Owen Keane

Created by Terence Faherty
(1954–)

A ruminative ex-seminarian (he flunked out) turned Boston private eye (of sorts), OWEN KEANE is hired to keep an eye on a friend who’s wife has recently been killed in a car accident, in 1991’s Deadstick, which was nominated for an Edgar.

There have since been several subsequent adventures featuring Owen, a quirky, mild-mannered daydreamer whose official occupation has changed several times, in this intriguing, offbeat series. Last I heard of him, he was an “assistant everything’ at Home Depot. The only constant seems to be his knack for finding himself somehow involved in murder cases.

Although Keane occasionally meanders into the expected slam-bang gumshoe action, what distinguishes him from much of the competition is his brooding reflections on society and the quiet thoughtfulness the often reluctant detective brings to these tales.

In fact, later digital edition covers featured a headless man (in a suit and tie) in various contemplative positions. Presumably the head was off somewhere in the clouds.

Author Faherty is also responsible for creating retro P.I. Scott Elliott, whose Shamus-winning adventures take place in the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood.

UNDER OATH

• “(Keane is) an odd bird in an equally odd series, one that is consistently low key, gently thoughtful and enlightening.”
  — Publishers Weekly

NOVELS

• Deadstick (1991) | Buy this book
• Live To Regret (1992) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• The Lost Keats (1993) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Die Dreaming (1994) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Prove the Nameless (1996) |Buy this book | Kindle it!
• The Ordained (1997) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Orion Rising (1999) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Eastward in Eden (2013) | Buy this book | Kindle it!

SHORT STORIES

• “The Triple Score” (January 1999, EQMM)
• “The Third Manny” (February 2000, EQMM)
• “Main Line Lazarus” (February 2002, EQMM)
• “The Widow of Slane” (March/April 2004, EQMM)
• “A Sunday in Ordinary Time” (August 2004, EQMM)
• “The Final Proof” (2004, Desperate Journeys)
• “The Judas Clue” (November 2007, EQMM)
• “Good Night, Dr. Kobel” (2005, The Confessions of Owen Keane)
• “St. Jimmy” (2005, The Confessions of Owen Keane)
• “On Pilgrimage” (2005, The Confessions of Owen Keane)
• which was written especially for this collection. T
• “The Seven Sorrows” (March/April 2010, EQMM)
• “After Cana” (September/October 2012, EQMM)
• “Ghost Town” (September/October 2014, EQMM)
• “The Incurious Man” (May/June 2023, EQMM)

COLLECTIONS

• The Confessions of Owen Keane (2004) | Buy this book

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.