Created by Robert Campbell (1927-2000) "The Santa Ana winds were blowing in from the valley through the passes, sweeping up the pulverized dog droppings, gum wrappers, old newspapers, and bleached confetti, whirling the mess down the gutters toward yesterday." —from Alice in La-La Land All you need to know about how the author feels about … Continue reading Whistler
Tag: Shamus Finalist
Callie Darrow
Created by Barbara Paul (1931-2022) Private eye CALLIE DARROW made her debut in Barbara Paul's Shamus-nominated short story "The Reluctant Op" Which of course begs the question "Why is she so reluctant?" Well, for a good part of her life, Callie was on the other side of the line. A thief and a con artist … Continue reading Callie Darrow
Fran Kirk
Created by Ruthe Furie (1930-) FRAN KIRK was once a battered wife, but she survived both a nasty divorce and the death of her ex to bec0me a private eye in Cheektowaga, New York (near Buffalo) in this well-regarded series of novels by Ruthe Furie. The debut, 1995's If Looks Could Kill, finds Fran living … Continue reading Fran Kirk
B.T. Jefferson
Created by Ruthe Furie (1930-) B.T. JEFFERSON has a little bit of an identity problem. As B.T., she's a licenced private investigator in Bull Neck, Long Island. But as Belinda Thomas, she's a caterer, working out of the same office. The intercom chimes for the caterer, and buzzes for the P.I. She's a caterer. And … Continue reading B.T. Jefferson
Georgiana Germaine
Created by Cheryl Bradshaw GEORGIANA GERMAINE (family and close friends call her "Gigi") runs the Case Closed Detective Agency But when we first meet her, in the series debut, Little Girl Lost (2020), Georgiana's closing in on her forties, and is no longer a detective. That career crashed and burned, and she's been living in … Continue reading Georgiana Germaine
Valentin St. Cyr
Created by David Fulmer Creole detective VALENTIN ST. CYR works the carnival world of 1907 Storyville, New Orleans. In this notorious red-light district, "sporting" girls ply the trade in mansion parlors and dime-a-trick cribs, cocaine and opium are sold over the counter, rye whiskey flows like an amber river, and the nights echo with a … Continue reading Valentin St. Cyr
Deets Shanahan
Created by Ronald Tierney (1944-2017) DIETRICH "DEETS" SHANAHAN is no happy camper. Especially when we first meet him. He's a cranky, semi-retired Indianapolis gumshoe within spitting distance of seventy, with a penchant for J.W. Dant bourbon, the Chicago Cubs, Delaney's Bar and horticulture. He lives in a small house with a rude overgrown mutt named … Continue reading Deets Shanahan
R.B. “Ax” Axton
Created by Doug Allyn (1942--) R.B. "AX" AXTON is a sometime-licensed private investigator, eking out a living on the fringes of Dearborn, Michigan. He also does collections for local loan sharks and snatches for bail bondsmen, not to mention occasional gigs as a bodyguard, bouncer, bartender and even a hotel night clerk. Whatever. And whatever … Continue reading R.B. “Ax” Axton
Mike Garrity
Created by Thomas B. Cavanagh "I have a tumor in my head. I call it Bob . . ." When we first come across him in the appropriately titled Head Games (2007), things aren't looking so hot for retired Orlando homicide dick MIKE GARRITY. He's in his early forties, twice divorced, and has a teenage … Continue reading Mike Garrity
Evander Mills
Created by Lev AC Rosen "Ruby is the most welcoming queer bar in San Francisco. Except maybe for me. News has trickled out about me--the gay P.I. with the office above the Ruby--but with it so has my past, and no one at a gay bar wants to get too close to a cop, even … Continue reading Evander Mills