Created by Stanley Charlot Pseudonym of Bob Powell (1916-67) You think Perry Mason was a bad-ass? Scrappy, two-fisted "girl attorney" (first a defense lawyer and later District Attorney) BETTY BATES regularly lined 'em up and knocked 'em down in a long running Hit Comics backup feature in the 1940s, appearing in over 60 stories in … Continue reading Betty Bates (Lady at Law)
Tag: Lawyer Sleuth
Luis Montez
Created by Manuel Ramos Speaking of books set in Denver, don't miss Manuel Ramos' excellent books about LUIS MONTEZ, a well-meaning but burned out Chicano lawyer fighting a losing battle against middle age and crime and his ideals. He studied law during the Chicano Movement, and admires political activism, but is conscious of its excesses. … Continue reading Luis Montez
Crang
Created by Jack Batten Shades of Perry Mason! The grand old notion of a defense attorney making like a private detective was alive and well--in Toronto of all places! CRANG (one name, please) also shows a definite Spenser influence, albeit in a Toronto/CBC/yuppie kinda way (ask a Canadian fora translation). He's a struggling, rather quirky … Continue reading Crang
Sam McCain (aka “Cody McCain”)
Created by Ed Gorman Pseudonyms include Richard Driscoll, Chris Shea McCarrick, Daniel Ransom, E.J. Gorman, Edward Gorman Jr. & Robert David Chase (1941-2016) In the late fifties, rookie attorney SAM McCAIN finds himself in Black River Falls, Iowa, the "least successful lawyer" in a "a town that already had too many lawyers." So he agrees--reluctantly, … Continue reading Sam McCain (aka “Cody McCain”)
Hanns Gross & Karl Werthen
Created by J. Sydney Jones Real-life criminalogist HANNS GROSS and fictional attorney/private investigator KARL WERTHEN are the heroes of a series of intricately plotted historical mysteries by author J. Sydney Jones set in turn-of-the-century Vienna. Often referred to as "the father of criminology," Doktor Hanns Gustav Adolf Gross (1847-1915) was an Austrian criminal jurist and examining magistrate who … Continue reading Hanns Gross & Karl Werthen
Matthew Hope
Created by Ed McBain Né Salvatore Lombino Other pseudonyms include Evan Hunter, Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Richard Marsten, Ezra Hannon,John Abbott (1926 -2005) Robert Randisi considers Calusa, Florida attorney MATTHEW HOPE to be a private eye, and that's good enough for me. When we first meet Hope in 1978's Goldilocks, he’s a transplanted New Yorker … Continue reading Matthew Hope
Gethin Grey (Last Resorts Legal)
Created by John Lincoln Pseudonym of John Williams GETHIN GREY is a husband, a father, and a gambler, but it doesn’t take long in his debut, Fade to Grey (2019), to realize that the odds aren’t in his favour. The hapless founder of the Cardiff-based Last Resorts Legals, it’s obvious he’s a far cry from legal … Continue reading Gethin Grey (Last Resorts Legal)
Onni Syrjänen
Created by Tapani Bagge (1962–) ONNI SYRJÄNEN, Finnish crimewriter Tapani Bagge's not very successful lawyer, is a sad sack drunk too poor to hire a detective. So he does his own gumshoeing. He lives and works in Kerava, a small railroad town near Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Onni's office is on the first floor … Continue reading Onni Syrjänen
Cicero
Created by Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) In Defense of Sextus Roscius of Ameria (aka "Pro Roscio Amerino") by Marcus Tullius Cicero, aka “Cicero,” written about 80 BC, may just be one of my favourite private eye novels. Yep, it's a speech, not a novel, but young Cicero's first major defense speech reads like a short … Continue reading Cicero
Gillian Hazeltine
Created by George F. Worts Pseudonyms include Loring Brent (1892-1967) Was GILLIAN HAZELTINE the inspiration for Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason? It's hard to say, but he's barely mentioned at all, unless it's in reference to Gardner and his most famous creation. Yet he was once one of the most popular lawyer/sleuth s in the … Continue reading Gillian Hazeltine