Member Reviews

The Bags of Tricks Affair is the 6th Carpenter and Quincannon mystery by Bill Pronzini. Released 6th March 2018 on Macmillan's Tor/Forge imprint, it's 256 pages and available in hardcover, ebook, and audio formats.

I've been a fan of Pronzini's nameless detective series for decades. I originally picked up this series because I'm a fan of his other work (and his wife's, who co-wrote the earlier books in the series). This series is quite different from their other work. The Carpenter and Quincannon books are period western mysteries and the lead characters are private investigators involved in several different cases per book. The fact that they aren't tied to one single case means that the book feels like a collection of vignettes with one overarching storyline. I thought the author(s) did a great job of tying together the disparate threads of narrative to maintain a cohesive whole.

There were admittedly some points at which I found myself being yanked out of the story. Mr. Pronzini is a masterful storyteller and gifted writer, but I didn't find myself particularly invested in either of the main characters. I did like that Sabina was strong and never a damsel-in-distress and could rely on her own resourcefulness.

This book could be read as a standalone. The other books in the series are quite good also and don't need to be read in order.

Enjoyable escapist reading for mystery/thriller fans. There's some light cursing, but nothing to shock or dismay the average reader.

Three and a half stars, rounded up for the very strong storytelling.

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Bags of Tricks Affair by Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller. This little gem of a series is always on my most anticipated reads list.
If you are reading this review and you have not read any other Carpenter/Quincannon titles, plan to start at the beginning with the first title, The Bughouse Affair.
In The Bags of Tricks Affair, our hero and heroine, John Quincannon and Sabina Carpenter, are called upon by clients of Quincannon and Carpenter Professional Services to catch con men, swindlers, and blackmailers and to retrieve lost money and valuable items. When Sabina catches a murderer, her life is threatened. John, reluctant to leave Sabina alone unprotected while he is away on a case, makes her promise to be careful. When John returns several days later to find Sabina missing, he is afraid he may never see her again. As Sabina searches for a means of escape and John searches diligently to find her, they both begin to realize just how much they have come to care for each other.
When I first began reading this title, I was a little disappointed that the relationship between John and Sabina had not moved forward since the ending of the last book. Then, as I worked my way through the story, I realized that the experience of “losing” one another may have been the plot twist needed to bring them closer together.
I highly recommend this title to readers who enjoy the mysteries of Victoria Thompson and to readers of light historical mysteries and westerns. Pronzini and Muller’s characters are delightful and the stories are always entertaining. The next title in this series will be on my most anticipated list for 2019.

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Bill Pronzini present The Bags of Tricks Affair in which Carpenter and Quncannon detective services have to solve various cases while avoid being murdered by the bad guys. Sabina Carpenter is the only witness to murder and the criminals want to silence her. Meanwhile both detectives are up to their necks in cases with shifty clients. Crime as usual with these detective in the wild west.

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Interesting characters and time period, but i felt like I was reading a series of short stories. Each one was interesting, and there was an arc that began in the first "story" that was tied up in the last, but not a fluid read.

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