Savages by Bill Pronzini
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"Other marks were visible on the wrists and arms. Rodent bites. That was what he'd been trying to fight off in his delirium... rats, mice, attracted by the blood, making sharp-toothed forays in the dark."

Well, I've had it for late installments in Pronzini's famous series about the detective who should be called "Unnamed" rather than "Nameless." I am not interested in the soap-opera-style continuity of events in the lives of Kerry, Tamara, Jack Runyon, and other companions of Mr. Unnamed. The early books in the series had more of the "one off" flavor, which I definitely prefer. Alas, they are more difficult to find.

Mr. Unnamed has a repeat client: four years ago he was hired by a woman whose sister had been planning to marry a rising software industry executive. The woman requested a detailed background check on the guy whom she considered ruthless, pathologically ambitious, and interested only in her sister's money. At that time the detective did not find any dark spots in the man's past, and the couple got married. Now, however, the woman's sister died in a fall, and she is convinced that the husband did it.

Meanwhile Jack Runyon - the "Nameless" novels seem to become more about him - is trying to deliver a subpoena to a man in a small town in Northern California. While the subpoena target is nowhere to be found Mr. Runyon discovers a dead man hung from a crossbeam in a barn.

The two threads proceed in parallel and perhaps the most interesting mystery for the reader is whether they will merge at the end. There are some pretty lame scenes in the novel, for instance the bad comedy of two cops interrogating Runyon: the reader can't be sure whether the comedic elements have been intended by the author or are inadvertent results of his sloppy prose. Deputy Kelso is a caricature of a policeman. On the other hand, the denouement is quite surprising and I very much like the last page of the novel.

Considering that the novel was published in 2007 it is hard not to like the following passage:

"Profits up fifteen percent [...], expansion plans in the works, looks like they're going public pretty soon. Another Donald Trump in the making."

But, all in all, this is not a very good novel, and it is hard to recommend.

Two-and-a-quarter stars.


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