Created by Gregory Stout It’s just another wandering daughter job, but somehow, newbie P.I. writer Stout makes it work in Lost Little Girl (2021). In his debut, down-scale Nashville gumshoe and day drinker JACKSON GAMBLE is hot on the trail of Gabrielle Hawkins, a missing 14-year-old. The detective figures she’s just another runaway, but her Bible-toting … Continue reading Jackson Gamble
Tag: Shamus Winner
Jake Lomax
Created by Michael Allegretto (1944--) The Shamus-winning Death on the Rocks (1987) introduced former Denver cop JACOB "JAKE" LOMAX who becomes a private eye after his wife is brutally murdered. Looking for a cynical, wise-cracking hero to follow? Look no further... This is yet another overlooked gem of a series from the late eighties and … Continue reading Jake Lomax
Sharon McCone
Created by Marcia Muller (1944--) "Marcia Muller is the founding mother of the contemporary female hard-boiled private eye." -- Sue Grafton Generally credited with being the first liberated female private detective of the modern era, Marcia Muller's SHARON McCONE paved the way for the subsequentsuccess of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone, Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski, Laura Lippmann's … Continue reading Sharon McCone
Rae Kelleher
Created by Marcia Muller (1944--) Originally the apprentice of (and later an investigator for) Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone, twenty-something rookie San Francisco private eye RAE KELLEHER has headlined a couple (so far) of pretty good short stories--although, as an employee, her boss is never quite far away. But readers who only know Rae from the … Continue reading Rae Kelleher
John Francis Cuddy
Created by Jeremiah Healy (1948-2014) Private investigator JOHN FRANCIS CUDDY is based in Boston and, at least in the early novels, seemed to have been based quite clearly on that 1980's Boston success story Spenser. He grew up in the Irish-American neighborhood of South Boston, educated by the Jesuits at Holy Cross College, and served in … Continue reading John Francis Cuddy
Albert Samson
Created by Michael Z. Lewin (1942--) Hard-boiled detective fiction has always claimed to be superior to other sub-genres, based on its realism. Since Raymond Chandler, hard-boiled authors have claimed that their work deals with real social issues, life as it is truly lived in the underbelly of society. As thinking readers should know, this is … Continue reading Albert Samson
Willie Werth
Created by Michael Z. Lewin (1942--) Okay, WILLIE WERTH is NOT a private eye. He's not a detective in any way, shape or form. He has absolutely no excuse for cluttering up this web site, chewing up valuable cyberspace... But hey--it's MY web site. So there... The reason I'm shoving Willie in here, and hoping … Continue reading Willie Werth
Thomas Langford
Created by John M. Floyd In the Shamus Award-winning short story, "Mustang Sally," former cop turned private eye THOMAS LANGFORD (and his "long-time and infinitely patient girlfriend" Debra Jo Wells) get in way over their heads in what even the author agrees is a "lighthearted, its only crime being an off-screen jewelry-store heist." Maybe it is … Continue reading Thomas Langford
“The Gospel According to Gordon Black”
By Richard Helms Featuring Eamon Gold Fall 2007 Gordon Black was a short man with an intimidating stare. His hair and beard were completely white. He liked to accentuate his points by drawing circles in the air with his index fingers. “We are nothing but organic flotsam, bobbing in the infinite sea of life. Don't you … Continue reading “The Gospel According to Gordon Black”
Dino LaStanza
Created by O'Neil De Noux "I always get them. Always." Although this long-running series started out with him as a determined, no-nonsense New Orleans Homicide Detective, DINO LaSTANZA becomes a private investigator following the events in New Orleans Homicide (2013), and is a full-fledged private eye by the seventh novel, The Blue Nude (2013). In … Continue reading Dino LaStanza