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Reading books by Bill Pronzini is, quite simply, a great way to spend your time. Pronzini is a true master and yes, this is my clumsy way of reminding folks that the Mystery Writers of America awarded him the "Grand Master" honor in 2008 and about time too. Pronzini's "Nameless" detective (whom we now know is named "Bill") has been around a while and although he's technically semi-retired and is supposed to let others do the legwork in his private eye agency, he's not the retiring kind. Bill is ill at ease with leisure. His wife Kerry works and given Bill's old-country, old-style values, he'd never allow himself to sit home while she earned the living. And while he's more at ease than ever with his employees and with Tamara, his partner (and true opposite in many ways) in the agency, he's still the guy with decades of experience with the nuances of private detection. He still knows when someone's lying, he still has contacts all over, he's still savvy and knows when someone isn't telling him something. He's still a force to be reckoned with. This series has moved well into the 21st century. Sure, Bill is uneasy around computers and cell phones and new technology, but he recognizes the value of them and doesn't ignore the ways they make things easier. He's still a curmudgeonly sort of guy, uneasy with some of the things we think of as "Californian" but he's a San Franciscan through and through. He respects its history, knows the people. In FEVER, Bill is trying to find Janice Krochek for Mitchell, her husband. She's disappeared before and, well, I think Mitchell's nuts for wanting her back, as she's become an addicted gambler, stealing from her husband, cashing out bank accounts, pawning and selling things to feed her addiction. He claims he loves her but there's more to it than that. Tamara, meanwhile has asked that the agency offer its help to Rose Youngblood, who is worried about her son. He's hiding something major from her, seems unhappy and can't explain what's going on. I wondered at first if this was going to be another gambling thread, one that the author could connect toward the end, but Brian's life is far more complicated than that. I should have known better. Quite simply, when faced with a stack of new books, and struggling to find something that really works, I'll grab the newest Pronzini and maybe put it ahead of a new author. Not always, of course. New authors can, and do, regularly knock my socks off. But I've been reading Pronzini since the 70s and in all that time, if I've learned anything, it's that this author knows his craft and excels at it. There were a few moments in FEVER that I had a little trouble with - I'm not sure Kerry and Tamara really would have that conversation in a restaurant, and I'm not sure Kerry's idea is a good one, but that's what makes these characters three-dimensional and real to me. Jake Runyon's sadness and depression, which threaten at times to overwhelm him, take an interesting turn here, one which I found quite plausible. I'm glad to know this series has no end in sight. Pronzini is someone I count on to remind me why I read mystery and he's done it again.
Reviewed by Andi Shechter, May 2008
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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