Created by Mike Brett(aka Michael Brett)(1921-2000) New York City's chrome-domed SAM DAKKERS was no private eye hero. As he matter-of-factly points out right off the bat, "I'm a bookie: horses, baseball, fights, anything. As long as there's action, I'm ready to take it." But all bets are off Sam, a schlub not exactly blessed with … Continue reading Sam Dakkers
Tag: New York City
Pete McGrath
Created by Michael Brett (1921-2000) He's a big, handsome lug of a guy with black hair and blue eyes. He's appropriately cynical, and he has a habit of talking to himself. He likes Scotch, good cigars and Samantha Conners, a tour guide at the UN. He tools around town in a three-year old Chevy and … Continue reading Pete McGrath
Adam McAnnis
Created by Dann McDorman "Of course there is a detective. There must be a detective."— just in case you were wondering. Cozy? Hard-boiled? Meta-fiction? A sly update on Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game? A rip on John Dickson Carr's locked room mysteries? A edible-fueled game of Clue? Postmodernism run amuck? It's hard to tell. … Continue reading Adam McAnnis
R.J. Brooks
Created by Stephen Humphrey Bogart (1949--) "Sam Spade, my ass." R.J. BROOKS is a Big Apple "matrimonial detective" (ie: a private eye who specializes in catching wayward spouses) and the son of a couple of famous movie stars. Professionally, he's got a solid rep for honesty and integrity, even if he doesn't always approve of … Continue reading R.J. Brooks
Rose Gallagher
Created by Erin Lindsey If Disney had done The X-Files, it may have gone something like this... Plucky, sassy housemaid ROSE GALLAGHER, an Irish girl from rough and tumble Five Points in New York City is content sweeping the floors and performing other household chores in a swank Fifth Avenue brownstone, and she'd probably still … Continue reading Rose Gallagher
Joe Venice
Created by Jiro Kimura JOE VENICE is a New York City private eye with an office across the street from City Hall where, I guess, he can keep an eye on the mayor. Just an ordinary "Joe," except that his mother was Japanese. He was born at an American military base in Sakai, just outside … Continue reading Joe Venice
Rip-Off Red
Created by Kathy Acker (1948 – 97) "Narratives are purely for shit. Here's the information go fuck yourself." — Rip-Off Red Can you say "post-modern"? I knew you could... Rip-Off Red, Girl Detective is a (discovered and published post-humously) from early in the career of legendary kamikaze slice-and-dice author Kathy Acker, supposedly full of the … Continue reading Rip-Off Red
Terrance McGowan
Created by Roger Torrey Pseudonyms include Sam Drake, Samuel Drake, John Ryan, R.D. Torrey (1901-46) Another one-shot private eye from the pen of pulpster Roger Torrey, TERRANCE McGOWAN first popped up in the longish novella "Please Locate Murder" in the February 1944 issue of Super-Detective. It was the cover story, in fact. Formerly a cop, McGowan … Continue reading Terrance McGowan
Lauren Laurano
Created by Sandra Scoppettone Surrounded by other gay couples and friends, Big Apple eye LAUREN LAURANO, formerly of the CIA, and her main squeeze, Kip, a psychotherapist, live together in Greenwich Village. This has just gotta be the first well-adjusted lesbian couples in detective fiction published by a mainstream press, as opposed to one of … Continue reading Lauren Laurano
Fortune Fanelli
Created by Jack Early Pseudonym of Sandra Scoppettone Big Apple eye FORTUNE FANELLI has lived in his beloved Soho for years, long before it was invaded by the trendies and the yuppies. The boutiques and oh-so-trendy bistros and cafes were bad enough, but now it looks like a serial killer's also moved into the neighbourhood, … Continue reading Fortune Fanelli