Created by Pierre Saurel Pseudonym of Pierre Daignault Other pseudonyms include Jacques Régent, Hercule Valjean, Paul Verchères (1925-2003) A popular Montréal P.I., ALBERT BRIEN, appeared in an astonishing number of stories, collectively known as Les Aventures Policiéres d'Albert Brien, created--but not all written--by Pierre Saurel, starting way back in 1944. Albert is a celebrated Montréal … Continue reading Albert Brien
Tag: Montreal
Robert Brien
Created by Pierre Saurel Pseudonym of Pierre Daignault Other pseudonyms include Jacques Régent, Hercule Valjean, Paul Verchères (1925-2003) When his astonishing run (over a thousand stories over twenty-odd years) featuring Montreal private eye Albert Brien (“Le détective national des Canadiens française!") was drawing to a close in 1966, Québecois pulpster Pierre Saurel decided to spin … Continue reading Robert Brien
Robert “Le Manchot” Dumont
Created by Pierre Saurel Pseudonym of Pierre Daignault Other pseudonyms include Jacques Régent, Hercule Valjean, Paul Verchères (1925-2003) Tabernaque! I can't believe I missed this eye, operating in my own backyard! Talk about your two solitudes! ROBERT DUMONT is more commonly known as "LE MANCHOT," aka "The Penguin." He's a Québecois Montreal private eye with … Continue reading Robert “Le Manchot” Dumont
My Scrapbook: “By Heart” by Emily St. John Mandel
My Scrapbook "By Heart" by Emily St. John Mandel "By Heart" is a recurring feature in The Atlantic in which authors, usually highly respected "literary" types, share and discuss some of their all-time favorite passages in literature. Which is why I got such a kick out of Emily St. John Mandel's pick, which appeared in the … Continue reading My Scrapbook: “By Heart” by Emily St. John Mandel
Christopher Graydon (Last Night in Montreal)
Created by Emily St. John Mandel "Memory's a strange thing." "My name is Christopher Graydon. I'm a private investigator. I'd like to ask you a few questions." Montreal private eye CHRISTOPHER GRAYDON is but one of the people caught up in the wreckage of Lilia Albert's mysterious and peripatetic life in the dark, swirling Last … Continue reading Christopher Graydon (Last Night in Montreal)
David Dennings
Created by Ann Diamond "No Hair Too Thin, No Case Too Smal"l -- The Ariadine Agency's mottoIs that a styling comb in your pocket, or are you glad to see me? DAVID DENNINGS is a former hairdresser turned Montreal private eye who escapes the bone-chilling winter of his hometown by taking a case that eventually … Continue reading David Dennings
Jack Carter (Les aventures tumultueuses de Jack Carter)
Created by Sylvie Lussier and Pierre Poirier Non-Montrealers may think the lead character in the Radio-Canada private eye TV show Les aventures tumultueuses de Jack Carter is some sort of hands-across-the-water homage to Michael Caine's character in the iconic 1971 Brit noir Get Carter. But they'd be wrong. It's all given away by numerous publicity stills which … Continue reading Jack Carter (Les aventures tumultueuses de Jack Carter)
Eugène Duchamp
Created by Marie-Ève Bourassa Pas pire. Pas pire... In her first foray into crime fiction, Marie-Eve Bourassa brings it on home with Red Light: Adieuu, Miognonne (2016), scoring an Arthur Ellis for Best French novel and -- even better -- introducing an intriguing new private eye to Montreal's ranks. It's the 1920s, and former cop, … Continue reading Eugène Duchamp
Bill Yates
Created by Malcolm Douglas Pseudonym of Douglas Sanderson Other pseudonyms include Martin Brett (1922- 2002) At first I thought I'd discovered a long-lost Montreal eye here. And in a way I have. And in a way I haven't. BILL YATES is actually just Douglas Sanderson's Mike Garfin with a different name, released by another publisher … Continue reading Bill Yates
Hard, Tough and More Than a Little Nasty
Martin Brett's Mike Garfin Novels An Overview by Kevin Burton Smith For a homesick Montréaler like me, Stark House's 2006 reprinting of The Deadly Dames (originally published in 1956) and A Dum-Dum for the President (1961), the third and fourth books to feature ma ville's greatest private eye, Martin Brett's Michel "Mike" Garfin, provides an embarrassment … Continue reading Hard, Tough and More Than a Little Nasty