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Mary Kelly

Created by Diana Killian
Pseudonym of D.L. Browne
Other pseudonyms include Josh Lanyon, Colin Dunne, Louise Harris

It had to happen. The female eye, So Cal division, finally went retro. In a promising short story debut which creator Diana Killian assured us was just the start, MARY KELLY is an op for the Brannigan Detective Agency in Los Angeles “between the World Wars,” with a nasty secret.

What is it? Well, she wants to write!

She gets along with fellow ops like Mike Mosley and Stan Stannislaus, and even office manager Miss Appleby whens she has to, but Mary–oh, sorry, “Kelly”–is getting a little tired of just being “the girl” in the office, living by proxy through her pulp writing. She’s always pestering Mr. B. to give her more to do. So the Old Man sends her on a real case…

Chandleresque? You’re soaking in it.

The way I remember it, business was slow that November. Carl von Ossietzky won the Nobel Peace Prize and everyone was learning to Rumba. We were between World Wars and the Pinkertons over on Euclid Street were catching all the fast balls.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

(2001) Los Angeles-based writer and reviewer Diana Killian is a relative newcomer to the hard-boiled genre and the Shamus Game, but she’s no stranger to the mystery world. Besides founding and moderating the Wicked Company writing group, she’s written several mystery novels under an intriguing array of pseudonyms, and has co-edited Down These Wicked Streets, a collection of private eye stories with the editor of this site. She’s also an occasional contributor to this site.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPARTMENT

I wrote this entry before I’d ever actually met D.L., who is now known in some quarters as “Mrs. Thrilling.” Or simply “She Who Must Be Obeyed.” We’ve been together since 2002.

SHORT STORIES

THE DICK OF THE DAY

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.

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