Bill Pronzini is a well known American author who likes to write his novels based on the Mystery and Thriller genres. He was born on April 13, 1943 in Petaluma, California in the United States. He was an avid reader right from his childhood days and was fascinated by his grandfather’s mystery and science fiction digest at the age of 12. After that he used to frequently purchase second hand pulp magazines from the bookstores in San Francisco and seemed intrigued by their stories. In a few years, Bill was able to collect around 3000 pulp magazines.
When he completed his studies at the junior college, Bill began working as a newsstand clerk, sports reporter, car-park attendant, plumbing supply salesman, office typist, and a warehouseman. Bill also served as a part time civilian guard for transporting prisoners, for a U.S. Marshall. Apart from the mystery and thriller novels, Bill also likes to write novels on the Science Fiction, Literature and Fantasy themes.
Bill is particularly famous for his works in detective fiction and is famous for writing down the Nameless Detective series of novels. Other than being a novelist, he is also an anthologist and has compiled over 100 collections, many of which are based on the western, science fiction and mystery stories.
Books in order of publication by series:
Nameless Detective Books
| The Snatch | (1971) | |
| The Vanished | (1973) | |
| Undercurrent | (1973) | |
| Blowback | (1977) | |
| Twospot | (1978) | |
| Labyrinth | (1980) | |
| Hoodwink | (1981) | |
| Scattershot | (1982) | |
| Dragonfire | (1982) | |
| Bindlestiff | (1983) | |
| Quicksilver | (1984) | |
| Nightshades | (1984) | |
| Double | (1984) | |
| Bones | (1985) | |
| Deadfall | (1986) | |
| Shackles | (1989) | |
| Jackpot | (1990) | |
| Breakdown | (1991) | |
| Quarry | (1991) | |
| Epitaphs | (1992) | |
| Demons | (1993) | |
| Hardcase | (1995) | |
| Sentinels | (1996) | |
| Illusions | (1997) | |
| Boobytrap | (1998) | |
| Crazybone | (2000) | |
| Bleeders | (2001) | |
| Spook | (2002) | |
| Nightcrawlers | (2005) | |
| Mourners | (2006) | |
| Savages | (2007) | |
| Fever | (2008) | |
| Schemers | (2009) | |
| Betrayers | (2010) | |
| Camouflage | (2011) | |
| Hellbox | (2012) | |
| Strangers | (2014) | |
| Vixen | (2015) | |
| Zigzag | (2016) | |
| Endgame | (2017) |
Nameless Detective Short Stories/Novellas
| Kinsmen | (2012) | |
| Femme | (2012) |
Nameless Detective Collections
| Casefile | (1983) | |
| Spadework | (1994) | |
| Scenarios | (2003) |
John Quincannon Books
| Quincannon | (1985) | |
| Beyond the Grave | (1986) |
Carpenter and Quincannon Mystery Books
| The Bughouse Affair (By: Marcia Muller) | (2013) | |
| The Spook Lights Affair (By: Marcia Muller) | (2013) | |
| The Body Snatchers Affair (By: Marcia Muller) | (2015) | |
| The Plague of Thieves Affair (By: Marcia Muller) | (2016) | |
| The Dangerous Ladies Affair (By: Marcia Muller) | (2017) | |
| The Bags of Tricks Affair | (2018) | |
| The Flimflam Affair | (2019) | |
| The Stolen Gold Affair | (2020) | |
| The Paradise Affair | (2021) |
Carpenter and Quincannon Collections
| Carpenter & Quincannon, Professional Detective Services | (1998) | |
| Quincannon’s Game | (2005) |
Charlie Chan Books
| Charlie Chan in The Pawns of Death | (1974) |
Academy Mystery Books
| Women Sleuths | (1985) | |
| Police Procedurals | (1985) | |
| Locked Room Puzzles | (1986) | |
| Women Write Murder (By: Martin H. Greenberg) | (1987) |
Oxman and Tobin Mysteries Books
| The Eye (With: John Lutz) | (1984) | |
| Shadowtown (By: John Lutz) | (1988) |
Standalone Novels
| The Stalker | (1971) | |
| Panic! | (1972) | |
| The Jade Figurine | (1972) | |
| Snowbound / Games | (1974) | |
| Dead Run | (1975) | |
| Freebooty | (1976) | |
| Games | (1976) | |
| The Running of Beasts | (1976) | |
| Acts of Mercy | (1977) | |
| Wildfire | (1978) | |
| A killing in Xanadu | (1980) | |
| Prose Bowl | (1980) | |
| The Cambodia File | (1981) | |
| Masques | (1981) | |
| Duel at Gold Buttes | (1981) | |
| Border Fever | (1983) | |
| Day of the Moon | (1983) | |
| The Gallows Land | (1983) | |
| Starvation Camp | (1985) | |
| The Lighthouse (With: Marcia Muller) | (1986) | |
| The Last Days of Horse-Shy Halloran | (1987) | |
| Firewind | (1989) | |
| The Hangings | (1989) | |
| Carmody’s Run | (1993) | |
| With an Extreme Burning | (1994) | |
| Blue Lonesome | (1995) | |
| A Wasteland of Strangers | (1997) | |
| Nothing But the Night | (1999) | |
| All the Long Years | (2001) | |
| In an Evil Time | (2001) | |
| Step to the Graveyard Easy | (2002) | |
| The Alias Man | (2004) | |
| The Crimes of Jordan Wise | (2006) | |
| The Other Side of Silence | (2008) | |
| The Hidden | (2010) | |
| Nemesis | (2013) | |
| The Violated | (2017) | |
| Give-A-Damn Jones | (2018) | |
| The Peaceful Valley Crime Wave | (2019) |
Short Stories/Novellas
| Pumpkin | (2012) |
Short Story Collections
| Graveyard Plots | (1985) | |
| Small Felonies | (1988) | |
| The Best Western Stories of Bill Pronzini | (1990) | |
| Stacked Deck | (1991) | |
| Criminal Intent | (1993) | |
| Sleuths | (1999) | |
| Problems Solved | (2003) | |
| Burgade’s Crossing | (2003) | |
| Coyote and Quarter-Moon | (2006) | |
| Crucifixion River (With: Marcia Muller) | (2007) | |
| Dago Red | (2008) |
Mammoth Book of.. Collection Books
| Mammoth Book of Short Crime Novels | (1986) | |
| The Mammoth Book of Private Eye Stories | (1988) | |
| Mammoth Book of World War II Stories | (1989) | |
| The Mammoth Book of Short Spy Novels | (1996) |
New Frontiers Collection Books
| New Frontiers #1 | (1990) | |
| New Frontiers II (With: Martin H. Greenberg) | (1990) |
Publication Order of Anthologies
| Mystery Writers’ Choice 1977 | (1976) | |
| Midnight Specials | (1977) | |
| Werewolf!A Chrestomathy of Lycanthropy | (1979) | |
| The End of Summer | (1979) | |
| Night screams | (1979) | |
| Voodoo | (1980) | |
| Mummy! | (1980) | |
| Bug-Eyed Monsters | (1980) | |
| The Edgar Winners | (1980) | |
| The Giant Book Of Horror Stories (With: Stephen King) | (1981) | |
| Great Tales of Mystery and Suspense (With: Bernard Malamud) | (1981) | |
| Classic Tales of Horror and the Supernatural | (1981) | |
| The Arbor House Necropolis | (1981) | |
| The Arbor House Treasury of Mystery and Suspense | (1982) | |
| The Arbor House Treasury of Detective and Mystery Stories from the Great Pulps | (1983) | |
| The Mystery Hall of Fame | (1984) | |
| The Western Hall of Fame (With: Martin H. Greenberg) | (1984) | |
| The Outlaws | (1984) | |
| The Reel West | (1984) | |
| 13 Short Mystery Novels (With: Martin H. Greenberg) | (1984) | |
| The Arbor House Treasury of Great Western Stories | (1985) | |
| The Cowboys | (1985) | |
| The Ethnic Detectives | (1985) | |
| Dark Lessons (With: Marcia Muller) | (1985) | |
| The Warriors | (1985) | |
| The Second Reel West | (1985) | |
| Murder in the First Reel | (1985) | |
| The Railroaders | (1986) | |
| The Steamboaters | (1986) | |
| Great Modern Police Stories | (1986) | |
| The Third Reel West | (1986) | |
| Mystery in the Mainstream | (1986) | |
| 101 Mystery Stories | (1986) | |
| The Cattlemen | (1986) | |
| Tales Of Mystery | (1986) | |
| Tales of the Dead | (1986) | |
| Wild Westerns | (1986) | |
| Prime Suspects | (1987) | |
| Manhattan Mysteries | (1987) | |
| The Horse Soldiers | (1987) | |
| Uncollected Crimes | (1987) | |
| Suspicious Characters | (1987) | |
| The Gunfighters | (1987) | |
| 13 Short Detective Novels | (1987) | |
| Criminal Elements | (1988) | |
| Cloak and Dagger | (1988) | |
| The Texans | (1988) | |
| Best of the West | (1988) | |
| Homicidal Acts | (1988) | |
| Lady on the Case | (1988) | |
| The Californians | (1989) | |
| Felonious Assaults | (1989) | |
| The Arizonans | (1989) | |
| More Wild Westerns | (1989) | |
| Deadly Doings (With: Martin H. Greenberg) | (1989) | |
| The Northerners | (1990) | |
| The Northwesterners | (1990) | |
| Best of the West III | (1990) | |
| Christmas Out West | (1990) | |
| Crime and Crime Again (With: Martin H. Greenberg) | (1990) | |
| Best of the West 2 (With: Martin H. Greenberg) | (1990) | |
| A Treasury of World War II Stories | (1991) | |
| A Treasury of Civil War Stories | (1991) | |
| The Montanans | (1991) | |
| Combat! | (1992) | |
| Great Tales Of The West | (1994) | |
| Great Tales of Horror and the Supernatural | (1994) | |
| Hardboiled | (1995) | |
| The Giant Book of War Stories | (1997) | |
| A Century of Mystery (With: Marcia Muller) | (1997) | |
| The Giant Book of Private Eye Stories | (1997) | |
| Giant Book Of Short Crime Stories | (1997) | |
| Duo (With: Marcia Muller) | (1998) | |
| Oddments | (2000) | |
| More Oddments | (2001) | |
| Masters of Horror and the Supernatural | (2010) | |
| Deadly Anniversaries (With: Marcia Muller) | (2020) |
Non-Fiction Books
| Gun in Cheek | (1982) | |
| San Francisco | (1985) | |
| 1001 Midnights | (1986) | |
| Son of Gun in Cheek | (1987) | |
| Six Gun In Cheek | (1997) |
Oak Lawn Library Friends 