Created by Elmore Leonard (1925-2013) Now here's something you rarely hear crime writing legend Elmore Leonard credited with.... Cindy Fazzi, author of a series of novels about Domingo, a modern day bounty hunter, suggests that that "pop culture has long mythologized and even romanticized" the occupation, and suggests that Leonard  himself helped popularize the profession … Continue reading Dave Flynn
Tag: Arizona
Joe Leaphorn
Created by Tony Hillerman (1925-2008) Series continued by Anne Hillerman How on earth did I miss this? I've long been familiar with the series by Tony Hillerman, set in the Navajo Nation which covers parts of Arizona, southeastern Utah, and New Mexico, and read several of the early entries in the series, back when I … Continue reading Joe Leaphorn
Jo Bailen
Created by Sydney Graves Pseudonym of Kate Christensen "At our core, we detectives are just nosy little fuckers." JUSTINE "JO" BAILEN grew up in Delphi, Arizona, in the Rancho Bella Luna artist colony, but she left it all in the rearview after her relationship with childhood bestie Rose turned toxic in high school. Now she's … Continue reading Jo Bailen
Dex Nolan
Created by Floyd Mahannah (1911-76) Floyd Mahannah isn't exactly a household name, even among fans of the genre. He only cranked a half dozen or so books and a handful of shortt stories in the digests of the time in the fifties. But they were really good stuff. A case in point being The Golden … Continue reading Dex Nolan
Mike and Bob Brannagan (The Brothers Brannagan)
Created by Wilbur Stark and Jerry Layton The Brothers Branagan was an early sixties TV show relating the cases of MIKE and BOB BRANNAGAN, two "hip" brothers working as private eyes out of the lobby of the swanky Mountain Shadows Resort near Phoenix, Arizona, nestled between Camelback and Mummy Mountains. Their cases usually involved insurance … Continue reading Mike and Bob Brannagan (The Brothers Brannagan)
Gene Hammons
Created by Jon Talton GENE HAMMONS used to be a soldier, serving in World War I. And he used to be a homicide cop in Phoenix, Arizona. But when he went against the powers that be and tried to free a woman he felt had been wrongfully accused of murdering a local big shot, he … Continue reading Gene Hammons
McShan
Created by Stephen Mertz Other pseudonyms include Stephen Brett, Jim Case, and house pseudonyms Jack Buchanan, Cliff Garnett, Don Pendleton and Dick Stivers (1947--) "McShan! I want a report!" -- Agatha's refrain Prolific pulpster (and huge P.I. fan) Stephen Mertz's very first novel was Some Die Hard (which introduced Denver gumshoe "Rock" Dugan). It was published back in 1979, but it … Continue reading McShan
Miles Huerdeen
Created by Bentley Little (1960--) Given the uber-popularity of television's The Walking Dead, it would be easy to slag The Walking off as a rip-off, except... horror writer Bentley Little's 2000 zombie novel not only predates the popular TV show and its myriad spin-offs and clones, but it actually also predates the comic book series by … Continue reading Miles Huerdeen
Nameless (Bentley Little)
Created by Bentley Little (1960--) "Trinidad was still alive when I found him. Barely." -- the opening of "Bumblebee" Two things set this medium-boiled, quietly activist private eye and NAMELESS apart: one, his mean streets are actually the sun-scorched highways and palm-lined byways of modern Phoenix and environs, and two, amid the “routine” murders, political … Continue reading Nameless (Bentley Little)
Fred J. Dodge
(1854-1938) Born in Butte County in California in 1854, FRED J. DODGE grew up in Sacramento, and became a detective for Wells Fargo, working for them for over fifty years, much of it undercover, in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. There's no doubt Dodge got around. While working in Tombstone, Arizona in 1879, … Continue reading Fred J. Dodge