Created by Tom Pitts Gary and Linda Carson are a young San Francisco couple, still reeling from a recent miscarriage, in Tom Pitts' 2020 hard-charging standalone, Cold Water. They've recently relocated to a new home in a posh suburb of Sacramento, hoping to start anew.... Gary and Linda are portrayed as such a nice couple, … Continue reading Calper Dennings
Category: Detective
Sammy “Two Toes” Tiffin (Noir)
Created by Christopher Moore "She had the kind of legs that kept her butt from resting on her shoes--a size eight dame in a size-six dress and every mug in the joint was rooting for the two sizes to make a break for it..." Noir (2018) by satirist and professional piss-taker Christopher (Lamb, Secondhand Souls, … Continue reading Sammy “Two Toes” Tiffin (Noir)
Butch Fatale
Created by Christa Faust "In pulp novels, the private dick always keeps a gat in his desk drawer. I keep my iron in a gunsafe keyed to my fingerprint, but I do keep a strap-on in my desk drawer. You know, for emergencies..." -- Butch clues us in... Okay, folks: let's just assume a few … Continue reading Butch Fatale
Mr. Chapel (Vengeance Unlimited)
Created by John McNamara (1962--) and David Simkins "Like you know that show 'Touched by an Angel'? Well, this ain't it." Vengeance Unlimited, a short-lived TV drama from 1998-99t may have been just a little too hip for the room. Michael Madsen starred as the enigmatic, charming, and very sick puppy, MR. CHAPEL, a man … Continue reading Mr. Chapel (Vengeance Unlimited)
Mitch Tobin
Created by Tucker Coe Pseudonym of Donald Westlake (1933-2008) Guilt? MITCH TOBIN's soaking in it. This unlicensed private eye and disgraced ex-cop appeared in five novels by Donald Westlake (under the pen name of Tucker Coe), and together they make up one of the most interesting and varied private eye series of the sixties. Obsessed and … Continue reading Mitch Tobin
Tom Doyle
Created by Day Keene Pseudonym of Gunnar Hjerstedt Other pseudonyms include Lewis Dixon, William Richards, Daniel White, John Corbett & Donald King (1904-1969) TOM DOYLE is a "private agency man" for Chicago's Inter-Ocean Agency, just back from World War II, who appeared in a string of short stories and novellas in the Detective Tales pulp. He also popped … Continue reading Tom Doyle
Harlan Judd (Eyes)
Created by John McNamara Eyes was a "promising" (Hah! Where have we heard that before?) new private detective drama, heavy on the wry, originally scheduled for the 2004-05 TV season. For whatever reasons, its debut was postponed, and it finally made its debut in March 2005. It starred Tim Daly as slick-as-spit, wisecracking HARLAN JUDD, the … Continue reading Harlan Judd (Eyes)
Vish Puri
Created by Tarquin Hall Possibly inspired by the phenomenal success of Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and Precious Ramotswe, British writer Tarquin Hall introduced fussy, pot-bellied VISH PURI, the head of Delhi's Most Private Investigators Ltd., in The Case of the Missing Servant (2009). Like McCall-Smith's work, the strength and charm of this book … Continue reading Vish Puri
Mark Hull
Created by Norbert Davis Pseudonyms include Harrison Hunt, Cedric Titus (1909-1949) "She was one of the real mysteries of Hollywood. She was thin and flat-chested, with a complexion like yellow paste. Her black hair was lifeless and dull. Her features were assembled in regular enough order, but her face gave a queer blank effect, as … Continue reading Mark Hull
Nick Cranley
Created by Michael Storme Pseudonym of George H. Dawson Other pseudonyms include Michael Storm (1918-1979) The very first book featuring NICK CRANLEY, Make Mine a Shroud (1949), promised “a never-ending vortex of excitement ... tough mobs ... police that mean business; and gals that mean business too – but not the same kind," while the second suggested we'd find … Continue reading Nick Cranley