The Nameless Detective Acquires a New Op, 1 May 2004

By	Donald Mitchell "a Practical Optimist" (Boston) - See all my reviews

Nameless is back and is in the process of moving towards retirement . . . beginning with semi-retirement. To facilitate the changes, he's taken his assistant, Tamara, as his partner. They need to hire a new operative to help handle the street work that Nameless did in the past. After considering two potential men, Tamara insists that they hire Jake Runyon, a silent-as-the-grave ex-cop, ex-detective who looks like he's just lost his last friend.

Jake turns out to be the kind of dandy character that Raymond Chandler would have been glad to write about. He loves the grime of the streets and the challenge of the chase. He's smart, tough, focused and self-contained. But he hurts, and his work is his therapy. You'll enjoy learning about him.

The action in the book centers on the murder of a street person named Spook who talks to ghosts. I especially enjoyed the way that several people contributed to identifying Spook. It's imaginative problem solving at its best.

Each of the detectives has personal issues that develop in interesting ways. Bill is having trouble deciding how to wind down his work and deal with his need to be a lone wolf. Tamara is shaken to the core when her boyfriend decides to move to Philadelphia and proposes marriage. Jake is looking to make a connection with his estranged son while grieving for his lost love.

I don't want to say any more because the prose and story line are so smooth and balanced. You should be able to enjoy the development without interruption from me.

Fans of Marcia Muller (Mr. Pronzini's wife) will be delighted to see that Nameless and Sharon McCone end up working together on a case again. It's neat!

After you finish this wonderful novel, I suggest that you think about what you will regret if you don't change your ways. How can you begin making the necessary changes?

 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? <