Created by John Spain Pseudonym of Cleve F. Adams (1895-1949) John Spain's BILL RYE is a cynical op whose description will probably remind you of Hammett's description of Sam Spade (or at least that's who I was reminded of). Rye works for a Los Angeles detective agency run by a gent named Callahan, who raised … Continue reading Bill Rye
Tag: Cleve F. Adams
Little Jack Horner
Created by Jerome Severs Perry Pseud. of Robert Leslie Bellem (1902-1968) “I’m not a detective, I’m a beef blower. A beef blower is a man who blows down beefs, or, in plain language, quells trouble. That’s my job. I quell trouble for Lew Quarrie.” Red-headed JOHN J. "LITTLE JACK" HORNER was yet another Tinseltown shamus … Continue reading Little Jack Horner
John J. Shannon
Created by Cleve F. Adams Pseudonyms include John Spain (1895-1949) Detective Lieutenant JOHN J. SHANNON appeared in several short stories that ran in the pulps in the late thirties until, at the urging of his girlfriend, he quit the police force to open up his own detective agency in the 1942 novel, The Private Eye. The back cover … Continue reading John J. Shannon
Rex McBride
Created by Cleve F. Adams Pseudonyms include John Spain, Franklin Charles (1895-1949) "An American Gestapo is goddam well what we need... The only way you can lick these guys is to fight as dirty as they do... bite and gouge and use a knee where it will do most good." -- Rex shows he's a man … Continue reading Rex McBride
Violet McDade & Nevada Alvarado
Created by Cleve F. Adams (1895-1949) "Violet hit him. Not hard, just a backhanded sweep across the room." -- Nevada relates how her boss handles men. The honour of being the first hard-boiled lady private eye arguably belongs to the buxom young lass over there to the right, Cleve F. Adams' VIOLET McDADE, who made her … Continue reading Violet McDade & Nevada Alvarado
The Fictioneers
Role Call The Fictioneers was a social club for about twenty-five or so Southern California pulp writers established in the thirties, many of whom wrote for Black Mask. The informal club was founded by crime writers Cleve F. Adams and W.T. Ballard. The boys would meet monthly at the Nikobob Café at the corner of … Continue reading The Fictioneers