of San Francisco and other northern California climes. I expect plenty of pathos, emotion, and grit as nameless unravels the case, or as the case sometimes unrattles our pulp loving protagonist. I also expect at least one major jarring plot twist to keep me on my toes.
Bleeders met all my expectations and gave me one I wasn't expecting: The major plot twists came very early in the story. There were two major surprises one that nameless was aware of and one that he and I discovered at the same time.
These changes made Bleeders in many ways different to me than the twenty or so series entries that I had read previously. I like that Mr. Pronzini has used this and other devices to keep the series fresh for his fans while still utilizing the elements that I expect from this master of detective fiction.
Rated by buyers -
This is a very fine detective novel. It's a bit of a throw back in that it is in essence an old time gumshoe private eye tracking down an elusive quarry. The manner in which Pronzini unfolds his plot here is unexpected in a very satisfying way, while at the same time sophisticated in its delivery. The author that comes to mind most similar in style to this book is Lawrence Block and his Matthew Scudder series before it started to fall apart. Both Pronzini and Block have the gift of being able to create a scenario that is bigger in scope than your run of the mill end of the world contemporary thriller. These authors do this while presenting the reader with a simple elegant story. Bleeders is very satisfying indeed.
What amazes me most about Bleeders is that this is the twenty-something book in the series. It is obvious that Pronzini has complete control of his medium here. He is not selling you a half-hearted effort based on past success. I don't think that I have picked up one of his nameless detective novels before. I plan on reading them all now. Unlike every other author of a mystery series I have yet to come across one that has sustained such a firm grasp on excellence as Pronzini has with Bleeders. Maybe you could say that about Ed McBain and his 87th precinct books. Most authors fall into predictable story lines that would pale in comparison to the earlier work. If Pronzini has fallen from his high horse, if even a little, his very first nameless detective novels must be something else.
Hey, pick up this book, you will enjoy it.
Rated by buyers 
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Pronzini is always strong, but this one is special. It starts as a good, solid read, with the nameless detective outsmarting some lowlifes who fully deserve their fate, but then takes a darker, more emotional turn that is pitch-perfect and completely convincing. Too often in this genre such changes are overdone, turning the story into something sentimental and self-indulgent -- but Pronzini gets it right. He has a very subtle touch everywhere, from the hero's interactions with his child to his own night terrors. And the suprising ending that one of the other reviewers hated (probably because it does not provide a spasm of cleansing violence) succeeds fully.
Isn't it time that Pronzini is "rediscovered"?
Rated by buyers -
Although Bleeders is a standalone story, you will enjoy the book more if you have also read Hoodwink, Shackles, Hardcase and Crazybone. Few will rate this as more than a three-star book unless they have read at least Crazybone. Bleeders can be considered to be the second book in a new section of the Nameless Detective series. If you enjoy Bleeders, be sure to also read Spook which is the subsequent book.
The title is one of Mr. Pronzini's best. He refers to literal bleeders, those who have been injured or killed in violent ways. He also means to refer to people who drain others in illegal ways such as blackmailers. Finally, he sees bleeders as those whose hearts are open to the troubles of others and empathize with them. The Nameless Detective falls in the last category. He has a hard time turning down those in need . . . even if he is not being paid.
One of the book's more ingenious references is in the dedication:
"For Bill Pronzini
Without whom this series would never have been written."
This series is clearly autobiographical in many ways as a note in Casefile indicates. That symmetry reaches an apex in Bleeders as both Mr. Pronzini and Nameless reach 60.
Each book in the series hooks up with a different type of social problem and a different part of northern California. It was inevitable that one book would address illegal drugs and the harm that they do. Bleeders is that book.
More than anything else, though, Bleeders is a study in psychology. Nameless has been reluctant to change anything about his life. Even after marrying, he retained his old apartment and sometimes stays there alone when he's on a case. Long after other detectives were using electronic surveillance equipment and on-line searches, Nameless was pounding the pavement to get his answers. In recent stories, he's been accommodating those areas more and more by asking others to help him. That leaves the tough guy parts of detection for him. But how much tough guy work can a man of 60 expect to do?
Early in the book, Nameless has the kind of epiphany that few people have except those who have survived a long illness. How will it change his life? At first, he looks into doing what he always has done . . . tracking down the bad guys. Later, he realizes that more fundamental changes are called for.
Although Nameless has married now and adopted a child, Emily, he hasn't really settled into family life. Can you imagine Sam Spade with a wife and child? He would have been much different. Mr. Pronzini is venturing into uncharted territory as he adopts noir mystery fiction to modern day family life. I find the work to be interesting and rewarding to consider, and look forward to the series continuing for many years to come.
The mystery in this one isn't very mysterious. Nameless is being asked to drop off a blackmail payment for a client. Where a sophisticated detective would have dropped a tracking bug into the cash, Nameless stakes himself out and plans to trail whoever picks up the money. It's a great reference back to the very first book in the series, The Snatch, in which Nameless is to make a kidnapping payoff. Nameless suspects that the reasons for blackmail relate back to drugs, and thinks he has it all scoped out. Soon, though, he realizes he has miscalculated when he puts both Emily and himself in the gravest danger.
The action in the mystery goes downhill from there. As Nameless struggles with his experiences, his critical epiphany is late in coming. In the meantime, he takes you into the mean streets of San Francisco where you meet the scum of the earth.
Most people will be disappointed with the ending to this story. That's why I graded it down one star.
As I finished the book, I began to think about how dedicated professionals in whatever line of work can make more room for their families and those they love. Where can we all get the help we need?
Rated by buyers 
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Mr. Pronzini sure let his fans down with this one...thin plot, and an ending that is downright lousy. If I had written this book, I would want to be nameless!
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