Created by Frank Spotnitz (1960--) Award-winning writer and producer Frank Spotnitz (one of the headwaiters for The X-Files) was behind this eight-part suspense thriller from 2012 that I just stumbled across, more than a decade later. with an international espionage story line. Melissa George starred as SAM HUNTER, a kick-ass (and gorgeous) operative for Byzantium, … Continue reading Sam Hunter (Hunted)
Tag: Detective Agency
Russ Ashton
Created by Myron A. Nunes Tom Neal (of Detour fame) starred as private eye RUSS ASHTON, head of The Ace Detective Agency, in two supposedly enjoyable quickie B-romps from 1947, The Case of the Baby-Sitter and The Hat-Box Mystery. And I do mean quickies. In The Hat-Box Mystery, one of Russ' ops, Susan Hart (Pamela … Continue reading Russ Ashton
Callie Darrow
Created by Barbara Paul (1931-2022) Private eye CALLIE DARROW made her debut in Barbara Paul's Shamus-nominated short story "The Reluctant Op" Which of course begs the question "Why is she so reluctant?" Well, for a good part of her life, Callie was on the other side of the line. A thief and a con artist … Continue reading Callie Darrow
Babs Norman & Guy Brandt
Created by Elizabeth Crowens Pseudonym of Sheri Lane For those of you who miss the star-studded, name-dropping Hollywood misadventures of Stuart Kaminsky's beloved Toby Peters, you might want to check out Elizabeth Crowens' similarly light-hearted novels featuring 1930s and 40s Tinseltown dick BABS NORMAN and her partner, best friend and aspiring actor, GUY BRANDT. They … Continue reading Babs Norman & Guy Brandt
Tyrone Gable & Rinty “The Gaffer” McLaren
Created by Niklas Three It's 1999 and "hard-boiled" Windy City dicks TYRONE GABLE and RINTY "THE GAFFER" MCLAREN are the cash-strapped stars of the action-packed, wise-cracking Roll (2023), venturing deep into Dick Francis territory, travelling to Louisiana to track down a prized thoroughbred that has disappeared. It's all narrated by the surpisingly chatty Gable, a … Continue reading Tyrone Gable & Rinty “The Gaffer” McLaren
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
Guila Falcone & Frank Driscoll
Created by Alice Loweecy Okay, so this ex-nun and a private dick walk into a bar... Ooops, sorry, that's actually just one person: GUILA FALCONE, who left the convent at the age of 29, taking a string of small jobs before landing a gig as an assistant at Pittsburgh's Driscoll Investigations. She's still getting used … Continue reading Guila Falcone & Frank Driscoll
Harry Garnish & Sister Bridget O’Toole
Created by Frank McConnell (1942-99) A sort of at times cozyish spin on A.A. Fair's Donald Lam and Bertha Cool. Or is it Nero Wolfe and Archie? Hard-drinking, chain-smoking, slow-thinking Skokie, Illinois private eye HARRY GARNISH has a big problem in life. And it isn't his alcohol intake, his tobacco habit or his lack of … Continue reading Harry Garnish & Sister Bridget O’Toole
Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple & Auguste Poe
Created by James Patterson & Brian Sitts Coming from the House of Patterson, it almost seems awfully pre-fabricated. Three sleuths with major name recognition among mystery fans come together to form a New York City detective agency? Under the auspices of an author with a little name recognition himself? Full of short chapters and concurrent … Continue reading Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple & Auguste Poe
Mick “Brew” Axbrewder & Ginny Fistoulari
Created by Reed Stephens Pseudonym of Stephen R. Donaldson) (1947- -) Guilt? Jealousy? Anger? Alcoholism? Lust? Pity? Self-pity? You're soaking in it. In this trilogy from the eighties, drunk and washed-up ex-cop MICK "BREW" AXBREWDER is content to drink himself to death in some dive bar in Puerto del Sol, a city somewhere in the … Continue reading Mick “Brew” Axbrewder & Ginny Fistoulari