Created by Kirk Fox Billed as a "dirtbag noir," comedian Kirk Fox's first novel, Palmdale (2026), features a couple of mismatched local private eyes from the high desert SoCal suburban shithole of the title (my adopted hometown). They get tangled up in the murder of a wealthy heir of a powerful Iranian family from Belair, … Continue reading Billy Weber & Joe Soperton (Palmdale)
Tag: California
Andy Barker (Andy Barker, P.I.)
Created by Conan O'Brien & Jonathan Groff "Andy Barker. Accountant by day, private eye by accident." THE BEST P.I. show in years? Probably not, but it says a lot about the shaky state and even shakier confidence of modern American television (and the growing pervasiveness of technology) in 2007 that NBC only produced six episodes … Continue reading Andy Barker (Andy Barker, P.I.)
Mike Haller
Created by Max Byrd (1942--) "I wanted to be nineteen again and be the grandson of Philip Marlowe." — Haller confesses, in California Thriller Rough-and-tumble San Francisco gumshoe MIKE HALLER appeared in three very fine paperback originals from Bantam in the early eighties that — despite some particularly dubious covers in the US (not pictured) … Continue reading Mike Haller
Pete Brass
Created by Robert Donald Locke Pseudonyms include Roger Arcot (1919-2010) Introducing Pete Brass... Violence is his business. Girls are his pleasure. Mixing them is his trouble. And this time he's done it once too often. Uh-huh... It was a fine introduction, printed right there on the very first page of this 1957 Dell paperback original … Continue reading Pete Brass
Ellis Dunaway
Created by Keith Edward Vaughn Wannabe screenwriter ELLIS DUNAWAY inherited his dad's Los Angeles-based Dunaway Private Investigation agency in a series that pretty much drips with Hollywood tropes and touchstones, 1990s style. Broke? No clients? A bad coke habit? Lousy at relationships? Cult nut jobs? Vicious thugs? Seductive starlets? Classic rides? Drugs cartels? Malibu beach … Continue reading Ellis Dunaway
Terry Strong
Created by Lo Monaco Pseudonym of Virginia Welker "I am a private investigator. My name is Terry Strong. I spy on people. I nose into their most personal spaces and dirty secrets and tattle all. Everything is for my clients. They pay me to find the people they think have done them wrong." — Lethal … Continue reading Terry Strong
A. Kimrean & Z. Kimrean
Created by Edgar Cantero (1981--) "Elmore Leonard said it's bad style to open a book with the weather. Well, fuck him — it was blazing hot." — the opening line of This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us Are you ready for the Pronoun Challenge? San Francisco private eyes ADRIEN KIMREAN and ZOE … Continue reading A. Kimrean & Z. Kimrean
Honey Donahue (Honey Don’t!)
Created by Ethan Coen & Tricia Cooke "Why do you assholes always have guns?" — Honey confronts an abusive, MAGA-loving boyfriend Actor Margaret Qualley and screenwriters Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke reunite after Drive Away Dolls (2024), the second in what they're calling a "lesbian B-movie trilogy." Billed as a "dark comedy," the Cohen-directed Honey … Continue reading Honey Donahue (Honey Don’t!)
Gene Burk
Created by John Kaye (1941--) Don't look back -- something may be gaining on you. In John Kaye's well-received The Dead Circus (2002), a noirish ode to dark secrets and the buried past, it's 1986, and GENE BURK is an ex-cop turned Hollywood private eye, obsessed with rock'n' roll, and still reeling over the death … Continue reading Gene Burk
Charles Nieuwendyk (A Man on the Inside)
Created by Michael Schur Winging its way from The Land of HUH? is Netflix' 2024 mini-series A Man on the Inside, an unexpected delight for those tired of grimmer-and-bloodier-than-thou "noir" and phoned-in cosplay detective dramas. It stars Ted Danson (who's almost eighty) as CHARLES NIEUWENDYK, a quietly retired engineering professor and recent widower from Oakland, … Continue reading Charles Nieuwendyk (A Man on the Inside)