The Maple Leaf Rag

Other Canadian Eyes "You thought the national flag was about a leaf, didn't you? Look harder. It's where someone got axed in the snow." -- Margaret Atwood THE PRAIRIES Becker by Martin Kitsch (Alberta) Merry Bell by Anthony Bidulka (Livingsky, Saskatchewan) Mike Cobb & Adam Cullen by David A. Poulsen (Calgary, Alberta) Eddie Dancer by … Continue reading The Maple Leaf Rag

Turn It Up to Eleven!

Gonzo Eyes "I wouldn't recommend drugs, alcohol and firearms as a way of life for anyone, but they've always worked for me.” — Dr. Hunter S. Thompson When the pedal hits the metal, when the yeggs hit the pan, when neo-noir’s soft-muted jazzbo soundtracks warbling behind shadow-shrouded mean streets just don't get your motor running, and … Continue reading Turn It Up to Eleven!

Ohio Players: How Many More?

Private Eyes of the Buckeye State Cincinnati (Whatever Became of Me?) Patricia Delaney by Sharon Gwyn Short Eli Paxton by Mike Resnick Harry Stoner by Jonathan Valin Cleveland Rocks! Jinx Alameda by Brian Michael Bendis Jim Bennett by Robert Martin Gil Disbro by James E. Martin Milan Jacovich by Les Roberts Nick Kepler by James … Continue reading Ohio Players: How Many More?

Gentlemen, Name Your Poison (I)

Drinkers, Stinkers and Occasional Tipplers "Alcohol is like love: the first kiss is magic, the second is intimate,the third is routine. After that, you just take the girl's clothes off." -- Terry Lennox in The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler It started out on the printed page, but it's mostly through all those damn movies … Continue reading Gentlemen, Name Your Poison (I)

Ah, Boston, You’re My Home

Beantown Eyes Spenser by Robert B. Parker Thomas Dreddiker 'Dred' Balcazar by Ned White Thomas Banacek by Anthony Wilson Tom Bethany by Jerome Doolittle Harvey Blissberg by Richard Rosen (Cambridge) Carlotta Carlyle by Linda Barnes Dennis Chase (21 Beacon Street) by Leonard Heideman Brady Coyne by William G. Tapply Tommy Crane by Richard Helms John Francis … Continue reading Ah, Boston, You’re My Home

Watching the (Private) Detectives

Rolling Stone Picks 10 Classics In their January 2023 issue (#1371, for those keeping track), the venerable rock mag served up their top ten television “whodunits," as a sidebar to an article by their TV critic Alan Sepinwall on the upcoming Poker Face TV show. No real surprises, but judging from the brief but pithy summaries … Continue reading Watching the (Private) Detectives

These Were a Few of My Favourite Things (2022)

Private Eye-Related Books, Movies, TV Shows, Comics & Other Stuff This is NOT a Best-of-the-Year list. No way. That would infer that I'm in any kind of position to judge and I most certainly am not. I have not read, watched, inhaled, scratched or sniffed everything. So these are just twenty-three of my favourite private … Continue reading These Were a Few of My Favourite Things (2022)

Top Ten Private Eye Shows

As chosen by Max Allan Collins and John Javna In their 1988 book, The Best of Crime & Detective TV, Collins and Javna served up an articulate, passionate, opinionated and often hilarious salute to crime and detective TV, including sections on cop shows, lawyer shows and more. And yes, a section on private eyes. They … Continue reading Top Ten Private Eye Shows

Blake Edwards’ Private Eyes

And Other Miscreants... Like his contemporary Roy Huggins, Blake Edwards must have had a real jones for the Shamus Game. Along with his genuine successes (everything from Richard Diamond and Peter Gunn to 10, S.O.B. and the Pink Panther movies), Edwards wrote, directed and/or produced several radio shows, films (both for television and the big … Continue reading Blake Edwards’ Private Eyes

The 14 Best Private Eye Novels Of All Time

The April 2012 P.I. Poll Results To mark this site's fourteenth anniversary, I asked readers to compile a list of their fourteen favourite private eyes. The results, as of 12:01 AM, PST, April 1st, 2012, when we closed the poll, are: THE FOURTEEN     In descending order... The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (Sam … Continue reading The 14 Best Private Eye Novels Of All Time