Spadework was published on the 25th anniversary of The Snatch, the first Nameless Detective novel. Spadework collects 15 short stories perfect for those who love the Nameless Detective. Two of the stories appear in print for the first time ("Worried Mother Job" and "Zero Tolerance"). The book has an excellent foreword by Marcia Muller about her take on her husband's work, and an interesting afterword by Mr. Bill Pronzini in which he talks about his dedication to the needs of the story over the continuity of the series. One of the highlights of the book is "Cats-Paw", which won the Shamus award for the best detective short story in 1983. The book also has a bibliography of the Nameless Detective novels and short stories through 1996.
The stories in Spadework cover the whole gamut of Nameless Detective styles, from early noir to sophisticated plots to wonderful locked room mysteries. The times of the stories are not specified, but appear to date from 1970 to 1996 based on their first publication dates.
This will be a Crossroad Press production.
