Nemesis: A Nameless Detective Novel

Jake Runyon, Nameless’s partner in his San Francisco detective agency, takes an extortion case in MWA Grand Master Pronzini’s solid 38th Nameless Detective novel (after 2012’s Hellbox). Verity Daniels, who recently came into money, receives a threatening call from a man demanding that she pay $10,000—or he’ll expose something from her past that will put her in prison. Verity insists to Runyon she has no skeletons in her closet, and that her fiancé’s accidental death was just that. Runyon agrees to work with her to nab the extortionist, but something about her story doesn’t add up. He’s even more skeptical when the blackmailer is a no-show for an arranged drop-off of the cash. Meanwhile, Nameless is tending to the home front (his wife, Kerry, is still recovering from wounds received while being held hostage), but rapidly changing developments in the extortion case, including murder, bring him back into the fray. Fans of well-written, unspectacular mysteries will find this an engaging quick read. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency. (July)