Are you dying for a detective? Pining for a P.I.? Â Searching for a shamus? Gagging for a gumshoe? Every day (that we can) we're going to try to scratch that itch for ya. Why? Because... we care. April 4, 2025Charles Nieuwendyk by Michael Schur (Man on the Inside)April 2, 2025V. Daniel by David M. PierceSeptember … Continue reading The Dick of the Day
Category: This Just In
Jake & Malachy Doyle (The Republic of Doyle)
Created by Allan Hawco, Perry Chafe & Malcolm MacRury "Why are you such an arse, Jake Doyle?" -- the eternal question At last! The Rock gets some P.I. love! MALACHY and JAKE DOYLE are a father-and-son team of P.I.s working St. John's, Newfoundland in Republic of Doyle, an endearingly quirky television show that consistently delivered … Continue reading Jake & Malachy Doyle (The Republic of Doyle)
Best Detective Stories of the Year
Anthology Series, 1946-81 Originally published by E.P. Dutton & Company in 1946 to celebrate the "best" short crime stories of 1945, and edited by David C. Cooke, the very first volume set the tone for this long-running series, making it a point to not shy away from the darker side of the street. That original … Continue reading Best Detective Stories of the Year
Calvin Kane
Created by Russell Gray Pseudonym of Bruno Fischer Other pseudonyms include Harrison Storm) (1908-1992) Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and behold the infamous Crab Detective! CALVIN KANE was a pulp-era private eye from the thirties whose "severely deformed body made him look like a refugee from a side-show attraction," according to Don Hutchison, pulp historian. … Continue reading Calvin Kane
John Collins (Skip Tracer)
Created by Zale R. Dalen "He'll be sure you pay--one way or another!" -- tagline on the VHS edition Hey! Did I just dream this? JOHN COLLINS is the low-key, taciturn debt collector "hero" of Skip Tracer, a bleak, decidedly non-glamourous, low-budget Canadian character study released in 1977. Make no mistake--Collins is no goody two-shoes. … Continue reading John Collins (Skip Tracer)
Dennis Lynds
Pseudonyms include Michael Collins, William Arden, John Crowe, Robert Hart Davis, Carl Dekker, Mark Sadler, Sheila Lynds, Sheila McErlean, John Douglas, Walter DallasHouse pseudonyms include Nick Carter, Brett Halliday, Don Pendleton, Maxwell Grant(1924-2005) "I just ask questions."September 29, 2002, Santa Barbara Book Festival "I write mysteries to say something, not just for entertainment."Santa Barbara News-Press, 1982. … Continue reading Dennis Lynds
Heavier Than Broken Hearts
The 2013 Raymond Chandler InterviewConducted by Ben Solomon BEN SOLOMON: Mr. Chandler, I thank you for granting this interview. I'm sure readers everywhere are plenty grateful, not to mention awful surprised. RAYMOND CHANDLER: Dead men are heavier than broken hearts. SOLOMON: I understand you didn't go for it at first. I mean the first time … Continue reading Heavier Than Broken Hearts
Buck Ryan
Created by Don Freeman (text) and Jack Monk (art) He initially dressed like he'd just raided Dick Tracy's closet (just a coincidence, I'm sure), but two-fisted, hard-boiled private eye BUCK RYAN had his own comic strip which ran for an amazing twenty-five years in London's Daily Mirror from March 22, 1937 to July 1962. In fact, … Continue reading Buck Ryan
Chandler
Created by Paul Magwood "Tough guys are so monotonous." Cult fave character actor Warren Oates starred as a tired, almost down-and-out private eye named CHANDLER in the tired, almost down-and-out his private eye film Chandler (1972). That's Chandler, "as in Raymond" as he helpfully explains for those of you who are hard of thinking, and just … Continue reading Chandler
The Rara-Avis Top 100 Hard-Boiled Characters of the Twentieth Century (2002)
As Chosen by the Members of Rara-Avis Compliled by Joe Dante and Mark Blumenthal In March and April of 2002, the members of Rara-Avis, the web's premier disscussion group for all things hard-boiled, decided to poll its members on the The Top 100 Hard-Boiled Characters of the Twentieth Century. Readers were invited to submit their … Continue reading The Rara-Avis Top 100 Hard-Boiled Characters of the Twentieth Century (2002)