Sarah Weinman Knows How to Pick ’em
The New York Times‘ mystery columnist and our pal, the Devine Ms. Sarah Weinman, named names in the March 21, 2025 issue, giving up the skinny on all those hard-boiled eyes going down all those mean streets rooting out all those dark truths.
It was a most impressive and thorough list, full of insight, wit and grace, with just enough sass to have the young guns looking backwards to see what they missed, and old farts scrambling to check out some of the new kids on the block and to see what they’re missing..
Like the lady says in her intro, “When the hard-boiled private-eye detective story was born about a hundred years ago, the United States was a few years removed from a pandemic, grappling with Prohibition and reeling from the influences of far-right ideology on government. With chaos rampant, the tidy, puzzle-minded investigations of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and their ilk didn’t satisfy readers who wanted a different type of fiction — something more visceral and less trusting of both authority and law enforcement.
The P.I. novel has evolved over time, but one thing remains constant: The private investigators at their hearts are beholden to no one — not even their clients — as they chase down corruption, poisonous family secrets and more. These books showcase the most memorable of these detectives, ready to travel down the meanest streets to root out the darkest truths.”
- The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1930; Sam Spade)
- The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler (1953; Philip Marlowe)
- The Galton Case by Ross Macdonald (1959)
- Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (1990; Easy Rawlins)
- Sleep With Slander by Dolores Hitchens (1960; Jim Sader)
- Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky (1982)
- The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout (1935; Nero Wolfe & Archie Goodwin)
- Dead in the Frame by Stephen Spotswood (2025; Lillian Pentecost & Will Parker)
- Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (2004; Jackson Brodie)
- The Eighth Circle by Stanley Ellin (1958; Murray Kirk)
- The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley (1978; C.W. Sughrue)
- Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran (2011)
- Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (2002; Kinsey Millhone)
Sarah also namedrops several other worthy authors in several oh-so-casual asides, includingJonathan Latimer, Joseph Hansen, Robert B. Parker, Joe Gores, Gary Phillips, Robert Crais, John Shannon, Leigh Brackett, S.A. Cosby, Stephen Mack Jones, Karen Kijewski, Sandra Scoppettone, Valerie Wilson Wesley, Lawrence Block, Emily J. Edwards, Liza Cody, Stella Duffy, Laura Lippman, David Markson, Jonathan Lethem, William Hjortsberg, Paul Auster, Cass Neary, Lisa Lutz, Ingrid Thoft, Laurie King and Dana Stabenow.
Not bad, eh? Oh, sure, there’s at least one omission that seems particularly glaring, a few names downgraded to the also-ran that arguably deserve better, and a few authors who I’d probably mention. But it’s not my list, and this is about as good a list as I’ve seen.
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- Classic Private-Eye Detective Novels: A Starter Pack (March 21, 2025, The New York Times)
- Stuart Kovacs
Sarah Weinman’s own New York private eye… and he has one hell of a partner.
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
