Max Dexter

Created by Chris Laing MAX DEXTER is a former Mountie and WWII vet who came back from overseas with a bum leg, now working as a private eye, going down the mean streets of post-war Hamilton, Ontario in Canada, a hard town now--a hard town then. They don't call it "The Hammer" for nothing. Max … Continue reading Max Dexter

Jane Yeats

Created by Liz Brady "I didn't have my life threatened. I merely had the shit beaten out of me." -- Jane. One tough cookie in Sudden Blow Toronto's bad girl dick JANE YEATS may smoke too much and drink too much beer and may even get a little mouthy at times, but she's more than … Continue reading Jane Yeats

Sasha Jackson

Created by Jill Edmondson It took a surprisingly long time for Toronto to come up with its own street-savvy female gumshoe (do vampire hunters really count?), but SASHA JACKSON is beginning to look like she was worth the wait. Crafty, tough, and tenacious, and not above taking an occasional break every to knock back a … Continue reading Sasha Jackson

John Kenneth Galbraith Jantarro

Created by Simon Ritchie Pseudonym of Simon Fodden ''And then I saw, nursing at her breast, the Magnum. Squat and ugly...it offered its black mouth to her, hungry beyond all possibility of feeding." -- Yikes! (The Hollow Woman) Toronto insurance investigator JOHN KENNETH GALBRATH JANTARRO (now there's a world-class monicker!) lost a hand and part … Continue reading John Kenneth Galbraith Jantarro

“Give the Woman Credit”

By John Swan Featuring John Swan Fall 2001 "Jezus H. How can she do that?" "Practice," Meg says matter-of-factly, watching the video monitor parked in a cracked bookshelf across from my desk. I'm warming the squeaky-wheeled chair behind the desk, my head cranked sidewise for the action on screen. "Yeah but still..." Meg's barely listening. She's … Continue reading “Give the Woman Credit”

John Swan

Created by John Swan Pseudonym of Kerry J. Schooley Other pseudonyms include Slim Volumes (1949-2010) "The next day's news said (a former client) had survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Yeah, well, he would. Maybe if I'd hung in there long enough I could have prevented it. But I didn't give a shit." -Swan gets all … Continue reading John Swan

Abe Applebaum (The Kid Detective)

Created by Evan Morgan "It's difficult to accept the difference between who you are in your head and who you are in the world." Most coming-of-age films don't follow a man in his thirties, but the quirky, creepy indie The Kid Detective sure does. ABE APPLEBAUM became the pride and joy of his small hometown … Continue reading Abe Applebaum (The Kid Detective)

“A Hard-Boiled Christmas”

By Stephen Reid "I refuse to don this ridiculous costume.." Albert sucked in his belly and swelled up like a rooster.  "A saint I ain't, Mac. I am a highly regarded thespian." "You're a highly regarded has-been, is what you are, Albert. Now sit down and try those boots on." I had to pick the … Continue reading “A Hard-Boiled Christmas”

“Mac” MacCauley

Created by Stephen Reid (1950-2018) "After fifteen years as a private investigator -- the last ten as a practising drunk --I had lost my license twice and my self-respect more times than I could count. The chances of me ever regaining either were between zero and entropy." That's how long-past-his-prime P.I. "MAC" MacCAULEY sums up … Continue reading “Mac” MacCauley

Gord Stewart

Created by John McFetridge "Why not, as a location scout I spend my life finding things that people believe are something else; a bar in Toronto is in New York, the front of a house propped up on an empty lot in Oshawa is a haunted house in Maine in 1955, half of downtown is … Continue reading Gord Stewart