One and Done

Some Great Private Eyes Who've Appeared in Only One Novel Although the success and popularity of the literary private eye seems to be built on series characters, there have been some memorable private eyes who've only appeared in one novel. We even once polled readers of this site back in 1998, although we’ve slowly added … Continue reading One and Done

Max Raven

Created by O.G. Benson (1927-2002) "My fist hit him and the scream died as a gurgle in his throat. I hit him again and felt the jar wrench my shoulder. He slid down the wall like a punctured bag of sand and I kicked him in the face." MAX RAVEN's a Chicago P.I., still smarting … Continue reading Max Raven

Steve Lawson

Created by U.S. Andersen (1917-1986) U. S. Andersens 1956 paperback original, Hard and Fast, has the distinction of being written entirely in the present tense. Which is the only difference between it and a thousand other hard-boiled P.I. books from the 1950s & 60s. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Hard and Fast observes … Continue reading Steve Lawson

Murray Kirk

Created by Stanley Ellin Rich, classy man-about-town MURRAY KIRK is a former hotshot young lawyer who takes over as the head of New York's very respectable Conmy and Kirk Detective Agency in Stanley Ellin's Edgar-winning standalone The Eighth Circle (1958). There's no low rent office with a bottle in the drawer for this baby. Nope. Murray's … Continue reading Murray Kirk