.By Duane Swierczynski A John MacNeil Novella Winter 2006 "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.” — Ezekiel 25:17 By the end of move-in day, I needed only two things. A six-pack of Yuengling. And to get the hell out … Continue reading “The Wrong Man to Cross”(Part One)
Category: Short Stories
The Eyes of Roger Torrey
A Preliminary List There's no doubting that Roger Torrey (1901-46) was one prolific pulpster, pounding out (in between drinks) almost 300 stories for the crime and detective magazine of the thirties and forties (at least fifty in Black Mask alone!). And while he may not have enjoyed the acclaim of Hammett, Chandler or many … Continue reading The Eyes of Roger Torrey
Marty Dolan
Created by Roger Torrey Pseudonyms include Sam Drake, Samuel Drake, John Ryan, R.D. Torrey (1901-46) "Lengel had his finger in a lot of pies, and while a lot of people suspected it, nobody had yet proved he was helping bake them." — Dolan suspects a powerful but dodgy businessman Grab a pencil and add MARTY … Continue reading Marty Dolan
Jim Dougherty
Created by Roger Torrey Pseudonyms include Sam Drake, Samuel Drake, John Ryan, R.D. Torrey (1901-46) Put another dime in the juke box, baby... Ex-Marine and WW1 veteran JIM DOUGHERTY is yet another of pulpster Torey's seemingly endless supply of almost interchangeable one-off private eyes. His sole appearance, as far as I can tell, was in … Continue reading Jim Dougherty
John Boyle
Created by Roger Torrey Pseudonyms include Sam Drake, Samuel Drake, John Ryan, R.D. Torrey (1901-46) "I shot him three times, catching him in the knees, and at ten feet I don't miss." Better add JOHN BOYLE to the list of prolific pulpster Roger Torrey's seemingly endless supply of private eyes. Like most of his eyes, Boyle's … Continue reading John Boyle
Mike “Mickey” Hanigan & Irving Kowalski
Created by Roger Torrey Pseudonyms include Sam Drake, Samuel Drake, John Ryan, R.D. Torrey (1901-46) Prolific pulpster Roger D. Torrey cranked out almost 300 stories for the crime and detective pulps, most of them featuring relatively generic private eyes: big, tough-talking gumshoes, and MIKE "MICKEY" HANIGAN was one of them, quick to dish out either … Continue reading Mike “Mickey” Hanigan & Irving Kowalski
Joe Harper
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, JOSEPH H. "JOE" HARPER appears in, as far as I can tell, only one short story, narrated in first person. Harper had "four years … Continue reading Joe Harper
Teddy Rawlin
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, he gets extra points for making TEDDY RAWLIN a former stage actor instead of a cop. He chucks it all of course, to become … Continue reading Teddy Rawlin
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, … Continue reading Sam Drake
John Keogh
Created by Roger Torrey Pseudonyms include Sam Drake, Samuel Drake, John Ryan, R.D. Torrey (1901-46) This is getting ridiculous. JOHN KEOGH was yet another of pulpster Torey's seemingly endless supply of almost interchangeable tough guy private eyes. Keogh's lone appearance, as far as I can tell, was in the short story "A Murder for Teacher," … Continue reading John Keogh