Created by Harry Hunsicker Still haunted by her three-year-old daughter Ivy's disappearance fifteen years ago, battered former CIA operative MEG DALTON now works off-the-books as a freelance black ops agent for the US government. And yes, she has a "a very particular set of skills." We first meet her in the well-received and fiercely relentless … Continue reading Meg Dalton
Tag: Shamus Finalist
Harry McLean
Created by M.E. Proctor HARRY McLEAN is a middle-aged private eye, an easy-going ex-cop and Army vet toiling for the Houston-based DG Investigative, a small, Houston-based detective agency owned and operated by Diana Galindo. So far, he's only appeared in short stories, but then again, maybe that's the way he likes it. The way the … Continue reading Harry McLean
Joe Standard
Created by Dan A. Sproul (1982-2004) Here's a good bet: Dan A. Sproul's race track tales to place. Most of these pleasantly pulpy short stories, published from 1989 to 2004 in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine have to do, in one way or another, with horse racing, or more precisely, betting on horse racing. And most … Continue reading Joe Standard
Mike Haller
Created by Max Byrd (1942--) "I wanted to be nineteen again and be the grandson of Philip Marlowe." — Haller confesses, in California Thriller Rough-and-tumble San Francisco gumshoe MIKE HALLER appeared in three very fine paperback originals from Bantam in the early eighties that — despite some particularly dubious covers in the US (not pictured) … Continue reading Mike Haller
Anderson & Carrie West
Created by Alan Orloff Pseudonyms include Zak Allen Now here's something you don't see everyday.... A brother and sister detective team. First-person narrator ANDERSON WEST and his impulsive and flaky, soft-hearted kid sister CARRIE ANDERSON are the entire staff of Virginia's West Investigations. He's the serious one, the straight arrow handling the detective chores; she … Continue reading Anderson & Carrie West
Jared McKean
Created by E. Michael Terrell Pseudonyms include Jaden Terrell, Bethany Chandler "I first saw Jared McKean leaning against a wooden fence. His arms were crossed, and he was wearing jeans and a brown leather bomber jacket that I knew had once belonged to his father. He was waiting for me to give up trying to … Continue reading Jared McKean
William Campbell Gault
Pseudonyms include Roney Scott, Will Duke, Bill Gault, David Crewe & Ray P. Shotwell (1910-1995) "I'm proud of what I can do in my field. And I'm proud of the field. I don't need any false additions to that. If I could write like John Cheever, I'd write like Cheever. Unfortunately I can't, so I … Continue reading William Campbell Gault
Joe Puma
Created by William Campbell Gault Pseudonyms include Roney Scott, Will Duke, Bill Gault, David Crewe & Ray P. Shotwell (1910-1995) Presenting the fuck-up as P.I. Not that he started that way, of course. But while straight arrow Brock "The Rock" Callahan remains William Campbell Gault's most famous creation, JOE PUMA definitely deserves some attention, too. … Continue reading Joe Puma
Noland “Nole” Twice
Created by by Ash Clifton A former University of Florida football star, an ex-cop and an ex-con (for a crime he didn't commit, and for which he was later exonerated —just like Rockford), NOLAND "NOLE" TWICE is now an amiable Central Florida private investigator. He views the cheesy, sleazy Orlando-Tampa corridor as his hunting ground; … Continue reading Noland “Nole” Twice
Derek Strange
Created by George P. Pelecanos (1957--) Let's just play the race card, and fucking get it over with... DEREK STRANGE is BLACK. He's a former cop, now in his fifties, who runs his own Washington, D.C. detective agency. He carries a buck knife and may get a little slick at times, but he's respected in … Continue reading Derek Strange