John K. Butler

(1908-64) Author JOHN K. BUTLER is best-known, at least in our little neck of the woods, for the numerous stories he pounded out for such pulps as Black Mask, Detective Fiction Weekly, Double Detective and especially Dime Detective. A native Californian, Butler was born in Auburn, up near San Francisco. In the latetwenties he migrated to … Continue reading John K. Butler

Donald Westlake

Pseudonyms include Alan Marshal, Edwin West, Edwina West, Edwin Wood, Richard Stark, Tucker Coe, Timothy J. Culver, Samuel Holt, Curt Clark, J. Morgan Cunningham, Ben Christopher, Grace Salacious (1933-2008) Simply the best. One of the most accomplished crime writers ever, and certainly one of the funniest in the hard-boiled school, Donald Edwin Edward Westlake was … Continue reading Donald Westlake

Thomas B. Dewey

Pseudonyms include Tom Brandt and Cord Wainer (1915-81) This bio, taken from Brian Ritt's excellent Paperback Confidential, highlights the career of one of the true pioneers of the genre--Thomas B. Dewey, a man who bridged the gap between the Hammett/Chandler model and the more socially aware and compassionate eyes that followed, such as Lew Archer, … Continue reading Thomas B. Dewey

Jonathan Latimer

Pseudonyms include Peter Coffin(1906-1983) "Jonathan Latimer is the best kept secret in noir fiction. One of the great unrecognized masters."-- Max Allan Collins Born in Chicago, Illinois, JONATHAN LATIMER was educated in Arizona and Illinois. He worked as a reporter at the Chicago Herald Examiner for a few years before he started writing fiction. His first book, … Continue reading Jonathan Latimer

Wade Miller

Pseudonym of Robert Wade (1920-2012) and Bill Miller (1920-61) Other pseudonyms include Whit Masterson, Dale Wilmer, & Will Daemer This bio, taken from Brian Ritt's excellent Paperback Confidential, highlights the career of a unique writing partnership that was responsible for the creation of one of the all-time great private eyes, Max Thursday, as well as … Continue reading Wade Miller

David Dodge

(1910-1974) David Dodge was born in Berkeley, California. His career as a writer began when he made a bet with his wife Elva that he could write a better mystery novel than the one she was reading. He drew on his professional experience as a Certified Public Accountant to create his first series character, San … Continue reading David Dodge

Published in Black Mask

Some Significant Contributors & Other Writers of Interest The most influential and best known of the detective pulps, what's surprising about the following list of contributors to the legendary Black Mask is not only who's on it (Louis L'Amour? Max Brand?), but who isn't, or how few times writers we instantly associate with the venerable mag actually … Continue reading Published in Black Mask

Dennis Lynds (1924-2005)

The Mystery Community Pays Its Respects... (August 21, 2005) I just heard that Dennis Lynds has passed away. Man, I loved that guy. I was just going to drop him a line to check out what I did to his little state-of-the-union address he so kindly offered to this site, and to thank him for … Continue reading Dennis Lynds (1924-2005)

My Scrapbook: The Millars Lived Here

Ross Macdonald & Margaret Millar's Santa Barbara Home I guess this should really be called "Duane's Scrapbook," because he's the one who snapped these pics... Anyway, he posted these recently from secret lair in Burbank, following a jaunt to Santa Barbara. Respectfully submitted by Duane Swierczynski.