Created by Joseph S. Walker "Heston says you used to be a cop." — the opening line in every story Yep. TIM CHADWICK used to be a cop. A detective in Major Crimes. But he drank. And now he's no longer a cop. When asked by a concerned waitress at his why he's no longer … Continue reading Tim Chadwick
Tag: Alcoholic
Whistler
Created by Robert Campbell (1927-2000) "The Santa Ana winds were blowing in from the valley through the passes, sweeping up the pulverized dog droppings, gum wrappers, old newspapers, and bleached confetti, whirling the mess down the gutters toward yesterday." —from Alice in La-La Land All you need to know about how the author feels about … Continue reading Whistler
Nicholas Bishop
Created by Stephen G. Eoannou Stephen G. Eoannou's mystery, After Hours (2025), featuring World War Two-era private eye NICHOLAS BISHOP is a bit of a Frankenstein monster; a patchwork tale comprised of multiple parts gathered from all over the place. Instantly familiar, but quite fun if you enjoy those parts. Bishop is a drunk, but … Continue reading Nicholas Bishop
Mick “Brew” Axbrewder & Ginny Fistoulari
Created by Reed Stephens Pseudonym of Stephen R. Donaldson) (1947- -) Guilt? Jealousy? Anger? Alcoholism? Lust? Pity? Self-pity? You're soaking in it. In this trilogy from the eighties, drunk and washed-up ex-cop MICK "BREW" AXBREWDER is content to drink himself to death in some dive bar in Puerto del Sol, a city somewhere in the … Continue reading Mick “Brew” Axbrewder & Ginny Fistoulari
Kevin Lonnegan
Created by Thomas B. Cavanagh Former cop KEVIN LONNEGAN is wallowing in the troughs of Orlando P.I. biz when we first meet him in Murderland (2005), working workmen's comp and adultery cases, trolling strip joints, hot sheet motels boasting hourly rates and other dens of iniquity that the local chamber of commerce don't mention much. … Continue reading Kevin Lonnegan
Eddie Miles
Created by Jack Clark Oh, what a difference a blurb makes... Originally, author Jack Clark, already a Shamus finalist for his first novel, was flogging his self-published novel Nobody's Angel for five bucks apiece to passengers in his Chicago cab. Hard Case Crime took note, and published the book for real in 2010, with … Continue reading Eddie Miles
Gentlemen, Name Your Poison (I)
Drinkers, Stinkers and Occasional Tipplers "Alcohol is like love: the first kiss is magic, the second is intimate,the third is routine. After that, you just take the girl's clothes off." -- Terry Lennox in The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler It started out on the printed page, but it's mostly through all those damn movies … Continue reading Gentlemen, Name Your Poison (I)
Jaakko Piira
Created by Jorma Napola (1914-2000) Private eye novels have never been big in Finland. I don't really know why, but I have my suspicions: the private eye is a product of a culture that believes heavily in individualism and the right to take the law into one's hands if necessary. But Finland is pretty much … Continue reading Jaakko Piira
Onni Syrjänen
Created by Tapani Bagge (1962–) ONNI SYRJÄNEN, Finnish crimewriter Tapani Bagge's not very successful lawyer, is a sad sack drunk too poor to hire a detective. So he does his own gumshoeing. He lives and works in Kerava, a small railroad town near Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Onni's office is on the first floor … Continue reading Onni Syrjänen
Shep Stone
Created by Jeff Jacks An unlicensed New York private eye working the Greenwich Village area, SHEP STONE, only made two appearances, both in Fawcett Gold Medal paperback originals in the early seventies. According to Robert Randisi, these two hard-to-find novels are full of "great P.I. stuff with a wonderful New York atmosphere." In fact, in … Continue reading Shep Stone