Sam Drake

Created by Roger Torrey
Pseudonyms include Sam Drake, Samuel Drake, John Ryan, R.D. Torrey
(1901-46)

Yet another of prolific pulpster Roger Torrey‘s seemingly endless and virtually indistinguishable supply of private eyes, SAM DRAKE broke the mold a little bit. Sure, he was your typical cynical, hard-boiled private eye, but he worked on the East Coast, occasionally out of Virginia, and his big dream was to make enough money to get out of detecting and buy a fishing boat.

He appeared in six stories in Private Detective Stories from 1942 to 1945, beginning with “Murder’s Never Easy” in the March 1942 issue of Private Detective Stories. Five more followed, several of them as by “Samuel Drake,” one of several pen names Torrey used.

SHORT STORIES

• “Murder’s Never Easy” (March 1942, Private Detective Stories)
• “Coast Guard Capture” (April 1942, Private Detective Stories; as by Sam Drake)
• “The Frankie and Johnny Murders” (September 1942, Private Detective Stories)
• “Hanging Evidence” (October 1942, Private Detective Stories; as by Sam Drake)
• “Death Child” (December 1944, Private Detective Stories; as by Sam Drake)
• “Taxi Kill” (August 1945, Private Detective Stories; as by Sam Drake)

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

• The Eyes of Roger Torrey
  A Preliminary List

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.