Friday 27 November 2015

BILL PRONZINI - DRAGONFIRE (1982)


Synopsis/blurb………

It's a lazy mid-August Sunday afternoon. The "Nameless Detective" and his old friend Lieutenant Eberhardt are relaxing on the patio, drinking beer and shooting the breeze, when the doorbell rings. As Eberhardt answers the door, Nameless hears two sharp echoing reports - gunshots; they could only be gunshots. Rushing into the house, Nameless glimpses the bloody body of his friend sprawled on the floor - just before he feels a bullet strike his own chest.

While Eberhardt lies in a coma, Nameless is released from the hospital and hits the San Francisco streets, determined to track down the gunman. Facing the toughest case of his career, Nameless doggedly pursues the secret behind his friend's shooting - only to find himself plunged into an action-packed intrigue involving murder, bribery, violence, and the forces of organized crime in San Francisco's Chinatown.

The inimitable Nameless Detective, an overweight private eye of Italian descent with a penchant for pulp magazines, is in top form in this gripping, fast-paced tale.

"Pronzini is a pro."
- The New York Times

My 9th outing with Bill Pronzini and his PI - Nameless was a blast. Is there anything better than a lazy Sunday and reading a great tale cover to cover over the course of a day?

Probably fair to say I enjoyed this one a bit more than the last couple I read, perhaps it was slightly more straightforward as there was a focus on a single case – the shooting of Eberhardt and Nameless – rather than a few cases being juggled by our main man. I was less irritated by the re-emergence of Kerry – Nameless’ on-off, latterly off love interest as a possible on again back story. Perhaps it was Nameless himself being less of a sad-sack love-lost puppy dog that had me reaching for the sick-bag in the last couple of books. This time around he seems more assured and determined.

Nameless digs around Chinatown to get to the bottom of the mystery and butts heads with some of the less salubrious members of the Chinatown community. All this set against the back drop of an official police investigation getting nowhere and Nameless currently with his PI license suspended. 

Roll on book 10 in the series!  (Bindlestiff from 1983)

4.5 from 5


Bought copy – second hand a couple of years ago.

10 comments:

  1. Col, I'll take this as the ninth reminder for reading Bill Pronzini's novels.

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    1. Prashant - hopefully you'll be treated to a double digit one next month!

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  2. This one sounds great (and I don't remember anything about it except the beginning). If I did not have a goal to read the ones I have not read yet... I would reread this one.

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    1. Yes already there are a couple in the series I wouldn't mind trying again, but hey that won't happen....

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  3. I wish I wasn't quite so intimidated by the number of this series I haven't read.

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    1. I don't think you suffer from the completist compulsion I seem to have, so maybe just dip in and dip out sampling a couple from each decade...

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  4. No doubt about it, Col; Pronzini's Nameless is a great character, and this is a top series. I'm very glad you enjoy it as much as you do. Admittedly, I think some are better than others, but overall? An excellent series.

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    1. Yes I've enjoyed some more than others definitely, but nothing has truly stunk. I've liked the character's story as much as the solving of the mystery. Mostly he's likeable - but like people you know and like and love in real life, he irritates at times!

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  5. I have a whole stack of Pronzinis waiting to be read; I really ought to get round to them soon. Trouble is, I also have whole stacks of lots of other authors too . . .

    Glad to hear you enjoyed this one!

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    1. Cheers John - I think you mentioned you picked some up for tuppence-halfpenny from a library sale! Good reading ahead when the time comes.

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