Morris Baker

Created by Josh Weiss When MORRIS BAKER  first appeared, in 2022’s Beat the Devils, he wasn’t a private eye. Or was he? With alternate history novels, it’s hard to keep track, sometimes, as history is folded, bent and mutilated to fit the author’s vision. In Beat the Devils (2022), set in a hellish version of the post-WWII … Continue reading Morris Baker

Viviana Valentine

Created by Emily J. Edwards “I’ve been a Girl Friday for the best P.I. in the city for years, ya moron… You think I didn’t learn a thing or two?” Rough-and-tumble Tommy Fortuna is allegedly the best private eye in 1950s New York City, but it turns out VIVIANA VALENTINE, his spunky, long-time "Girl Friday" (her … Continue reading Viviana Valentine

H.P. “Philip” Lovecraft

Created by Joseph Dougherty "The omens are bad. Me, I'm going to Florida!" -- you know things are bad when the landlady threatens to call it quits  Raymond Chandler's mean streets were never like this! A pleasant surprise was Cast a Deadly Spell, a pulpy, tongue-in-cheek 1991 HBO offering that took the world of the … Continue reading H.P. “Philip” Lovecraft

Aloysius Archer

Created by David Baldacci It's 1949, and rough-and-tumble WWII vet ALOYSIUS ARCHER is a hard-luck drifter and a total shit magnet, freshly sprung from Carderock Prison, when he hits the road in  One Good Deed (2019), a sly, noirish change of pace from  the #1 New York Times bestselling author Baldacci. His parole conditions are pretty … Continue reading Aloysius Archer

Tommy “Dapper” Luoo

Created by John Triptych Although primarily a sci-fi writer, John Triptych has written and published two books (so far) about TOMMY "DAPPER" LUOO, a Chinese-American private eye in 1940-50s Los Angeles, and he intends to keep going. As the author says, "If you like hard-boiled detective fiction with equal helpings of James Ellroy, Walter Mosley, Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, … Continue reading Tommy “Dapper” Luoo

Mitch Roberts

Created by Gaylord Dold (1947-2018) Brooding MITCH ROBERTS is the hero of one of the best--and most criminally overlooked--private eye series of the 1980's. The first six books in the series were all paperback originals, the first put out by Avon, the next five by Ivy Books,  that seemed to have vanished with barely a trace. … Continue reading Mitch Roberts

The Twenty-Year Death Trilogy

Created by Ariel S. Winter "I had on my good suit, a navy blue so deep it looked black, with a pressed white shirt, a red-and-blue-striped tie, a red handkerchief, and freshly polished loafers. I'd had a shower and a shave." -- Dennis Foster calls on his client, in The Falling Star "Yeah, I'd always … Continue reading The Twenty-Year Death Trilogy

Byrd (Hawaiian Dick)

Created by B. Clay Moore & Steven Griffin "Thank God the Tiki Bar's still open Thank God the Tiki lights still shine Thank God the Tiki Bar's still open Come on in and open up your mind..." --John Hiatt If Raymond Chandler had worn a few more Hawaiian shirts and learned how to chill, maybe … Continue reading Byrd (Hawaiian Dick)

Jack Levine

Created by Andrew Bergman(1945--) "Private dicks aren't known for being great abstract thinkers, Miss Lane, but we can get around town without a map."-- Jack tries to reassure a client in The Big Kiss-Off of 1944    One of the first, and still one of the very best retro eyes, predating both Nate Heller and Toby … Continue reading Jack Levine

Freddy Otash

Created by James Ellroy "Ellroy’s a dipshit. I knew him in my waning months alive. I’ve been granted tell-all telepathy. I will know that cocksucker cold." -- Freddie nails Ellroy to the wall, in "Shakedown" According to Wikipedia, FREDDIE OTASH was "a Los Angeles police officer, private investigator, author, and a WWII Marine veteran, who became known … Continue reading Freddy Otash