For the "Nameless Detective," invesΒtigations involving matters of the heart are to be avoided. But when an old poker buddy asks him to help frazzled and distraught Kay Runyon, whose husband, Victor, is having a clandestine affair with a mystery woman named Nedra, Nameless relents. After all, it seems like a simple matter: Find out just who Nedra is so Kay can confront her in a last-ditch effort to save her marriage.
But Nameless soon discovers that there is much more at stake than a simple affair. Nedra is a modern-day Circe who attracts men who become obsessed with her, in some cases dangerously so. Victor Runyon is the latest in a long line; others whose paths Nameless crosses include a violent ex-convict, Nedra's jealous ex-husband, and a powerful San Francisco politician.
Victor's obsession with Nedra takes a bizarre twist when she suddenly vanishes without a trace. Did she disappear willingly or was she the victim of one of her lovers' private demons? Nameless must find out before it's too late to save Victor and Kay from tragic ends. And he must do so while trying to cope with a very personal and private demon of his own.
Demons is a powerful tale of psychological suspense that builds inexorably to a chilling and shocking climax. **
From Publishers Weekly
The 22nd addition to Pronzini's Nameless Detective library fits securely and gratifyingly into the classic detective story mold. So does the unnamed narrator: a tough, terse, hardworking and honorable PI who isn't very successful. Nameless doesn't like divorce cases, which usually mean chasing down men in the hopes of photographing them in flagrante . Kay Runyon, however, doesn't want her husband caught in bed, but, rather, saved from an obsession. Nameless learns that the object of that obsession, Nedra Merchant, has a string of broken hearts to her credit. As described by her ex-husband and various former lovers, Nedra emerges as manipulative, cold and with a history of dumping men just after they've committed themselves totally to her. But now she has disappeared. Has she fled the ex-con who has been hanging around her house? Has she been abandoned by Kay's feckless husband or become the victim of foul play? And, in a subplot, is Nameless losing his beloved Kerry? Solid detective technique takes Nameless to a gruesome solution that echoes his plight in Shackles . Colorful, gritty characters add depth to this tale from a sure-handed pro.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Nameless gets involved in a case that recalls his Shackles (1988) demons when he agrees to track down Kay Runyan's husband, architect Victor, who's become obsessed with world-class enchantress Nedra Merchant. As it turns out, Victor's not the only one mesmerized: among her conquests, Nedra also numbers an ex- husband lawyer, a politico, and an ex-con wacko--and one of them may be responsible for her disappearance three months back. Meanwhile, the ex-con attacks the architect, then holds his rival's family hostage; the lawyer is mooning over his lost love; and the politico is denying that he and Nedra were anything but casual friends. Furthermore, Nameless's love, Kerry, is seeing another man, and his former partner, Eberhardt, has set up his own practice. Eventually, of course, Nameless will find the long-lost Nedra--and confront his own demons again. Routine soul-searching from Nameless. Okay, but not gripping. -- Copyright Β©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.