The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 26 books · 1971 to 2002 · Set in San Francisco

Bill Pronzini

Crime and mysteryPrivate eye

Bill Pronzini's "Nameless Detective" is a San Francisco private eye whose name is never given: a pulp-magazine collector, a smoker who quits, a lonely man who slowly builds a family and a business. The series ran for more than forty novels.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The first twenty-six novels are charted. Double was written with Marcia Muller and features her detective Sharon McCone.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Bill Pronzini books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Nameless Detective

26 books · Set in San FranciscoPrivate eye
  1. 1The Snatch1971With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  2. 2The Vanished1973With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  3. 3Undercurrent1973With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  4. 4Blowback1977With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  5. 5Labyrinth1980With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  6. 6Hoodwink1981With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  7. 7Scattershot1982With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  8. 8Dragonfire1982With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  9. 9Bindlestiff1983With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  10. 10Quicksilver1984With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  11. 11Nightshades1984With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  12. 12Double1984With "Nameless" and Sharon McConeBuy on Amazon
  13. 13Bones1985With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  14. 14Deadfall1986With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  15. 15Shackles1988With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  16. 16Jackpot1990With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  17. 17Breakdown1991With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  18. 18Quarry1992With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  19. 19Epitaphs1992With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  20. 20Demons1993With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  21. 21Hardcase1995With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  22. 22Sentinels1996With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  23. 23Illusions1997With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  24. 24Boobytrap1998With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  25. 25Crazybone2000With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon
  26. 26Bleeders2002With "Nameless"Buy on Amazon

Characters

4 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

San Francisco