“Apologia Pro Vita Sua”

By Rex Stout The following poem, written by Rex Stout, appeared in the August 21, 1935 issue of The New York Times, in conjunction with the then-recent publication of his second Nero Wolfe mystery. At the time, Stout was still relatively unknown, and must have been feeling a little sensitive about being pegged as a mere … Continue reading “Apologia Pro Vita Sua”

Gloria Demasco

Created by Lucha Corpi (1945--) GLORIA DEMASCO is a petite Chicana, born in Oakland, California. She came from a working class family, and was trained as a speech therapist. She's a young widow (she was married to a Puerto Rican, Nuerriqueño) with a daughter. She's very involved in local politics, both as an activist and a … Continue reading Gloria Demasco

Jimmy (The Poet and the Private Eye)

Created by Rob Gittins In Rob Gittins 2014 imaginative novel, The Poet and the Private Eye, it's New York City, 1953, and JIMMY, a rough-around-the-edges private eye, is hired by Con, the attorney for a big, weekly national magazine (Time, anyone?) to do a "simple tail job," which consists of digging up whatever he can … Continue reading Jimmy (The Poet and the Private Eye)

Jill Fitzpatrick

Created by Dorothy Porter (1954-2008) "Christ, not more bloody poems." Subtitled "An Erotic Murder Mystery," Dorothy Porter's  1995 book The Monkey's Mask is more than just the story of JILL FITZPATRICK, an Australian lesbian private detective who dives head first into "murder, manipulation and the consuming power of sex." It's also some kind of literary tour-de-force, stunning … Continue reading Jill Fitzpatrick

Kat Stone

Created by Erica Wright Poet Erica Wright's first novel.The Red Chameleon (2014), introduced us to twenty-something private investigator KAT STONE, a former undercover superstar for the NYPD. She's young, she's hip and she has a thing about wigs. It was while she was working for New York's finest she mastered the fine art of disguise of … Continue reading Kat Stone

Jill Fitzpatrick

Created by Dorothy Porter (1954-2008) "Christ, not more bloody poems." Subtitled "An Erotic Murder Mystery," Dorothy Porter's  1995 book The Monkey's Mask is more than just the story of JILL FITZPATRICK, an Australian lesbian private detective who dives head first into "murder, manipulation and the consuming power of sex." It's also some kind of literary tour-de-force, stunning … Continue reading Jill Fitzpatrick

Charlie Bradshaw

Created by Stephen Dobyns "I'm the kind of guy that doesn't trust beauty. Like it's a distraction. You stand there staring at the posies, thinking how pretty they are and then whap, something smacks you from behind. When my wife was dying, the doctors gave her morphine to take her mind off her troubles: beauty … Continue reading Charlie Bradshaw