Strangers
is
the 39th—by my count—Nameless Detective novel, and it is something
of a throwback. Nameless revisits his past, in both technique—he is once again
a lone-wolf detective without benefit of Tamara, Jake, or Kerry—and fact.
His past comes back in the form of Cheryl Rosmond.
Cheryl is a former lover. The relationship crumbled twenty year earlier, and Cheryl
now lives in the dusty mining boom town of Mineral Springs, Nevada. She is a
widow, and her son, Cody, is accused of three rapes. The evidence is
circumstantial, but strong. A witness—a desert hermit named Max Stendreyer—saw Cody
leaving the area of the final rape, and the ski mask and knife the rapist used
were found in his Jeep.
Cheryl, in desperation, calls Nameless. She has
hired an attorney—the only lawyer in town who will take the case and criminal
law isn’t his specialty—and she needs someone who will dig around to prove
Cody’s innocence. Nameless is reluctant, but his sense of duty pulls him into
the case—
“It
was the kind of distraught plea I’d heard in one form or another a dozen times
before, and invariably my response had been the same: yes. Wise or foolish,
right or wrong, always the same.”
Mineral Springs is a dirty, dusty, and cramped town.
Its residents are small minded, petty, and mean. It is stark contrast to
Nameless’ memory of Cheryl, and he has difficulty making her fit the town. She
is harassed with telephone threats, and malicious property destruction—her shed
is set on fire and a brick is thrown through a window of her home. Nameless
isn’t welcomed with open arms either. The County Sheriff doesn’t quite warn him
off, but comes close. The victims are less than cordial, and one of the
townspeople takes a long distance and anonymous rifle shot at him.
Strangers
is a special novel. It is atmospheric, weighty, and entertaining. It is plot
driven, but the procedural mystery runs a distant second to its raw emotional
impact. The setting—desolate, stark, empty—fits the thematic structure of the
story. The emptiness defines the nature of Nameless’ quest. A quest to discover
the facts of the crimes Cody is accused of, and the truth of his shared past
with Cheryl. A past that, when he discovers its truth, he would have preferred left
alone—
“When
I reached the highway and turned west, I didn’t look back.”
Strangers
is one of the more powerful Nameless novels. Its emotional impact is on par
with Mr Pronzini’s standalone work; particularly his masterful Blue Lonesome—which shares a similar
setting, but very different leading woman—and The Crimes of Jordan Wise.
Purchase a copy on Amazon.
Purchase a copy on Amazon.
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