Created by Bill S. Ballinger Pseudonyms include B.S. Sanborn and Frederic Fryer (1912-1980) Bill Ballinger wrote a pair of novels about Chicago P.I. BARR BREED who ran the Breed Detective Agency in downtown Chicago. No lone wolf, he, Barr has a staff of three operatives and a secretary, Evelyn Jones, who he considers so homely … Continue reading Barr Breed
Tag: Chicago
Carl Good/Carl Guard
Created by Robert O. Saber Pseudonym of Milton K. Ozaki Other pseudonyms included Mark Shane (1913-89) "I put my arms around her and drew her close. She didn't resist. Then her cool arms were around my neck and her warm breasts were digging into my chest and she was kissing me like a French horn … Continue reading Carl Good/Carl Guard
“Mac” Robinson
Created by Thomas B. Dewey Pseudonyms include Tom Brandt and Cord Wainer (1915-81) "It may be that the recent white Anglo-Saxon Christian struggle to canonize the informer will be lost in the rivers and back streets of America, where 'rat' is still spelled with three letters and the only way to save your life is … Continue reading “Mac” Robinson
Oscar “Duke” Ramsey (The Duke)
Created by Stephen J. Cannell The Duke was yet another Stephen J. Cannell-produced P.I. show that flopped. In the pilot, Up Against the Odds (April 5, 1979), we meet 38-year old Chicago prizefighter OSCAR "DUKE" RAMSEY (played by Robert "The Wild, Wild West, Hawaiian Eye" Conrad), who decides--with some help from his long-time manager Benny--that … Continue reading Oscar “Duke” Ramsey (The Duke)
Ron Shade
Created by Michael A. Black This P.I. can definitely kick your ass. That's because RON SHADE is not just a tough Army vet turned tough-guy Chicago P.I.--he's a tough Army vet turned tough-guy Chicago P.I. really into competitive kickboxing. So don't get him pissed, okay? In his debut, A Killing Frost (2002), he's hired to find an … Continue reading Ron Shade
Sheba Shayne (Sheba, Baby)
Created by William Girdler and David Sheldon "Whatchu gonna do with that gun, mama?" Who's the queen of the private dicks that digs like a sex machine with all the boys? Sheba! Uh, damn right? In Sheba, Baby, the 1975 blaxploitation would-be classic that does a sex-change on Shaft, Pam Grier finally gets to let … Continue reading Sheba Shayne (Sheba, Baby)
Miles Paladon
Created by Robert J. Randisi & Kevin D. Randle 1939 Chicago shamus MILES PALADON is gunned down in a back alley but comes to on a bloody medieval battlefield, with an arrow sticking out of his chest and a bunch of Prince Valiant lookalikes calling him Prince Paladon. Yep, it's another of those "how the hell … Continue reading Miles Paladon
Johnny Maguire
Created by Richard Himmel (1920-2000) Although he's almost forgotten today, author Richard Himmel was tagged as one of the greatest hard-boiled crime writers of the Fawcett Gold Medal era, starting things off with his first book, I'll Find You in 1950, only the second book GM ever published. But the book, which introduced his series … Continue reading Johnny Maguire
My Scrapbook: Be Careful Out There!
It Ain't All Booze, Bullets and Babes...(or "How Two Wrights Make a Wrong") Folks send me stuff all the time, but this clipping sent to me from John Larsen from the January 22, 2021 Chicago Tribune just really stuck in my craw.  It's one hell of a way for a hardworking gumshoe to start off the … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Be Careful Out There!
Ashe Cayne
Created by Ian K. Smith What is this shit? Seriously... I’m told the author is a popular TV doctor with a string of diet books and novels to his name, but this is not the genre’s finest hour. The Unspoken (2020), the series launch, is inept, smugly derivative and ultimately offensive to almost anyone who has … Continue reading Ashe Cayne