BILL PRONZINI - SCATTERSHOT (1982)

Synopsis/blurb….

Business is booming for Nameless; he's started in on three new cases in one week. But every single one of them turns bad some way. In the first, a husband disappears from a car that Nameless has been following. In the second, a woman is mysteriously murdered while Nameless stands outside her bungalow. In the third, a valuable ring disappears from a locked room that Nameless has been guarding. The papers are full of bad publicity. After being at the scene of two homicides, everyone is suspicious of him. He is at risk of losing his PI license. At the same time, he recently proposed to the woman of his dreams and she is becoming more distant from him every day. Scattershot presents more questions than answers in its exciting conclusion. The eighth novel in the Nameless Detective series.

Entry number 8 in the long-running Nameless series and whilst still enjoyable and again 4 stars from 5, I felt a touch of frustration towards our usually sympathetic protagonist.

Nameless gets immersed in a spate of quickly arriving cases which is fine. The constant moping around like a love-sick puppy was less so. Maybe I liked him better when he was solitary and brooding and ruminating on finding a companion, than when he actually has one. Kerry his new-found love – wooed and romanced in our previous book - Hoodwink, is obviously having second thoughts about a serious relationship with a man much older than herself. Too much hectoring, too much pressure in an already precarious situation and you’ll lose her man. Back off FFS!

Rant over and back to our cases at hand.

Seemingly straightforward but soon spiralling out of control. Nameless is hired by a suspicious wife to follow a suspect husband. When he is discovered stabbed to death whilst on Nameless’ watch she blames him and irrationally pursues him in the press tarnishing his reputation and jeopardising his livelihood.

Second case and we are pursuing an elusive rich lady to serve a summons upon. When we eventually catch up with her, death is again close at hand.

Lastly – another babysitting job as a security guard minding the wedding presents of one of San Francisco’s society types as he ties the knot. Straightforward until it goes wrong and Nameless knows he’s been set up.

Interesting watching our man juggle his time and energies and combatting forces that seem intent on bringing him down.

By the end our cases are fixed, but matters are still unresolved on both the personal and professional front. Roll on book 9 – Dragonfire from the same year – 1982.

4 from 5 

Bought copy second hand a year or two ago.