Showing results by author "Bill Pronzini" in All Categories

Three outlaws arrive in the country town of Big Tree, California, on a blazing hot day of a long dry summer, in this well-crafted western by veteran Pronzini ( The Last Days of Horse-Shy Halloran). A huge shipment of munitions is a-sittin' in Big Tree just a-waitin' to be stole-and they're a-goin' to do it. But the burglary gets bungled, an explosion sets the town on fire, and there is only one way out of the parched valley for the townsfolk - by train.

Secret Service agent John Quincannon has found little joy in his life since the day his stray bullet killed an innocent young woman and her unborn child. Still in mourning a year later, Quincannon seeks his solace at the bottom of a jug of sour mash. But he'll have to buck up-and sober up for his next mission. The Service needs him to bring down a major counterfeiting ring responsible for the death of one of his colleagues.

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.

The sleepy town of Tule Bend came alive with terror after a drifter was found hanging. The constable knew his job was on the line if he didn't do something. When more swinging bodies appeared he knew he had to move fast because he was next on the hangman's list.

Can the true identity of the Sherlock Holmes imposter be revealed at last? Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon are no stranger to mysteries. In the five years since they opened Carpenter and Quinncannon, Professional Detective Services, they have solved dozens, but one has eluded even them: Sherlock Holmes or, rather, the madman claiming his identity who keeps showing up with a frustrating - though admittedly useful - knack for solving difficult cases.

A debutante's missing body, murder most foul, and weird spectrallights in the fog make for a thrilling gas light-era tale of mystery and detection. In 1895 San Francisco young debutantes don't commit suicide at festive parties, particularly not under the eye of Sabina Carpenter. But Virginia St. Ives evidently did, leaping from a foggy parapet in a shimmer of ghostly light.

The Nameless Detective may not like David Virden, but the case is simple enough: Find his first ex-wife, deliver some papers to her and it's all done. But she refuses the papers, sends a message to Virden to never contact her again, and slams the door. Then Virden threatens to sue Nameless, stops his payments and claims that the woman they located isn't his wife. Then Virden disappears himself and his fiancée hires Nameless to find out why.

A series of random murders along a stretch of northern California coast, committed by an unknown perpetrator dubbed the Coastline Killer. A young couple with marital problems who decide to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's at a friend's remote cottage. Two couples whose relationships are thick with festering menace. A fierce winter storm. These are the main ingredients in Bill Pronzini's twist-filled tale about the hidden nature of crime and its motives.

When his wife finally left him and filed for divorce, Rick Fallon put his house up for sale and took the last two weeks of his vacation. Then he loaded his Jeep and drove straight to Death Valley, the one place he truly belongs. On his third day in Death Valley, Fallon comes upon a deserted car, and soon thereafter, the almost-dead body of Casey Dunbar. After rescuing her, Fallon soon learns what had driven her to give up on life and - his own life on hold - he resolves to unravel the twisted and dangerous strands of hers.

A "botched" hit and blackmail turn to revenge and betrayal in this gripping mystery by a master mystery writer.

Nothing much happens in Peaceful Valley, Montana. And that's just how Sheriff Lucas Monk likes it. Aside from the occasional drunken brawl or minor disturbance out on the reservation, he hasn't had to resort to his fists or sidearm in years. That is, until mid-October, 1914, when the theft of a wooden cigar store Indian sets off a crime wave like nothing Lucas has ever seen. Teenager Charity Axthelm goes missing, Reba Purvis' housekeeper is poisoned with cyanide Reba is sure was meant for her, and Lucas' gut tells him that this is only the beginning.

A double dose of Western action from one of the genre's acknowledged masters. The first story, "The Rodeo Killer", is a smoldering tale of the violent intersecting conflict between New Mexico cattle ranchers, cattle buyers, and men breeding horses for the rodeo circuit. The title story, "Mission Creek", tells the fiery tale of Ruel Starrett, a man who worked against the odds his whole life to establish his own ranch. He finally gets his chance when he's offered a half interest in the Spade Ranch from a woman named Susanna Dahlhart. But she isn't all she appears.

The first story, Trouble in Temescal, is set in Los Angeles in the days following the Mexican-American War, and tells the tale of two entrepreneurial mustangers, Hank Ashwood and Red Wolfe, who have driven a herd of horses from New Mexico to California for resale. The second story, King of the Defiances, is the story of Big Jim Jackson, who intends to make a fortune by logging off the best railroad-tie timber in Arizona, and his clash with former manhunter Troy Cameron, the leader of a group of small cattle ranchers who stand in Jackson's way.

For each of the detectives at the agency, a betrayal becomes not only the driving force behind an investigation, but the source of the kind of resolve that cannot be derailed by threats. Tamara’s case began as something personal but explodes as an investigation of her former lover leads to a scam that cheats charities. For Nameless, trying to find out who is manipulating an old woman only exposes the ugly side of family. We’re told that there are seven deadly sins.

Ravaged by time and abandoned by the people who once flocked there in search of golden nuggets, Ragged-Ass Gulch is a ghost town. What’s left is a small, proud, and close pack of people who aren’t looking for change. But change seems to be afoot as several mysterious fires plague the town. That’s where the Nameless Detective comes in….

In a remote spot, Hannigan is burying a body he claims is his dog. A man suddenly emerges from the fog, asking if he can call for help, since he had to quickly escape a nearby house from a jealous husband. The district is tense, since the news warns of an escaped lunatic killer from a mental hospital is on the loose. The two men return to Hannigan’s house and unexpectedly meet a third man in the fog, claiming to be a policeman, whose car broke down. Is one of them the escaped lunatic killer?