Plump, nondescript Theodore Conway works as a file clerk in a Manhattan law firm. His passion is collecting memorabilia related to the pulp-fiction heroes of his youth, especially The Shadow. Then one day this quiet little man learns that he, too, has the supernatural power "to cloud men's minds" and fight crime under the cloak of invisibility. "The Man Who Collected The Shadow" is just one of 14 stories in this collection of short fiction by the versatile Pronzini, author of the "Nameless" detective series as well as westerns, science fiction, and stand-alone crime novels. Among the other highlights here are "Shade Work," in which a con man picks the wrong marks; "The Arrowment Prison Riddle," a locked-room puzzler that is solved by a pulp-fiction writer; and "Bank Job, which illustrates why it's sometimes better to be lucky--and quick on your feet--than good. Pronzini's work is consistently entertaining, and these "oddments" are no exception.

A Shamus Award-winning Author Few characters have the loyal readership of Bill Pronzini's "Nameless Detective." The fourteen stories in this collection span his entire thirty-five-year life on the printed page. They include "It's a Lousy World," where Nameless proves that a friend did not commit the crime he was accused of; "Dead Man's Slough" and "The Ghosts of Ragged-Ass Gulch," which take him out of San Francisco into the hinterlands; and "Souls Burning," where he tries to help an old friend make one last try at setting things right.

The Nameless Detective has taken many cases over the years... and this is one for the books. Or rather, two cases that will test his agency's resources. Love is in the air...more to the point, love gone awry. One case involves a woman whose husband who died accidentally in a remote cabin in the Sierras. The wife isn't buying that her husband was alone, and is determined to find out his secret and get closure...in spite of any potential heartbreak. The other case is a missing person . . . but the person missing was agoraphobic and never left the house. The husband swears that while their relationship was strained due to his wife's condition, he was still in love with her. He begs Nameless to clear him and find his wife before the cops come for him.Endgame is a classic Nameless tale—twisty puzzles featuring one of mystery's best loved detectives.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software...

A haunted woman's suicide pulls a California man into the poisonous secrets of a bleak Nevada desert town in Bill Pronzini's masterful work of noir fiction, which was named a New York Times Notable BookThere is something about the sad woman eating alone night after night at the Harmony Café that intrigues San Francisco CPA Jim Messenger. Unfulfilled himself, Jim feels a kinship with her—and later, when she commits suicide, he resolves to find out why. His search leads him to Beulah, a middle-of-nowhere mining town in the Nevada desert, where hatreds run deep, where secrets are as venomous as a rattlesnake bite, and where a stranger asking too many questions might inexplicably disappear. Still, in this dusty, barren landscape, Jim feels completely alive. And he's not going anywhere until he uncovers the truth, even if it rips the whole town apart.Richly atmospheric and peopled with achingly human characters, Blue Lonesome is a crime novel as tense and coiled as a rattler...

The Bags of Tricks Affair is the latest charming historical mystery in MWA Grand Master Bill Pronzini's detective series.A conman always has a bag of tricks, ready to fool the unsuspecting, and almost everyone is unsuspecting until they get taken. When that happens, they turn to Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services, to recover their money and what's left of their dignity, and perhaps even to save their lives.When one such case leaves Sabina Carpenter the only witness to a murder, the family of the culprit vows to stop at nothing to keep her silent. The threat leaves John Quincannon deeply concerned for Sabina's safety, but there's no rest for the wicked and so the crime-solving duo must split up to tackle two separate con games, run by two villains with deadly bags of tricks at hand.And when Sabina's life is put in danger, John must rush to save her while grappling with the terrifying realization of exactly how much she means to...

Anticipating a peaceful and relaxing year in which to write and illustrate a book, college professor Jan Ryerson and his artist wife Alix move to the isolated Cape Despair Lighthouse on a desolate stretch of Oregon coast. But their well-laid plans are twisted awry shortly after their arrival. Jan experiences several terrifying blackouts, but conceals them from his wife, fearing that she will leave him if she knows that he will soon be blind. The villagers, suspicious of the couple from the start, become increasingly hostile and resentful. And when the murdered body of a young woman is discovered, they are quick to blame the stranger in town… FB2Library.Elements.CiteItem FB2Library.Elements.CiteItem FB2Library.Elements.CiteItem

The first Amanda Sutter knew of the pumpkin, the strange pumpkin, was a day in late September. Something was wrong with the pumpkin. Amanda felt it. There was an aura, a Sense of something emanating from the pumpkin that made her uneasy, brought primitive little stirrings of fear and disgust into her mind. Amanda remembered something her uncle, who had been a Presbyterian minister, had said to her when she was a child: Evil takes many forms, Mandy. Evil shares our bed and eats at our own table. Evil is everywhere, in every size and shape...