Created by Derek Marlowe (1938-1996) WALTER BRACKETT is a British eye, a lonely ex-pat middle-aged widower not getting any younger, down on his luck and a long, long way from home in Derek Marlowe's 1974 standalone classic, Somebody's Sister. Melancholy? You’re soaking in it. If Chandler seems too upbeat for you, and Hammett just a … Continue reading Walter Brackett
Tag: San Francisco
“Special Delivery”
By Hugh LessigAn Alamo Barnes StoryApril/May 2000 The body arrived in the newsroom around mid-morning. It came in a reinforced cardboard box from American Bathroom Fixtures that supposedly held a recessed bathtub. At least that's what it said on the outside. No one paid any attention to it. Corporate flaks mail their stuff to … Continue reading “Special Delivery”
Alamo Barnes
Created by Hugh Lessig “He stormed out, knocking paperweights off desks as he went, calling the Frisco Foil 'a cheap, rotten, dickless rag.' Personally, I didn't think we were that cheap…" -- Alamo calls 'em as he sees 'em. ALAMO BARNES is another reporter for The Frisco Foil, a sensationalist tabloid that proudly offers "Truth and … Continue reading Alamo Barnes
Rocco Conigliaro
Created by Gordon DeMarco (1944-95) Poor ROCCO CONIGLIARO! All the semi-retired San Francisco gumshoe wants is a nice quiet peaceful vacation, visiting his Italian relatives in Edinburgh and tasking in The Fringe, the city’s legendary annual arts festival and the world's largest performance arts festival that takes place in Scotland every August. But then a Chilean … Continue reading Rocco Conigliaro
Riley Kovachs
Created by Gordon DeMarco(1944-95) This series reads like Sam Spade, but with Hammett’s political anger jammed right in your face. And I mean right in your face. If you're leaning to the left and just biding time, waiting for the revolution, RILEY KOVACHS is worth checking out. He works the politically-charged mean streets of Hammett's city … Continue reading Riley Kovachs
Lou Peckinpaugh (The Cheap Detective)
Created by Neil Simon "Being a private eye may not be much, but we do have a code of honor. It's all right to fool around with your partner's wife, but once he's dead it makes it all so dirty. That's the way it is, angel. You marry yourself a nice guy, have a couple … Continue reading Lou Peckinpaugh (The Cheap Detective)
“Peekaboo” Frankie Fagan
Created by James Dalessandro According to reader Angelo Hazifotis, "If you have not read James Dalessandro's Bohemian Heart (1993)...you're missing one of the most beloved and original P.I.'s of the nineties." “PEEKABOO” FRANKIE FAGAN is a former San Francisco cop turned long-haired private eye who runs the City Lights Detective Agency, and definitely marches to his … Continue reading “Peekaboo” Frankie Fagan
Francis “Frank” Morley
Created by Lou Rand Pseudonym of Lou Rand Hogan (1910-76) “Just for the record…let me do the camping in this act. I’ll make with the gay talk. You just be big and beasty.” -- Frank puts his partner, uh, straight... FRANK MORLEY, the "fierce but fey" dick of the 1961 Saber paperback original, The Gay … Continue reading Francis “Frank” Morley
Carole Stanwyck & Sydney Kovack (Partners in Crime)
Created by James Stark and Leonard Stern According to Ric Meyers in The Armchair Detective (Vol. 19, #1, for those keeping tabs), CAROLE STANWYCK and SYDNEY KOVACK are two "novice private eyes with lots to get off their chests and nothing on their minds." They teamed up Partners In Crime, a deservedly short-lived and instantly … Continue reading Carole Stanwyck & Sydney Kovack (Partners in Crime)
Aristotle Canasta
Created by MW Taylor “A private investigator’s main purpose is to discover kernels of truth hidden in the lies and deceits he encounters each day. He must feel proud of his profession but never privileged. No part of him can be soft yet he still must have compassion. There’s no pension, health plan or gold … Continue reading Aristotle Canasta