Mike Garfin

Created by Martin Brett Pseudonym of Douglas Sanderson Other pseudonyms included Malcolm Douglas (1922- 2002) "This is a dangerous town, did you know?"   A Montreal eye! Born of an Irish-Canadian father and a French-Canadian mom, MICHEL "MIKE" GARFIN was left an orphan at an early age, and raised by the nuns. Well, it's better … Continue reading Mike Garfin

Ashley Smeeton

Created by Anna Dowdall The author calls them "Gothic cozy mysteries" but there's a welcome dash of simmering noir in her well-received books about young, half-Abenaki, Montreal detective ASHLEY SMEETON. The books are full of the usual suspects: betrayed fiancées, beautiful young heiresses, long-lost relatives, isolated estates, creaky old houses and more than enough dark secrets … Continue reading Ashley Smeeton

Nat Lawson

Created by John McFetridge Oh, John, you're such a tease... If there's one thing that gets my shamus senses tingling, it's a Montreal private eye. And Toronto author (and Montreal ex-pat) McFetridge delivers just enough with the short story "Barbotte" to get me all hot and bothered. It's 1946, and NAT LAWSON is just back … Continue reading Nat Lawson

Elliot Forsman & Rivka Goldstein

Created by Gary Raymond Coffin When we first meet him in Ogrodnik (2016), the first in the series, long-time Montreal criminology professor (he teaches a course in "Logical Deduction" at the university) and part-time private eye ELLIOT FORSMAN is at loose ends, growing older and going nowhere. He's living on plastic cheese, packaged salami of … Continue reading Elliot Forsman & Rivka Goldstein

Duck Darley

Created by Casey Barrett Unlicensed New York P.I. DUCK DARLEY has been around, and has the physical and emotional scars to prove it. A former felon and alcoholic who's currently walking the more-or-less straight-and-narrow, he self-medicates by vaping pot, attending AA meetings and getting beat up at his local dojo. Oh, he's also the estranged … Continue reading Duck Darley

The Eye

Created by Marc Behm An unnamed private detective, known only as "THE EYE," is the aging, lonely hero of Eye of the Beholder (1983), one of those peculiar books written in the genre but not of the genre, if you know what I mean. Hired to tail a young newlywed on her honeymoon, The Eye … Continue reading The Eye

Pulp Fiction Chez Vous: An Introduction to David Montrose’s The Body on Mont-Royal

By Kevin Burton Smith Here we are. David Montrose's The Body on Mont-Royal. The third and final of his books to feature private eye Russell Teed. First published in 1953, by Harlequin. Yes, Harlequin. And now it's finally back in print. Pulp fiction chez nous. As vivid as Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles, as Montreal as … Continue reading Pulp Fiction Chez Vous: An Introduction to David Montrose’s The Body on Mont-Royal

Maxwell Dent

Created by Kenneth Orvis Pseudonym of Kenneth Lemieux "God help us, Dent – the thing is, my daughter has become a dope fiend." Montreal private eye MAXWELL DENT studied law at McGill and served in the RCAF and Intelligence M-5 during the Korean War, where he took down a drug ring. He’s got a reputation for … Continue reading Maxwell Dent

Russell Teed

Created by David Montrose Pseudonym of Charles Ross Graham) (1920-68)   A Montreal eye! RUSSELL TEED, "Montreal's version of the tough private eye" appeared in three novels set in my hometown back in the early fifties. And Bob and Doug would be proud of this particular hoser. Dow? Molson? Labatt? The pages of these three … Continue reading Russell Teed

Gusse Oualzerre

Created by Daniel Da A delusional P.I. possibly from Montreal? Tabarnacle! Reinventing himself as a private eye, writer and Crohn's Disease sufferer GUSSE OUALZERRE is hired -- or allows himself to be hired) by a bizarre character who calls himself the General, to rescue his kidnapped daughter Mathilda. The case soon takes a weird, surreal turn, … Continue reading Gusse Oualzerre