Betrayers
by Bill Pronzini (Forge, 2010)
audiobook read by Nick Sullivan (Bolinda, 2017)
The cases themselves are relatively slight, split without overlap between Tamara, Bill, and Jake Runyon. As ever, though, San Francisco emerges as its own gritty, gloomy, sordid kind of character, where life is a struggle and even the non-criminals mostly prove unpleasant.
Rosemary and Rue
by Seanan McGuire (DAW, 2009); audiobook read by Mary Robinette Kowal (Brilliance, 2010)
McGuire has crafted a multifaceted faerie world overlaid upon modern-day San Francisco. Even though the crime and investigation don’t amount to much, October Daye remains an easy protagonist to follow, her sardonic faux-hardboiled narration well-handled in audio form by Mary Robinette Kowal.
Endgame
by Bill Pronzini (Tom Doherty, 2017)
Nameless has been in semi-retirement for some years now, sharing his workload and fading ever more into the San Francisco background while colleague Jake Runyon comes to the fore. Having shaped reader expectations, Pronzini here uses the parallel narratives to upend them.