Created by Roger Torrey Pseudonyms include Sam Drake, Samuel Drake, John Ryan, R.D. Torrey (1901-46) Los Angeles private eye GEORGE KILLEEN was yet another hard-boiled gumshoe created by pulpmeister Roger Torrey. Surprise, surprise.. he's Irish! According to Jess Nevins, he "gets along well with Lieutenant McFee of the Homicide Squad" whom Killeen admits is “one … Continue reading George Killeen
Tag: California
Breda Burrows & Lynn Cutter Fugitive Nights)
Created by Joseph Wambaugh(1937-2025) Real-life veteran LAPD cop-turned-cop-writer Joseph Wambaugh's only foray into the Shamus Game novel is quite a departure. Mostly because it's not that great. Whereas his previous books tended toward gritty, just-the-facts, ma'am non-fiction and gritty, two-fisted fiction set in the nasty little corners of police life, Fugitive Nights is a relatively … Continue reading Breda Burrows & Lynn Cutter Fugitive Nights)
City of Angels, City of Dicks
Los Angeles Eyes "I used to like this town. A long time ago." — Philip Marlowe in The Little Sister (1949) “L.A. isn’t the end; it’s the beginning...” — Elvis Cole by Robert Crais Southern California, and Los Angeles in particular, is ground zero for private eyes. From Raoul Whitfield and Raymond Chandler to Robert … Continue reading City of Angels, City of Dicks
Dash Fuller
Created by Nick Kowalski Philip Marlowe woulda made a great stand-up comic. I can almost picture the big lug, standing out in the spotlight, neat, clean, shaved and (almost) sober, stalking the stage in some comedy hot spot on the Strip, cracking ‘em up with one-liners and snappy, cock-eyed similes… He had a face like … Continue reading Dash Fuller
Tommy Case
Created by David Burton Divorced, ex-cop TOMMY CASE was raking it in as a Newport Beach P.I., and after scoring big on a recovery job, he decides to call it a day and retire, do some sailing, etc. He actually lives on his sailboat, the NOMORR (stands for No More Rat Race) and that suits … Continue reading Tommy Case
Norm Carpenter & Al Hasp
Created by Jon L. Breen In an era when the perception of faith has been tainted and polluted by fundamentalists of all types, from zealots who fly airplanes into buildings to droolers who see the murdering of doctors and politicians as their personal stairway to heaven, and the media is crowded with holier-than-thou hucksters who … Continue reading Norm Carpenter & Al Hasp
Zac Cobb
Created by Jim Walker ZAC COBB is a former Confederate soldier who moves to California and becomes an undercover investigator for Wells Fargo in a series of westerns written by Jim Walker, a name to reckon with in the niche market of Christian Evangelical publishing. From what I can gather, Zac may not be a … Continue reading Zac Cobb
Jerry Banning
Created by Eustace L. Adams (1891-1963) Eustace L. Adams' JERRY BANNING was an early precursor of other Hollywood stunt men turned private eyes, troubleshooters and fixers (Colt Seavers, Daniel Spandau, Nick Ransom, Lucas Hallam, etc.) in a 1937 serial that first appeared as a four-part serial in Argosy Magazine in 1937. When rising star Dexter … Continue reading Jerry Banning
Georgiana Germaine
Created by Cheryl Bradshaw GEORGIANA GERMAINE (family and close friends call her "Gigi") runs the Case Closed Detective Agency But when we first meet her, in the series debut, Little Girl Lost (2020), Georgiana's closing in on her forties, and is no longer a detective. That career crashed and burned, and she's been living in … Continue reading Georgiana Germaine
Bart Lasiter
Created by Jim Guigli "Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you’ve had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she … Continue reading Bart Lasiter