(1854-1938) Born in Butte County in California in 1854, FRED J. DODGE grew up in Sacramento, and became a detective for Wells Fargo, working for them for over fifty years, much of it undercover, in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. There's no doubt Dodge got around. While working in Tombstone, Arizona in 1879, … Continue reading Fred J. Dodge
Tag: Historical
Old Red & Big Red Amlingmeyer
Created by Steve Hockensmith “So how is it,” I hear you ask, “that a couple no-account saddle bums like you and your brother came to be so fired-up excited about detectifying like a proper English gentleman detective?” To which I say, “Who’s a no-account saddle bum?” -- Otto puts a little spit in the pan. … Continue reading Old Red & Big Red Amlingmeyer
Jack Chesley
Created by Sean Carswell It's 1946 Los Angeles and hard-drinking, hard-boiled ex-cop JOHN WALTER "JACK" CHESLEY, JR. is finally home from the war. But it's not such a great homecoming after all. His wife Wilma is dead―and her twin sister Gertie insists she was murdered. The cops aren't convinced -- they claim it was an … Continue reading Jack Chesley
Flavia Albia
Created by Lindsey Davis After twenty bestselling novels following Falco Didius Marcus down the mean streets of Ancient Rome, best-selling author Lindsey Davis spun off a new series featuring his adopted daughter FLAVIA ALBIA. There's a distinct whiff of chick-lit trendiness here -- Albia, now 28, is a decidedly modern girl (well, for 89 A.D., … Continue reading Flavia Albia
Matthew Grand & James Batchelor
Created by M.J. Trow MATTHEW GRAND, formerly of the U.S. Army (he was a witness to Abraham Lincoln's assassination), and JAMES BATCHELOR, an ex-journalist, are a pair of private enquiry agents in Victorian London, in a series of historical thrillers by M.J. Trow that mix (not always successfully) light-hearted hijinks with some pretty gruesome murders … Continue reading Matthew Grand & James Batchelor
Neil Hammond & Archie Goldman
Created by Jules Feiffer "I could kill her." -- Annie on her mother Unlike his first foray into detective and crime fiction, Ackroyd (1977), cartoonist Jules Feiffer's 2014 graphic novel Kill My Mother drew pretty much unanimous praise, and was named one of the year's best books of the year by both Vanity Fair and Kirkus … Continue reading Neil Hammond & Archie Goldman
Maisie Dobbs
Created by Jacqueline Winspear In her spawling, ambitious eponymously-titled historical novel, we first meet MAISIE DOBBS, a young working class girl in 1920s England with a love of books and learning. Once, a long time ago (much of the book flashes back to her younger years), Maisie worked as a housemaid for social activist Lady … Continue reading Maisie Dobbs
Wyatt Earp
As written by Patrick Culhane (pseud. of Max Allan Collins), Robert B. Parker, Loren D. Estleman & Charles Knief Brave, courageous and bold... and a P.I.? WYATT EARP, of course, was a real person, a legendary lawman in the Old West. Dime novels, movies, TV and radio -- we're all more than familiar with the "story." … Continue reading Wyatt Earp
Donald Langham & Marie Dupré
Created by Eric Brown DONALD LANGHAM is a struggling midlist mystery writer turned (initially reluctant) private investigator in 1950s England, slowly drifting through middle age. He's often accompanied by the beautiful and resourceful (and infinitely more spirited) literary agent Maria Dupré (later his wife) on his adventures, in this well-paced, cozyish series by sci-fi writer … Continue reading Donald Langham & Marie Dupré
Joe Ready
Created by Bob Truluck "You mean you're a private detective?" "That's a little formal for what I do." -- Joe tries to keep it casual in "A Man Called Ready" JOE READY says he's not a private detective, but reckons it's "a nice payday for a guy who's been about as busy as a pickpocket at … Continue reading Joe Ready