Created by Richard Barre It’s not all fun, fun, fun... Presenting the surfer dude as angst-ridden P.I., SoCal's WIL HARDESTY made an auspicious debut in 1995's The Innocents, scooping up a Shamus for Best First Novel, and praise from folks like Michael Collins, Stephen Greenleaf, James Crumley and Ross Thomas. Wil's a Vietnam vet still … Continue reading Wil Hardesty
Tag: Shamus Winner
Vivian Marlow
Created by Lori Armstrong Pseudonyms include Lorelei James In 2023, it may seem a little odd to come across a short story referring to private investigation as "No Place for a Dame,” since we’re not exactly bereft of female gumshoes these days, but since the story’s set in 1942, so I guess we can cut it … Continue reading Vivian Marlow
Sophie Stevenson
Created by by Carolina Garcia-Aguilera We first meet Havana private eye SOPHIE STEVENSON (and her partner Big Pete) in the amusing (and Shamus-nominated) short story “The Pearl of Antilles,” which made its debut in the 2022 anthology Edgar & Shamus Go Golden. Sophie is a former Navy intelligence officer (she was a Code Girl) who’d been stationed in … Continue reading Sophie Stevenson
Jackson Gamble
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
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