Created by Gary Phillips It's Los Angeles in the early sixties, and the times are definitely a-changing, as uneasy questions about race, class, civil rights and some sort of conflict in Southeast Asia are starting to heat up. But all jazz-loving African-American Korean War vet and camera ace "ONE-SHOT" HARRY INGRAM really wants is to sell … Continue reading “One-Shot” Harry Ingram
Tag: Historical 1960s
Doc Sportello (Inherent Vice)
Created by Thomas Pynchon (1937-) “PIs are doomed, man, you could’ve seen it coming for years, in the movies, on the tube. Once there was all these great old PIs--Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, the shamus of shamus Johnny Staccato, always smarter and more professional than the cops, always end up solving the crime while the … Continue reading Doc Sportello (Inherent Vice)
Vera Kelly
Created by Rosalie Knecht Her debut in 2018's genre-and-gender flipping Who is Vera Kelly?, a wonky mish-mash that hits the sweet spot somewhere between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Bridget Jones' Diary, knocked a lot of critics and readers back on their heels. The titular heroine was, of course, VERA KELLY, a sassy young … Continue reading Vera Kelly
Billy Bob Holland & The Holland Family Saga
Created by James Lee Burke Writer James Lee Burke, best known for Cajun almost-P.I. Dave Robicheaux cracked open a new series with Deaf Smith, Texas attorney BILLY BOB HOLLAND. Like his more famous creation, Billy Bob is a troubled gent, haunted by the violence of his ancestors (a few of whom have starred in books … Continue reading Billy Bob Holland & The Holland Family Saga
Easy Rawlins
Created by Walter Mosley (1952--) “If I knew where I stood then I had a chance of getting where I was going.” -- Cinnamon Kiss In post-WWII Los Angeles, EZEKIEL "EASY" RAWLINS, a recently returned Black vet desperate to hang on to his small house, agrees to do a little private snooping for a local … Continue reading Easy Rawlins