Created by Michael Z. Lewin (1942--) Hard-boiled detective fiction has always claimed to be superior to other sub-genres, based on its realism. Since Raymond Chandler, hard-boiled authors have claimed that their work deals with real social issues, life as it is truly lived in the underbelly of society. As thinking readers should know, this is … Continue reading Albert Samson
Category: Detective
Willie Werth
Created by Michael Z. Lewin (1942--) Okay, WILLIE WERTH is NOT a private eye. He's not a detective in any way, shape or form. He has absolutely no excuse for cluttering up this web site, chewing up valuable cyberspace... But hey--it's MY web site. So there... The reason I'm shoving Willie in here, and hoping … Continue reading Willie Werth
Percy Hand
Created by Fletcher Flora Pseudonyms include Timothy Harrison, Ellery Queen (1914-68) "My name is Percy Hand, and I’m a private detective. My privacy is rarely invaded. This makes the rent a problem, but it gives me plenty of time to watch the rain come down into the alley on rainy days." Now almost forgotten, but … Continue reading Percy Hand
Thomas Langford
Created by John M. Floyd In the Shamus Award-winning short story, "Mustang Sally," former cop turned private eye THOMAS LANGFORD (and his long-time girlfriend Debra Jo Wells) get in way over their heads in what even the author agrees is a "lighthearted, its only crime being an off-screen jewelry-store heist." Maybe it is lighthearted, but it's … Continue reading Thomas Langford
Keri Krane
Created by Dick Briefer (1915-80) "Don't let me scare you--I get results." -- Keri reassures a client who's surprised to discover she's a woman A hyperkinetic, chain-smoking female private eye, KERI KRANE was drawn (and written?) by Dick Briefer, and appeared as a backup feature at least a couple of times (and possibly as many … Continue reading Keri Krane
Steve Harmas
Created by James Hadley Chase Pseudonym of Rene Brabazon Raymond Other pseudonyms include Raymond Marshall, Ambrose Grant & James L. Dougherty (1906-1985) "Once, on a sultry June evening, Steve Harmas accidentally stops at the entrance to a luxurious Hollywood club, looking for an empty table, and just at that moment a tall man in a … Continue reading Steve Harmas
Slim Callaghan
Created by Peter Cheyney (1896-1951) Hard-boiled (some would argue over-boiled), bull-in-a-china-shop SLIM CALLAGHAN, prone to lying to just about anyone about just about anything, is--after Lemmy Caution--the most famous of Cheyney's tough guys. Unlike Lemmy, readers are mercifully spared the ersatz Americanisms--Slim is an English tough guy, a private eye working in England. Anthony Boucher even … Continue reading Slim Callaghan
Mike Monster
Created by Dick Briefer (1915-80) "I hate complicated cases. Dey gimme a migraine." We're way out of the woods with this one, folks. One-eyed, fedora-and-trenchcoat wearing MIKE MONSTER, billed as "the most monstrous shamus of all!" was concocted to satisfy the allegedly "red-blooded, ferocious" readers of ZANY (a would-be rival of MAD Magazine back in the … Continue reading Mike Monster
Barney Calhoun
Created by Richard Deming Pseudonyms include Max Franklin, Emily Moor, Ellery Queen (1915-1983) "Don't fret about my ethics, Joe... show me an angle and I'll shoot it." BARNEY CALHOUN is six-foot-two and 210 pounds of ex-cop turned P.I. out of Buffalo, New York, who's tired of eating hamburger. When a wad of cash is waved … Continue reading Barney Calhoun
Frank Burly
Created by John Swartzwelder (1949--) "I'll explain the dog costume in a minute." -- Burly Go Home D'oh! Once upon a time, the roundest peg in a world of square holes, John Swartzwelder, was the go-to guy when it came to writing for The Simpsons, the animated pop culture juggernaut that's been rumbling through this promised … Continue reading Frank Burly