Panic!

by Bill Pronzini

Broke and fleeing his shattered marriage, Jack Lennox takes a bus towards the southwestern desert. He takes work with Al Perrins, only to see two well-dressed men murder Perrins the following morning. But they see Lennox, and he becomes both hunter and hunted. A novel of suspense by the author of "The Snatch."

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

173 pages

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Mystery 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

Reviews

[Pibekantina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo arranqué sin nada de fé por mi anterior experiencia con Luchar Por Algo, otro libro de la colección (¿de policiales?) El Séptimo Círculo, pero al final me terminó gustando bastante.

La historia no es nada muy loco pero Pronzini mete unas pinceladas muy bellas en su forma de narrar que me compraron.

Divertida novela policial en dónde los múltiples personajes confluyen en un climax que me tuvo atrapado.

3⭐ y 🧦

[Bob Box · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read in 1975. Hard boiled thriller.

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on my lunch hours over the past week or so. It's a speedy read, and rather dated (some very unintentionally humorous parts, read from a 30-years'-later perspective), but good suspense.

We find the Hero having just been kicked off of a bus traveling through the desert; his ticket is no good. The guy that owns the rest stop agrees to feed and house him if he does some work around the place for a few days.

We find the Heroine running away from her life in New York after a failed love affair...and something else beyond that.

We find the Chief of Police of the nearest town to the rest stop in the desert. He is in a bar. This is where he spends his afternoons, because there is really no crime and he's mostly a figurehead anyway.

We find the Bad Guys on their way to do their job. They are clearly hit men, an old pro and his trainee.

All these people's lives intersect when the Bad Guys shoot the owner of the rest stop before realizing he has 'company.' They then take off after the Hero who has run out the back door into the desert. He stumbles across the Heroine and they try to beat the Bad Guys back to town. No such luck. Then the Chief comes across clues, the Hero "cures" the Heroine of being a lesbian, and the Bad Guys get killed.

Good plot. I can see Pronzini taking a big step in this one, even if there are some really embarrassing bits. Still, very tight and suspenseful.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Panic! is a crime fiction novel about down on their luck people, viscous criminals and people trying to redeem their lives.

It centers on a decent man that made a spur of the moment bad decision and in running away from his bad decision, encounters two killers who pursue their prey through the desert.

It's standard crime fiction reading and a book that to me, read like it was written in the 1950's.

It's the first book written by Bill Pronzini that I've read and while it was standard fare, it has piqued my interest to read more of his crime fiction novels.

[Eric Taggart · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fine. I really don't know what to say- if you are looking for a very mediocre novel of suspense, look no further...or keep looking and find something that is worth reading.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

good suspense but I'm saturated with it