Created by Marcia Muller (1944--) "Marcia Muller is the founding mother of the contemporary female hard-boiled private eye." -- Sue Grafton Generally credited with being the first liberated female private detective of the modern era, Marcia Muller's SHARON McCONE paved the way for the subsequentsuccess of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone, Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski, Laura Lippmann's … Continue reading Sharon McCone
Tag: Hall of Fame
Patrick Kenzie & Angie Gennaro
Created by Dennis Lehane (1965--) Dennis Lehane's 1994 A Drink Before the War rocked the boat when it came out, and introduced childhood pals turned Boston private eyes PATRICK KENZIE and ANGELA GENNARO. Patrick and Angie grew up in an Irish/Polish/Italian working-class neighbourhood where "your boundaries begin in the schoolyard and last a lifetime" (according … Continue reading Patrick Kenzie & Angie Gennaro
Bill Lennox
Created by W.T. Ballard (Willis Todhunter Ballard)Pseudonyms include P. D. Ballard, Harrison Hunt, Neil MacNeil, John Shepherd(1903-80) “Just a friendly town... When the knife falls, everyone helps you down into the gutter.”-- Lennox ponders Hollywwood in "A Little Different" Here's another iconic private eye who's officially not a private eye, yet does pretty much everything … Continue reading Bill Lennox
Karl Craven
Created by Jonathan Latimer (1906-1983) "From the way her buttocks looked under the black silk dress, I knew she’d be good in bed." -- one of the great opening lines in detective fiction. A true hardboiled classic, Jonathan Latimer's Solomon's Vineyard, featuring hard-as-a-rock St. Louis private eye KARL CRAVEN (at least, that's what he claimed … Continue reading Karl Craven
Steve Midnight
Created by John K. Butler (1908-64) Although he wasn't really a private eye, STEVE MIDNIGHT sure acted like one in the pages of Dime Detective in the 1940s. Steven Middleton Knight earned his nickname from the moneyed days of his youth when he had a rep as a "midnight playboy on a nation-wide scale." … Continue reading Steve Midnight
Honey West
Created by G.G. FicklingPseudonym of Gloria and Forest Fickling Move over, Kinsey. Step aside, Sharon. Someone get the smelling salts for V.I. Here comes the shocking truth. The first really successful female private eye in her own series of novels was a bimbo! Or at least frequently clothing-challenged and none-too-swift. Evidence? This exclamation from … Continue reading Honey West
Nero Wolfe & Archie Goodwin
Created by Rex Stout (1886-1975) "Compose yourself, Archie. Why taunt me? Why upbraid me? I am merely a genius, not a god." --Nero Wolfe humbly confesses, in Fer-de-Lance "Go to hell, I'm reading." -- Archie has other things on his mind. Also in Fer-de-Lance At first glance, Rex Stout's NERO WOLFE might seem out of … Continue reading Nero Wolfe & Archie Goodwin
“Tough Dick” Donahue
Created by Frederick Nebel (1903-67) One of the hardest of the hard-boiled dicks was prolific pulpster Frederick Nebel's private eye "TOUGH DICK" DONAHUE, whom Cap Shaw of Black Mask hoped would replace The Continental Op after Dashiell Hammett stopped writing for that magazine. There was certainly some reasons for their optimism. A big, burly Irishman and … Continue reading “Tough Dick” Donahue
Cardigan (aka “Steve Cardigan” & Jack Cardigan”)
Created by Frederick NebelPseudonyms include Grimes Hill, Lewis Nebel & Eric Lewis(1903-1966) “I said I was sorry, you want me to set it to music?” The award for most appearances by a series character in Dime Detective has to go to prolific pulpster Frederick Nebel's St. Louis private eye JACK CARDIGAN. Starting with "Death Alley" … Continue reading Cardigan (aka “Steve Cardigan” & Jack Cardigan”)
Mitch Tobin
Created by Tucker Coe Pseudonym of Donald Westlake (1933-2008) Guilt? MITCH TOBIN's soaking in it. This unlicensed private eye and disgraced ex-cop appeared in five novels by Donald Westlake (under the pen name of Tucker Coe), and together they make up one of the most interesting and varied private eye series of the sixties. Obsessed and … Continue reading Mitch Tobin