Created by John McAleer (1923-2003) Continued by Andrew McAleer HENRY von STRAY is a London-based private detective created by Edgar-winner and Rex Stout John McAleer, according to his son Andrew McAleer. Apparently, nobody had any idea the character even existed, until a handwritten copy of the only known von Stray story, "The Case of the … Continue reading Henry von Stray
Tag: Historical 1920s
George Harley
Created by Phil Lecomber "Whisky and a splash, please." So, while the likes of Race Williams, The Continental Op and Sam Spade were going down those pre-Chandler mean streets of 1920s America and kicking butt in the pages of Black Mask, across the pond low-rent hard man and private investigator GEORGE HARLEY was plying his … Continue reading George Harley
Delvina Salvastano Kline
Created by Rachel Scott McDaniel Good girl DELVINA SALVASTANO KLINE wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but she sure grew up with one, adopted into a wealthy and influential New York City family in the 1920s. Only problem was that her birth father was a notorious gangster, and so in a way … Continue reading Delvina Salvastano Kline
Colm Steiner
Created by Nicholas Wagner "When night fell, they burned a campfire and ate a kangaroo." A hard-drinking, hard-loving, hard-edged hard man for hire, COLM STEINER works for the London-based Enquiry Service in the years following World War I, doing whatever needs to be done: find a missing person, qualm a gang war, track down a … Continue reading Colm Steiner
Lao She & Judge Dee Ren Jie
Created by S.J. Rozan & John Shen Yen Nee If you're a hardcore mystery buff, you may be thinking: "Wait a minute! Wasn't Judge Dee a fictional detective in a series of novels written from the b1940s through the 1960s by  Robert van Gulik?" And you'd be more or less correct. Judge Dee (or Judge Di, … Continue reading Lao She & Judge Dee Ren Jie
Nameless (The Big Farewell)
Created by Dan Leissner "I've had a ton of shit shovelled in my face. The shit they gave me when I went off to war. And when I came home... And lame excuses and empty promises from guys on their knees, trying to stop me from doing my job. Trying to wriggle out of a … Continue reading Nameless (The Big Farewell)
Sam Klein
Created by Allan Levine "Tolerance and equality were only words social gospellers ... spoke about. Such acceptance, Klein and every other Jew in Winnipeg knew, was often cheap talk. Neighbourhoods, clubs and summer resorts were all restricted. And yet, in the chaos and turmoil of the strike, something had changed." --The Bolshevik's Revenge The Jets, … Continue reading Sam Klein
Becker (Becker: House Detective)
Created by Martin Kitsch The hero of Becker: House Detective, another CBC radio series,\clues us in on his lot in life: "The Queen of the Rockies. A Grand Hotel. About the last thing you'd expect to find in the Rockies in 1923, but then I may be the last thing you'd expect to find in … Continue reading Becker (Becker: House Detective)
Eugène Duchamp
Created by Marie-Ève Bourassa Pas pire. Pas pire... In her first foray into crime fiction, Marie-Eve Bourassa brings it on home with Red Light: Adieuu, Miognonne (2016), scoring an Arthur Ellis for Best French novel and -- even better -- introducing an intriguing new private eye to Montreal's ranks. It's the 1920s, and former cop, … Continue reading Eugène Duchamp
PaPa LaBas
Created by Ishmael Reed (1938-) Ishmael Reed's headspinning Mumbo Jumbo (1972) is mish-mash of Black pride, righteous anger, fingerpointing and, um, Footloose? It's also, if you look at it in just the right light, a private eye story. It’s the early 1920s, Warren Harding is president, membership in the Ku Klux Klan is growing, ragtime is morphing into jazz, … Continue reading PaPa LaBas