Created by Derek Marlowe (1938-1996) WALTER BRACKETT is a British eye, a lonely ex-pat middle-aged widower not getting any younger, down on his luck and a long, long way from home in Derek Marlowe's 1974 standalone classic, Somebody's Sister. Melancholy? You’re soaking in it. If Chandler seems too upbeat for you, and Hammett just a … Continue reading Walter Brackett
Tag: Ex-pat
Alack Sinner
Created by Carlos Sampayo and José Munoz Cue the warbling sax... In a stylish, impressionistic and highly influential comic strip, Argentinian-born New York gumshoe and former New York cop ALACK SINNER, cold, cynical, and with a face scarred by who-knows-what, is a brooding, obsessed man who hangs out at Joe’s Bar, a local watering hole. … Continue reading Alack Sinner
Mike Callahan (World for Ransom)
Created by Lindsay Hardy and Hugo Butler In World for Ransom, a rough-and-tough little B-noir from 1954, MIKE CALLAHAN is an Irish war vet working as a P.I. in Singapore who goes to work for an ex-lover who thinks her husband's up to something shady. Sure enough, good ol' Mike (played by twitchy, dapper noir … Continue reading Mike Callahan (World for Ransom)
Xavier Lombard
Created by Eric Leclere "The Lost Son was not written for the book establishment to sanction, censure or kill. Books are for reading, and we feel the public should be given a chance to do just that." —the author explains why he was giving away his book. Speaking of British crime flicks (well, I was … Continue reading Xavier Lombard
Len Buonfiglio
Created by Brian Silverman Freedom Drop (2021) introduces ex-Marine and former New York bar owner "with a few miles on him" LEN BUONFIGLIO, in what could be a great series, full of solid characters and sparkling with local colour. Recently divorced and tired of the Big Apple life, he packed up and moved to the small … Continue reading Len Buonfiglio
Luke Fischer
Created by Craig Terlson "I ran into Franko Toledo three weeks ago while searching for a delinquent husband in Santa Fe. Truth was, his last name wasn’t Toledo. That’s just where he came from: Toledo, Spain... I never got Franko’s real last name until I saw it on his hospital bracelet." -- the first lines … Continue reading Luke Fischer
Thaddeus Grayle
Created by Seamus Heffernan When we meet him in his debut novel, Naplam Hearts (2018), THADDEUS GRAYLE is an American ex-pat living in London, England who's made a life for himself, running a "fairly lucrative" detective agency out of a two-floor walkup in Shoreditch. Only problem? He's bored stiff. Recently divorced, estranged from his fourteen-year-old daughter … Continue reading Thaddeus Grayle
A.Y. Jalisco (Chicanos)
Created by Carlos Trillo & Eduardo Risso "There is something worse than gringos... and that is rich Mexicans who look at you as if you were garbage." Chicanos follows the misadventures (it's hard to call them "cases") of ALEJANDRINA "A.Y." JALISCO, a short, stout, top-heavy (and, we're constantly told, unattractive) Mexican woman who follows her … Continue reading A.Y. Jalisco (Chicanos)
Vinee Calvino
Created by Christopher G. Moore (1946--) Dubbed the "The Hemingway of Bangkok," expatriate Christopher G. Moore is one of Canada's most successful novelists. Yet, perhaps typically, he's almost unknown in Canada (or North America, for that matter). But in Thailand and Southeast Asia he's become something of a sensation, especially among foreign workers and travelers. … Continue reading Vinee Calvino
Sam Callaghan
Created by Paul Barron and Peter Andrikidis Serangoon Road is a 2013 ten-episode private eye drama from Australia, set in 1960s Singapore, and starring Don Hany and Joan Chen. The mini-series, filmed on location in Singapore, is a big deal international co-production between ABC TV and HBO Asia, with American and Australian money also involved, … Continue reading Sam Callaghan