Created by Michael Collins In 1995's The Cadillac Cowboy, Michael Collins gave us not one, but two intriguing detective characters to add to our list. While neither LANGFORD "FORD" MORGAN or ROY ROGERS SHEPHERD are actually private eyes per se, they're both far too good at what they do to be dismissed as mere amateurs. And … Continue reading Ford Morgan & Roy Shepherd
Tag: Santa Barbara
My Scrapbook: The Millars Lived Here
Ross Macdonald & Margaret Millar's Santa Barbara Home I guess this should really be called "Duane's Scrapbook," because he's the one who snapped these pics... Anyway, he posted these recently from secret lair in Burbank, following a jaunt to Santa Barbara. Respectfully submitted by Duane Swierczynski.
In the Tradition of Hammett, Chandler, Macdonald… and Snoopy
Good Grief Department In August 1983, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz paid tribute to detective fiction and another great writer (and fellow Santa Barbara resident): Ross Macdonald, who had passed away a month earlier. It makes me wonder if they possibly knew each other, if maybe after a hard day at the desk the two … Continue reading In the Tradition of Hammett, Chandler, Macdonald… and Snoopy
California
"That’s what I did instead of going to school, and one of the genres I read was the California novelists—Dashiell Hammett and Joseph Hansen and Raymond Chandler, who was wonderful, and then Ross Macdonald. There was always something weird about the California story, as opposed to the New York story, which was about some guy … Continue reading California
Joe Rogers
Created by Kenneth Millar Pseudonyms include Ross Macdonald, John Ross Macdonald, John Macdonald (1915-83) Legend has it that Canadian rocker Neil Young wrote "Cowgirl in the Sand," "Cinammon Girl" and "Down by the River," three of his best-known early songs, in one afternoon, while sick with the flu, and running a fever of 103. In a similar burst … Continue reading Joe Rogers
Jake Sands
Created by Ron Ely When his wife and daughter are murdered, JAKE SANDS retires from his high-flying life in Los Angeles as a well-paid "recoverer of missing objects and people" to go hang out with the beach folks in Santa Barbara, California. Not that he's exactly roughing it, though--he lives in Coco Palms, an exclusive … Continue reading Jake Sands
Shawn Spencer & Burton “Gus” Guster (Psych)
Created by Steve Franks See what Monk hath wrought? Okay. Psych, which ran from 2006 until 2014 on the USA Neywork, is not The Rockford Files. It's not Harry O or Peter Gunn. It's not even Magnum P.I. But in those days when those seeking quality P.I. action on the boob tube were growing increasingly frustrate, … Continue reading Shawn Spencer & Burton “Gus” Guster (Psych)
Lew Archer
Created by Ross Macdonald Pseudonym. of Kenneth Millar, aka John Ross Macdonald, John Macdonald (1915-83) "I hear voices crying in the night, and I go see what's the matter." -- Lew Archer The greatest P.I. series ever written? Probably. LEW ARCHER stands with The Continental Op, Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe as one of the … Continue reading Lew Archer
Kinsey Millhone
Created by Sue Grafton (1940-2018) "My name is Kinsey Millhone. I am a private investigator, licensed by the state of California. I am thirty-two years old, twice divorced, no kids. The day before yesterday I killed someone and the fact weighs heavily on my mind." -- the opening lines of A is for Alibi Can … Continue reading Kinsey Millhone
Rick Cahill
Created by Matt Coyle Ex-cop RICK CAHILL left the Santa Barbara police force under a cloud -- he was suspected of being involved somehow in his wife's death eight years earlier... but nobody could ever prove it. Now he's a La Jolla restauranteur, managing Muldoon's Steak House and living in nearby San Diego, trying to … Continue reading Rick Cahill