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
Tag: New York State
Gideon Rimes
Created by Gary Earl Ross Huh? Being Canadian, I always thought "Nickel City" was a nickname for Sudbury. The hard rock town in northern Ontario that Murray McLauchlan sang about, the place whose most significant monument is, in fact, a giant Canadian nickel, symbolizing the area's nickel mining history. A rough town, a tough town. … Continue reading Gideon Rimes
Fran Kirk
Created by Ruthe Furie (1930-) FRAN KIRK was once a battered wife, but she survived both a nasty divorce and the death of her ex to bec0me a private eye in Cheektowaga, New York (near Buffalo) in this well-regarded series of novels by Ruthe Furie. The debut, 1995's If Looks Could Kill, finds Fran living … Continue reading Fran Kirk
B.T. Jefferson
Created by Ruthe Furie (1930-) B.T. JEFFERSON has a little bit of an identity problem. As B.T., she's a licenced private investigator in Bull Neck, Long Island. But as Belinda Thomas, she's a caterer, working out of the same office. The intercom chimes for the caterer, and buzzes for the P.I. She's a caterer. And … Continue reading B.T. Jefferson
Nicholas Bishop
Created by Stephen G. Eoannou Stephen G. Eoannou's mystery, After Hours (2025), featuring World War Two-era private eye NICHOLAS BISHOP is a bit of a Frankenstein monster; a patchwork tale comprised of multiple parts gathered from all over the place. Instantly familiar, but quite fun if you enjoy those parts. Bishop is a drunk, but … Continue reading Nicholas Bishop
A New York State of Mind
Empire State Eyes Charlie Bradshaw by Stephen Dobyns (Saratoga) Joe Kurtz by Dan Simmons (Buffalo) Don Strachey by Richard Stevenson (Albany) Laney Bird by Emilya Naymark (Sylvan) Nicholas Bishop by Stephen G. Eoannou (Buffalo) Dick Moonlight by Vincent Zandri (Albany) Jeff Resnick by L.L. Bartlettby (Buffalo) Fran Kirk by Ruthie Furie (Cheektowaga/Buffalo) Tim Smith by … Continue reading A New York State of Mind
Betty Ahern
Created by Liz Milliron "I wish life was more like a movie." -- opening lines of The Enemy We Don't Know Be careful what you wish for. In The Enemy We Don't Know (2020), billed as "A Homefront Mystery," it's November, 1942, and the world (even the United States) is at war, and Buffalo, NY … Continue reading Betty Ahern
Jane “Effing” Smith
Created by James Patterson & Mike Lupica James Patterson, of course, is the best selling author in the solar system, unleashing a tsunami of books on an almost weekly basis, with the help of an impressive rogue’s gallery of co-authors, while Mike Lupica has filled a bookshelf or so himself with his YA sports books … Continue reading Jane “Effing” Smith
Martin Wade
Created by Libby Cudmore “I drove home listening to Elvis Costello. It was a Brutal Youth kind of night." All rock stars end up in a plane crash of one kind or another. Sex. drugs. Rock’n’roll. Take your pick. Someone sad that once. Lennon, maybe? In MARTIN WADE’s case, the crash was definitely the drugs … Continue reading Martin Wade
Eddie Bianco (Love Walked In)
Created by Jose Pablo Feinmann (1943-2021) Nervous, weaselly private eye EDDIE BIANCO (The Practice's Michael Badalucco) teams up with his old buddy, mouthy piano man Jack Hanaway (Dennis Leary), a bitterly caustic would-be writer with a drinking problem, in this competent, straight-to-video B-flick. Kevin Thomas of the L.A. Times called it "intelligent and stylish but … Continue reading Eddie Bianco (Love Walked In)