Originally noir, at least in English, referred to film, and to the books and stories that were often their inspiration. But now the term is almost meaningless; used to sell just about everything. Literature. Music. Perfume. Lingerie. Coffee beans. Breath mints. Chocolate. Bad crime shows. Sitcoms. Beer. Vanity Fair fashion shoots. And lawnmowers, probably. Mostly … Continue reading And while we’re at it, what the hell is “Noir”?
Year: 2018
Darby Holland
Created by Jeff Johnson Here I go again, slipping a non-P.I. into the deck... The kick-off to a trilogy, Lucky Supreme (2017), impressed me mightily with its fresh take on the hard-boiled genre, goosing it along in a way that even fedora fetishists won't mind. It introduced tattoo artist and slightly dodgy small business owner … Continue reading Darby Holland
William Arrowood
Created by Mick Finlay I never really thought of Sherlock Holmes as exclusively a servant to the rich and powerful, but that's the spin they're putting on WILLIAMÂ ARROWOOD to boost his working class street cred. In London 1885, the front cover blurb of his eponymous debut, Arrowood (2017) goes, "London society taskes its problems to … Continue reading William Arrowood
John Milano
Created by Stanley Ellin Somehow it just doesn't seem right to call this guy Johnny. Manhattan private investigator JOHN MILANO is a rather high-flying P.I., rich and powerful, no stranger to the upper crust, with friends in all the right places. He's the epitome of class, with fine taste in everything from women to clothes. … Continue reading John Milano
Jake Dekker
Created by Stanley Ellin Stanley Ellin seems to have cornered the market on cold, calculating and thoroughly professional private detectives serving the rich and powerful of New York, although for while there it seemed Lawrence Sanders was intent on horning in on the action. JAKE DEKKER is a freelance insurance investigator who lives high on … Continue reading Jake Dekker
Murray Kirk
Created by Stanley Ellin Rich, classy man-about-town MURRAY KIRK is a former hotshot young lawyer who takes over as the head of New York's very respectable Conmy and Kirk Detective Agency in Stanley Ellin's Edgar-winning standalone The Eighth Circle (1958). There's no low rent office with a bottle in the drawer for this baby. Nope. Murray's … Continue reading Murray Kirk
Pulp Fiction Chez Vous: An Introduction to David Montrose’s The Body on Mont-Royal
By Kevin Burton Smith Here we are. David Montrose's The Body on Mont-Royal. The third and final of his books to feature private eye Russell Teed. First published in 1953, by Harlequin. Yes, Harlequin. And now it's finally back in print. Pulp fiction chez nous. As vivid as Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles, as Montreal as … Continue reading Pulp Fiction Chez Vous: An Introduction to David Montrose’s The Body on Mont-Royal
Mike Longstreet
Developed for television by Stirling Silliphant From a character created by Baynard Kendricks The seventies were truly the Golden Age of the TV Dick, when the airwaves were saturated with private eyes and cops of all sizes and shapes. There were so many of them that the nightly barrage of murder and mayhem began to … Continue reading Mike Longstreet
My Scrapbook: Raymond Chandler Bitches About His Book Cover
My Scrapbook Raymond Chandler complains about his book's cover... For the homepage of my November 2011 issue, I "borrowed" a cover from a reprint edition of one of my all-time favourite books by one of my absolutely all-time favourite writers: Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. It's not my favourite cover for this much-reprinted title … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Raymond Chandler Bitches About His Book Cover
My Scrapbook: Farewell, My Lovely… Flying Saucers?
My Scrapbook WTF? The first edition cover of Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely No, seriously... Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely (1940) has always been my favourite Philip Marlowe novel, and one of my all-time favourite novels, period. After all, what's not to love? Moose Malloy? Velma? Shine bars? Jewel thieves? Betrayal? Armed robbery? Love with no … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Farewell, My Lovely… Flying Saucers?