A unique conception in suspense novels, TWOSPOT combines the talents of two popular San Francisco-based detectives, Bill Pronzini’s “Nameless” private eye and Collin Wilcox’s Lieutenant Frank Hastings, on a case of murder and bizarre conspiracy surrounding an old California winemaking family.

When “Nameless” is hired by Alex Cappellani, whose family owns the Cappellani Winery in the Napa Valley, it seems at first to be a routine matter. Alex is concerned that his mother, Rosa, may be romantically involved with an enologist she has hired named Jason Booker; he wants the detective to investigate Booker’s background for proof that the man is a fortune hunter. But soon a series of surprising twists take the case in an entirely different direction. For no apparent reason Alex is attacked and almost killed at the winery; “Nameless” himself is assaulted. And then, in San Francisco, there is sudden and violent death.

Lieutenant Hastings is called in and confronted with a long list of suspects that includes Alex’s autocratic brother, Leo; Paul Rosten, the winemaker who has been with the family for decades; Shelly Jackson, Logan Dockstetter and Philip Brand, all of whom work at the winery’s business office in San Francisco; and Alex himself. A slip of paper signed with the cryptic name “Twospot,” and the shadowy presence of a hoodlum, further complicate matters — and eventually lead to another attempted murder and a chilling gun battle on San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill.

As “Nameless” and Hastings delve deeper into the web of violence and mystery, working together and separately in the Napa Valley and in San Francisco, the truth begins slowly to unfold. And if is a truth of shocking magnitude which foreshadows a climax as frightening as it is harrowing.

Told in alternate sections through the eyes of the two protagonists, TWOSPOT is a compelling novel filled with the same tension, atmosphere, and power which have earned each of the authors a high ranking among contemporary suspense novelists.

It’s a lazy mid-August Sunday afternoon. The “Nameless Detective” and his old friend Lieutenant Eberhardt are relaxing on the patio, drinking beer and shooting the breeze, when the doorbell rings. As Eberhardt answers the door, Nameless hears two sharp echoing reports — gunshots; they could only be gunshots. Rushing into the house, Nameless glimpses the bloody body of his friend sprawled on the floor — just before he feels a bullet strike his own chest.

While Eberhardt lies in a coma, Nameless is released from the hospital and hits the San Francisco streets, determined to track down the gunman. Facing the toughest case of his career, Nameless doggedly pursues the secret behind his friend’s shooting — only to find himself plunged into an action-packed intrigue involving murder, bribery, violence, and the forces of organized crime in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

The inimitable Nameless Detective, an overweight private eye of Italian descent with a penchant for pulp magazines, is in top form in this gripping, fast-paced tale.

The ninth in the “Nameless Detective” series and one of Pronzini’s most suspenseful mysteries to date, Dragofire is sure to please his ever-growing number of fans.