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Nameless Detective #22
Hardcase
Fresh from his recent marriage, the Nameless Detective returns to what appears to be a routine investigation, an adoption case. While searching through the effects of her recently deceased mother, 23-year-old Melanie Ann Aldrich discovers some papers which show she was adopted. With her father dead as well, it seems unlikely she will ever find out why she was never told. So she hires Nameless to find her true parents.
In the course of his investigation, Nameless quickly learns why Melanie's parents never told her she was adopted and why everyone is so eager to keep it quiet. Melanie's biological mother, an emotionally disturbed young woman who died in her early twenties of a brain tumor, was raped by a then teenage delinquent named Steven Chehalis. In his attempt to piece together the past, Nameless tracks down Chehalis only to discover that he's a serial rapist responsible for a large number of rapes and at least two murders as well.
Nameless finds himself in a race to bring Chehalis to justice. Chehalis, aware of Nameless's intention, sets his psychotic sights on both his biological daughter, Melanie, and Nameless's new bride. Hardcase is Pronzini's most suspenseful mystery to date.
In the course of his investigation, Nameless quickly learns why Melanie's parents never told her she was adopted and why everyone is so eager to keep it quiet. Melanie's biological mother, an emotionally disturbed young woman who died in her early twenties of a brain tumor, was raped by a then teenage delinquent named Steven Chehalis. In his attempt to piece together the past, Nameless tracks down Chehalis only to discover that he's a serial rapist responsible for a large number of rapes and at least two murders as well.
Nameless finds himself in a race to bring Chehalis to justice. Chehalis, aware of Nameless's intention, sets his psychotic sights on both his biological daughter, Melanie, and Nameless's new bride. Hardcase is Pronzini's most suspenseful mystery to date.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1995
5 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Bill Pronzini
627 books236 followersMystery Writers of America Awards "Grand Master" 2008
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1999) for Boobytrap
Edgar Awards Best Novel nominee (1998) for A Wasteland of Strangers
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) for Sentinels
Shamus Awards "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) 1987
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1982) for Hoodwink
Married to author Marcia Muller.
Pseudonyms:
Robert Hart Davis (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann)
Jack Foxx
William Jeffrey (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann)
Alex Saxon
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1999) for Boobytrap
Edgar Awards Best Novel nominee (1998) for A Wasteland of Strangers
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) for Sentinels
Shamus Awards "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) 1987
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1982) for Hoodwink
Married to author Marcia Muller.
Pseudonyms:
Robert Hart Davis (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann)
Jack Foxx
William Jeffrey (collaboration with Jeffrey M. Wallmann)
Alex Saxon
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 2, 2019
This 22nd entry in the Nameless Detective series is a thoroughly successful “entertainment” (to use Graham Greene’s phrase) which is not surprising, since Bill Pronzini is a real pro.
It starts out, as many mysteries do, with what seems to be a straightforward problem. Melanie Aldrich, going through the family papers after her mother’s death, has just learned that she is adopted, and she wants to know her “real identity”: who her parents were, and if either or both are alive. At first, Nameless gets stonewalled, for the details of Melanie’s conception and birth are sad and shabby, and nobody related the case wishes to dredge up the past the past. But our hero keeps digging, and soon he uncovers, along with the past, a violent vengeful person who threatens not only Melanie, but Nameless and his new wife Kerry too.
Yes, that’s right, I said “wife.” This is one of the reasons why Hardcase is essential reading for Nameless fans: the first chapter recounts the wedding of our detective and his longtime companion Kerry. Short version: everything go wrong (hilariously), but everything turns out alright.
In addition, this book, first published in 1995, gives us an account of Nameless’ tardy entry into the Digital Age. No, he doesn’t learn to operate the computer itself; that would be too much to ask. Instead, he hires a “hacker,” Tamara Corbin, an African American college girl with a chip on her shoulder. (She and Nameless get off to a bad start, but they soon develop a mutual respect. She is an interesting character, a good foil for Namless and I hope she’ll be around for many more books to come.
November 10, 2014
PROTAGONIST: Nameless Detective
SETTING: San Francisco area
SERIES: #22 of 41
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Nameless is hired by a young woman who wants to know the identity of her birth parents. There's not much information to go on, but he manages to figure out a few things that get him started. He finds out who her parents are but is reluctant to reveal the truth to her, which leads to an unfortunate conclusion. Before this all began, Nameless and his longtime significant other, Kerry, finally get married. A competent entry in the series, but not all that enthralling.
SETTING: San Francisco area
SERIES: #22 of 41
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Nameless is hired by a young woman who wants to know the identity of her birth parents. There's not much information to go on, but he manages to figure out a few things that get him started. He finds out who her parents are but is reluctant to reveal the truth to her, which leads to an unfortunate conclusion. Before this all began, Nameless and his longtime significant other, Kerry, finally get married. A competent entry in the series, but not all that enthralling.
December 23, 2017
#22 in the Nameless Detective series. "Nameless" is back in this 1995 offering, one of the few entries I missed of the first 30 of author Pronzini's long running series. For long time series fans, Nameless' wedding to Kerry is a landmark and so is his initial prickly interview with Tamara, looking for a part time position as computer expert for technophobe Nameless.
Nameless Detective, the California PI, approaching 60, marries his longtime girlfriend, Kerry. After a civil ceremony, Nameless takes on a client who wants him to find her birthparents. Melanie Ann Aldrich has just discovered that she was adopted and is sure there's a reason her adoptive parents, who are deceased, kept this information from her. Nameless fairly quickly identifies the woman's birthparents, but that's just the beginning. Melanie was conceived when a young man raped a disturbed young woman. Nameless discovers that the man, who is now middle-aged and living in a San Jose, Calif., suburb, may be responsible for a series of rapes and murders over a 20-year period. When Nameless' investigation gets too close to the suspect, the women in the case - Melanie, the man's wife and even Kerry - are threatened.
Nameless Detective, the California PI, approaching 60, marries his longtime girlfriend, Kerry. After a civil ceremony, Nameless takes on a client who wants him to find her birthparents. Melanie Ann Aldrich has just discovered that she was adopted and is sure there's a reason her adoptive parents, who are deceased, kept this information from her. Nameless fairly quickly identifies the woman's birthparents, but that's just the beginning. Melanie was conceived when a young man raped a disturbed young woman. Nameless discovers that the man, who is now middle-aged and living in a San Jose, Calif., suburb, may be responsible for a series of rapes and murders over a 20-year period. When Nameless' investigation gets too close to the suspect, the women in the case - Melanie, the man's wife and even Kerry - are threatened.
August 9, 2021
Still going strong! This one was rough. Rough things happening, rough things almost happening.
March 3, 2008
book on tape
really weak ambling plot. No character development.
no redeeming value.
really weak ambling plot. No character development.
no redeeming value.
June 25, 2018
"The deputy was still alive: twitching a little now, moaning softly. [...] Shot once, in the back just above the right kidney. He'd lost a lot of blood already, the bright arterial kind."
I have recently reviewed Bill Pronzini's non-series novel The Other Side of Silence and quite liked it so I decided to return to his famous "Nameless Detective" series of which I had read two or three installments many years ago. Hardcase (1995) comes from about mid-period of the series and begins with a momentous event: the Narrator-Detective-Whose-Name-We-Will-Never-Learn-But-It-Is-Likely-Italian (let's call him ND) is marrying his girlfriend in San Francisco. The opening scenes are designed to be hilarious, but the comedic payoff is meager and the humor low-brow and quite cliché. Mercifully, the crime thread soon begins: a twenty-three-year-old woman, who works as a model, hires ND to find her real parents. She has just found out that she had been adopted.
The case takes ND to a small farm town near Lodi in Central Valley in California where he learns some gruesome facts from the past that are related to the case. We follow the interesting and fast plot through various places in the Bay Area and - for once - we have a somewhat believable dramatic twist towards the end. The Central Valley scenery is quite well captured.
The other thread of the plot focuses on ND attempting to hire a technology-savvy young assistant. Oh no, not another instance of the "teenager computer whiz" horrible cliché! But there is a cool angle on this. The assistant is a young female African-American student with attitude. The scene of their first meeting is realistic, well-written, and addresses issues of race so much better than the usual cloying, inept, and well-meant-but-counterproductive writing by authors like John Shannon.
While Hardcase is mainly an entertainment read it poses two serious questions. The first concerns the responsibilities of a private detective to their client. What obligation do they have to convey all gathered information to the client if - to the best of their judgment - the information will be harmful to the client? Do they have a right to "play God"? The second is perhaps a bit of my own personal peeve: were I adopted would I be so insistent on knowing who my biological parents were? I emphatically say "no" - does this make me not normal? Why do people need to know who their biological parents were?
There are shades of Ross Macdonald, one of my most favorite writers of all time, in Mr. Pronzini's novel. The prose, though, is not as accomplished as in best works by Macdonald: not as lyrical and not as economical. Still, the novel perfectly fits this website. It is a good read.
Three stars.
I have recently reviewed Bill Pronzini's non-series novel The Other Side of Silence and quite liked it so I decided to return to his famous "Nameless Detective" series of which I had read two or three installments many years ago. Hardcase (1995) comes from about mid-period of the series and begins with a momentous event: the Narrator-Detective-Whose-Name-We-Will-Never-Learn-But-It-Is-Likely-Italian (let's call him ND) is marrying his girlfriend in San Francisco. The opening scenes are designed to be hilarious, but the comedic payoff is meager and the humor low-brow and quite cliché. Mercifully, the crime thread soon begins: a twenty-three-year-old woman, who works as a model, hires ND to find her real parents. She has just found out that she had been adopted.
The case takes ND to a small farm town near Lodi in Central Valley in California where he learns some gruesome facts from the past that are related to the case. We follow the interesting and fast plot through various places in the Bay Area and - for once - we have a somewhat believable dramatic twist towards the end. The Central Valley scenery is quite well captured.
The other thread of the plot focuses on ND attempting to hire a technology-savvy young assistant. Oh no, not another instance of the "teenager computer whiz" horrible cliché! But there is a cool angle on this. The assistant is a young female African-American student with attitude. The scene of their first meeting is realistic, well-written, and addresses issues of race so much better than the usual cloying, inept, and well-meant-but-counterproductive writing by authors like John Shannon.
While Hardcase is mainly an entertainment read it poses two serious questions. The first concerns the responsibilities of a private detective to their client. What obligation do they have to convey all gathered information to the client if - to the best of their judgment - the information will be harmful to the client? Do they have a right to "play God"? The second is perhaps a bit of my own personal peeve: were I adopted would I be so insistent on knowing who my biological parents were? I emphatically say "no" - does this make me not normal? Why do people need to know who their biological parents were?
There are shades of Ross Macdonald, one of my most favorite writers of all time, in Mr. Pronzini's novel. The prose, though, is not as accomplished as in best works by Macdonald: not as lyrical and not as economical. Still, the novel perfectly fits this website. It is a good read.
Three stars.
July 15, 2018
Though this novel starts off as a very mundane adoption search, it quickly pivots into the story of a serial rapist who has been terrorizing California for decades. It might just be because I'm reading it in the modern-day, when the Golden State Killer was recently caught, but it makes me wonder if the sociopath then known as the Original Night Stalker or the East Area Rapist was on Pronzini's mind. The two criminals certainly have similar genesises in Sacramento. Whichever the case, it makes the novel that much more fascinating when read from the far side of April 2018.
Unfortunately, the novel takes a notable turn for the worse in its later half. That starts with Nameless' immoral, stupid, and criminal actions, which should be career ending. He takes a client's money after having decided not to tell her what she's learned, then violates her confidentiality by talking about her to a man that he already suspects to be very dangerous.
The worst problem with this piled-upon stupidity is that most of it isn't acknowledged in the book, and in fact the stupid ball is passed around quite a bit, as a number of other characters all make decisions that are unbelievable, out-of-character, or both. Kerry decides to drive up on her own for their honeymoon; Nameless' new assistant gives out their address; and any number of police are unable or said to be unlikely to respond to calls about a murdering rapist on the stalk for hours at a time. This sloppy, sloppy writing is all purely in service of moving the plot along to a predetermined point, but Pronzini is so blatantly manipulative in doing so that it drags down the whole book.
And then there's the rapist's final motive, when he decides to start harming women just to get vengeance on "their" men. It's the whole fridging-women trope, but it's actually made concrete in the book as a character's motive. It goes beyond disturbing to disgusting, and I don't just mean disgust with the character. I mean, Pronzini gets a little bit of a pass because this book was written right around the time that Kyle Raynor was finding his girlfriend in a refrigerator, and years before Gail Simone popularized it as a trope ... but it's still a very bad look, especially as I vaguely recall Nameless finding Kerry bloodied in a closet in some recent book's finale.
Pronzini has never been the writer that his wife Marcia Muller is, but his spare, puzzle-oriented books sometimes hit the spot. However, this book, with its manipulative plotting and its problematic messaging (intentional or not) may finally be enough to put me off continuing with Nameless.
Unfortunately, the novel takes a notable turn for the worse in its later half. That starts with Nameless' immoral, stupid, and criminal actions, which should be career ending. He takes a client's money after having decided not to tell her what she's learned, then violates her confidentiality by talking about her to a man that he already suspects to be very dangerous.
The worst problem with this piled-upon stupidity is that most of it isn't acknowledged in the book, and in fact the stupid ball is passed around quite a bit, as a number of other characters all make decisions that are unbelievable, out-of-character, or both. Kerry decides to drive up on her own for their honeymoon; Nameless' new assistant gives out their address; and any number of police are unable or said to be unlikely to respond to calls about a murdering rapist on the stalk for hours at a time. This sloppy, sloppy writing is all purely in service of moving the plot along to a predetermined point, but Pronzini is so blatantly manipulative in doing so that it drags down the whole book.
And then there's the rapist's final motive, when he decides to start harming women just to get vengeance on "their" men. It's the whole fridging-women trope, but it's actually made concrete in the book as a character's motive. It goes beyond disturbing to disgusting, and I don't just mean disgust with the character. I mean, Pronzini gets a little bit of a pass because this book was written right around the time that Kyle Raynor was finding his girlfriend in a refrigerator, and years before Gail Simone popularized it as a trope ... but it's still a very bad look, especially as I vaguely recall Nameless finding Kerry bloodied in a closet in some recent book's finale.
Pronzini has never been the writer that his wife Marcia Muller is, but his spare, puzzle-oriented books sometimes hit the spot. However, this book, with its manipulative plotting and its problematic messaging (intentional or not) may finally be enough to put me off continuing with Nameless.
September 29, 2017
Damn that was tense! When Namless is hired to help a young lady find her birth parents things look normal. But when there is a crime involved it gets harder. And when the crime happend in a small town that wants the past to stay in the past, it gets harder yet. And tension explodes when one of the birth parents comes looking for revenge. This turn into a real Hardcase!
November 10, 2017
Mystery Story
I thought I had read all of Prozini's Nameless detective stories, but somehow I missed this one. It was a nice surprise to stumble across it and then get to read it. His stories are always nimble and a pleasure to read. They are always satisfying.
I thought I had read all of Prozini's Nameless detective stories, but somehow I missed this one. It was a nice surprise to stumble across it and then get to read it. His stories are always nimble and a pleasure to read. They are always satisfying.
April 28, 2023
3.5 *
A Nameless private detective takes on the search for the birth parents of an adopted young woman and finds out some disturbing information. Good suspense but not as much mystery as I would've liked.
A Nameless private detective takes on the search for the birth parents of an adopted young woman and finds out some disturbing information. Good suspense but not as much mystery as I would've liked.
September 25, 2019
Slow start but filled in origins from later books. Ultimately solid story.
October 31, 2020
Another great story with the usual Nameless introspection and social commentary.
September 12, 2013
Here is a list of all the books (in order) Happy Reading.
1971 The Snatch Random House
1973 The Vanished Random House
1973 Undercurrents Random House
1977 Blowback Ramdom House
1978 Twospot Putman
1980 Laybrinth St. Martin's Press
1980 A Killing In Xanadu Waves Press
1981 Hoodwinked St. Martin's Press
1982 Scattershot St. Martin's Press
1982 Dragonfire St. Martin's Press
1983 Bindlestiff St. Martin's Press
1983 Casefile St. Martin's Press
1984 Quicksilver St. Martin's Press
1984 Nightshades St. Martin's Press
1984 Double St. Martin's Press
1985 Bones St. Martin's Press
1985 Grave Yard Plots St. Martin's Press
1886 Dreadfall St. Martin's Press
1988 Shackles St. Martin's Press
1988 Small Fellonies St. Martin's Press
1990 Jackpot Delacorte
1991 Breakdown Delacorte
1992 Quarry Delacorte
1992 Epitaths Delacorte
1993 Demons Delacorte
1995 Hardcase Delacorte
1996 Spadework Crippen & Landru
1996 Sentinels Carroll & Graf
1997 Illusions Carroll & Graf
1998 Boobytrap Carroll & Graf
1999 Sluths Five Star
1999 Duo Five Star
2000 Crazybones Carroll & Graf
2002 Bleeders Carroll & Graf
2003 Spook Carroll & Graf
2003 Scenarios Five Star
2005 Nightcrawlers Forge
2006 Mourners Forge
2007 Savages Forge
2008 Feaver Forge
2009 Schemers Forge
2010 Betrayers Forge
2011 Camouflage Forge
2012 Hellbox Forge
2012 Kinsmen Cemetery Dance
2012 Femme Cemetery Dance
2013 Nemesis Forge
1971 The Snatch Random House
1973 The Vanished Random House
1973 Undercurrents Random House
1977 Blowback Ramdom House
1978 Twospot Putman
1980 Laybrinth St. Martin's Press
1980 A Killing In Xanadu Waves Press
1981 Hoodwinked St. Martin's Press
1982 Scattershot St. Martin's Press
1982 Dragonfire St. Martin's Press
1983 Bindlestiff St. Martin's Press
1983 Casefile St. Martin's Press
1984 Quicksilver St. Martin's Press
1984 Nightshades St. Martin's Press
1984 Double St. Martin's Press
1985 Bones St. Martin's Press
1985 Grave Yard Plots St. Martin's Press
1886 Dreadfall St. Martin's Press
1988 Shackles St. Martin's Press
1988 Small Fellonies St. Martin's Press
1990 Jackpot Delacorte
1991 Breakdown Delacorte
1992 Quarry Delacorte
1992 Epitaths Delacorte
1993 Demons Delacorte
1995 Hardcase Delacorte
1996 Spadework Crippen & Landru
1996 Sentinels Carroll & Graf
1997 Illusions Carroll & Graf
1998 Boobytrap Carroll & Graf
1999 Sluths Five Star
1999 Duo Five Star
2000 Crazybones Carroll & Graf
2002 Bleeders Carroll & Graf
2003 Spook Carroll & Graf
2003 Scenarios Five Star
2005 Nightcrawlers Forge
2006 Mourners Forge
2007 Savages Forge
2008 Feaver Forge
2009 Schemers Forge
2010 Betrayers Forge
2011 Camouflage Forge
2012 Hellbox Forge
2012 Kinsmen Cemetery Dance
2012 Femme Cemetery Dance
2013 Nemesis Forge
May 29, 2012
Concise and compelling. Nameless embarks on a typical find your adopted parents case and encounters a wall of silence. He finally breaks the wall and uncovers unsettling info and then has to wrestle with the truth. Should he should tell the client? Meanwhile as a result of his search he pursues on his own dime a scumbag. You think it's going to wrap up but Pronzini throws some real twists and turns and it gets very personal.
November 24, 2012
Bill Pronzini is a master storyteller! It not great literature, I admit, but he weaves a marvelous tale of mystery & suspense. To my way of thinking, he is a much better writer than several of those who are consistently on the best seller lists. Too bad more people haven't discovered him. His books are short & an easy read, & I love his Nameless Detective series. Hardcase is another chapter in the life of Nameless. I'm glad to see him find some happiness & make a move into the modern age.
March 31, 2011
stupid, blabbermouth Nameless screwed up big
May 2, 2012
Hardboiled detective novel. I haven't read the others in the series so was at a disadvantage. 3-
June 17, 2017
Evil among us, so many more we do not know.
May 8, 2014
Very satisfying read. Good mystery, good character development .. good feeling.
Read
April 6, 2014Old style detective series with excellent writing, plots and characters throughout
November 12, 2014
Great detective story
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews