Created by Charley Memminger It says something about the ongoing appeal of Travis McGee that so many writers have been inspired to create Travis-like heroes themselves. But Charley Memminger's STRYKER McBRIDE may be one of the most obvious yet. I mean, look at that cover over there! This Hawaiian-bound sleuth, a beer-swigging former crime reporter, … Continue reading Stryker McBride
Tag: Boat
Brad Dolan
Created by William Fuller "The name's Dolan...I like to eat to live, drink to relax and sleep because I'm a sackhound. Somehow, though, something always seems to go wrong." Hard-boiled adventurer, smuggler and wanderer BRAD DOLAN is a sort of pre-Travis McGee Travis McGee and certainly no stranger to trouble. Or violence. Or babes. He … Continue reading Brad Dolan
Jack Starkey
Created by William Wells JACK STARKEY is an ex-homicide cop from Chicago who dumps the Windy City and the CPD to live the life aquatic on a houseboat called Phoenix and runs a bar called the Drunken Parrot in sleepy Fort Myers Beach, Florida, in a couple of easy-going books by William Wells. Jack figures this is the … Continue reading Jack Starkey
Billy Raskolnikov & Ringo
Created by William Dylan Powell Peg-legged ex-cop turned unlicensed private eye BILLY RASKOLNIKOV and his pet monkey RINGO (yeah, you read that right) work out of a boat, David's Fifth Margarita, docked in Redfish Bay near Corpus Christi. They've appeared in several humorous short stories in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, set on the Texas coast in the … Continue reading Billy Raskolnikov & Ringo
Rick and A.J. Simon (Simon & Simon)
Created by Philip DeGuere Ever wonder what would happen if the HARDY BOYS grew up? At least a little bit? Squabbling siblings and San Diego private eye brothers RICK and ANDREW JACKSON "A.J." SIMON attempted to answer that question every week for seven seasons on Simon & Simon, one of the eighties' more popular detective … Continue reading Rick and A.J. Simon (Simon & Simon)
Jack Dixon
Created by Daniel M. Ford Affable, battered Maryland investigator JACK DIXON takes on the world with a jaundiced eye and a cutting wit, from the deck of the Belle of Joppa, the houseboat he lives on. If it sounds rather familiar and conjures up a rather McGee-esque vibe, well, at least the author's heart seems to … Continue reading Jack Dixon
Joe Adams (Mr. Lucky)
Developed for television by Blake Edwards (1922-2010), Gordon Oliver and Jack Arnold No, Mr. Lucky wasn't a private eye show, though it bore more than a passing resemblance to Peter Gunn, right down to the same creative team, a snappy Henry Mancini theme and a good-looking, suave kinda guy in the lead. And whether he liked … Continue reading Joe Adams (Mr. Lucky)
Oscar Sail
Created by Lester Dent (1905-1959) When not busy churning out most of the 181 Doc Savage adventures under the Kenneth Robeson pseudonym, prolific pulpster Lester Dent could produce wild and wacky hard-boiled dicks with the best of them, including Lynn Lash, Lee Nace (The Blond Adder), Foster Fade (The Crime Spectacularist) and Click Rush (The Gadget Man). … Continue reading Oscar Sail
John Caine
Created by Charles Knief Retired U.S. naval officer and SEAL JOHN CAINE lives on his 56-foot ketch-rigged sailboat, Duchess, in Oahu, Hawaii, and supplements his income by occasionally doing little favors for friends. Drawing favorable comparisons to Spenser and particularly Travis McGee, Caine's first appearance, 1996's Diamond Head, won the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers … Continue reading John Caine
Tony Lowell
Created by E.C. Ayres Pseudonym of Gene Ayres; also writes as John Underwood In yet another Florida P. I. series, TONY LOWELL is a "shaggy 1960's dropout, a "hippie deadbeat" Vietnam vet and ex-hotshot UPI photographer who took early retirement to live the dream: a little beer and a little pot with friends, a little guitar … Continue reading Tony Lowell