Vixen A nameless detective novel

Nameless, the venerable, semi-retired San Francisco private eye, meets Cory Beckett, a model, as a favor to an associate, bail bondsman Abe Melikian. Abe is holding the ticket on Cory's younger brother, Kenneth, who is accused of stealing a valuable necklace from his employers, the Voorhees family. Cory says Kenneth is a drug addict, but when one of Nameless' operatives, Jake Runyon, tracks down Kenneth, he finds not an addict but a very scared young man who claims he was framed by his sister and is terrified of her. Turns out Cory's true vocation is marrying and divorcing rich men such as Andrew Voorhees. Sometimes, it's rumored, she kills the rich guys' wives to clear a path. When Mrs. Voorhees turns up dead, apparently a suicide, Nameless takes an interest, even though he has no client. This is a typical Nameless mystery: engrossing, tightly plotted and thought provoking. Pronzini is one of the modern masters of the Dashiell Hammett–style hard-boiled detective story, and his appeal to old-school crime fiction readers remains high. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

In the heavy-handed prologue of MWA Grand Master Pronzini's 40th Nameless Detective novel (after 2014's Strangers), the San Francisco PI links Cory Beckett, "a femme fatale in the classic mode," with a "brand of evil like nothing I could ever have imagined." What follows doesn't live up to that hype. Bail bondsman Abe Melikian approaches Nameless on Cory's behalf to track down her brother, Kenneth, who's been arrested for stealing a diamond necklace belonging to a powerful union leader's wife. Kenneth has violated the terms of his bail by leaving the city without permission, and Nameless asks his partner, Jake Runyon, to trace him. When Jake finds Kenneth, the defendant claims that he was framed by his sister. The case soon escalates to murder. Nameless and his colleagues make an odd ethical choice that will have some readers scratching their heads, and the vicissitudes of the leads' personal lives seem tacked on. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency. (June) [Page ]. Copyright 2014 PWxyz LLC

"When Nameless is hired by Cory Beckett, a beautiful young woman who claims to be a model, to find her missing brother, Kenneth, it seems to be a routine matter. Kenneth has fled San Francisco in a drug-induced panic to avoid trial on a charge of stealing a valuable necklace from the alcoholic wife of the man for whom he works, wealthy yachtsman Andrew Vorhees. When agency operative Jake Runyon locates and questions the frightened young man, Cory Beckett's motives come into question and the case takes ondarkly sinister complexities. Cory lied to Nameless about her livelihood, her relationship with Vorhees, her brother's alleged drug use, and the nature of his alleged crime. Not only is she Andrew Vorhees' mistress, Cory has a secret second lover, factory owner Frank Chaleen, with whom she conspired to frame Kenneth. This bizarre sibling betrayal is part of a diabolical plan that reveals her to be a deadly, designing woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her warped desires. A series of twists and turns drive the story to a truly shocking climax. For not until then do the detectives realize how devilish Cory Beckett really is, a femme fatale who has brought something new to the species--new, and terrible"--

Hired by a self-proclaimed model to find her missing brother, Nameless questions his client's motives when he discovers inaccuracies in her story and sinister complexities that undermine the case.

Hired by a self-proclaimed model to find her missing brother, Nameless questions his client's motives when he discovers inaccuracies in her story and sinister complexities that undermine the case. By the award-winning author of Nemesis.

When Nameless is hired by Cory Beckett, a beautiful young woman who claims to be a model, to find her missing brother, Kenneth, it seems to be a routine matter. Kenneth has fled San Francisco in a drug-induced panic to avoid trial on a charge of stealing a valuable necklace from the alcoholic wife of the man for whom he works, wealthy yachtsman Andrew Vorhees. When agency operative Jake Runyon locates and questions the frightened young man, Cory Beckett's motives come into question and the case takes on darkly sinister complexities.Cory lied to Nameless about her livelihood, her relationship with Vorhees, her brother's alleged drug use, and the nature of his alleged crime. Not only is she Andrew Vorhees' mistress, Cory has a secret second lover, factory owner Frank Chaleen, with whom she conspired to frame Kenneth. This bizarre sibling betrayal is part of a diabolical plan that reveals her to be a deadly, designing woman who will stop at nothing to achieve her warped desires.A series of twists and turns drive the story to a truly shocking climax. For not until then do the detectives realize how devilish Cory Beckett really is, a femme fatale who has brought something new to the species—new, and terrible. Bill Pronzini's Vixen is the latest in the Nameless Detective series, the longest-running P.I. series currently in print.