Created by S.W. Lauden GREG SALEM is pushing forty, but he figures he got it all sussed: he'll roll East Los Angeles by day for the LAPD, and rock the town as "Fred Despair," singing for legendary hardcore punk band, Bad Citizen Corporation, by night. But that all hit a huge brick wall when a buddy … Continue reading Greg Salem
Tag: Shit Magnet
Doc Adams
Created by Rick Boyer (1943--) A hard-boiled dentist? I shit thee not... CHARLIE "DOC" ADAMS is a Concord, Massachusetts-based oral surgeon who keeps getting drawn into investigations. Most are pretty hard-boiled (in the first, Billingsgate Shoals, he defeats a pursuing black hat by dropping a broken chunk of cast iron pipe down an enclosed exterior … Continue reading Doc Adams
Peter Ash
Created by Nick Petrie Maybe someone should send Jack Reacher a box of condoms -- or at least a book telling him where all his babies are. Because the way his bastard sons and daughters are starting to pop up on Amazon, I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't time to clue him in. But … Continue reading Peter Ash
Harvey Ace
Created by Merle Horwitz Lord, he was born a gamblin' man... Compulsive, obsessively neat, and a smart-dressed man to boot, HARVEY ACE is a retired private eye who'd be more than content to just spend the rest of his life playing the ponies and taking it easy. Unfortunately, it's not that simple, as amply demonstrated … Continue reading Harvey Ace
Hap Collins & Leonard Pine
Created by Joe R. Lansdale "Too many guns is not like too many guitars." -- Hap Collins in Dead Aim Years ago my pal Keith, insisted I read these. And I'm glad he did. Man, are they great! I don't even know why they're trying to market them as. Horror? Suspense? Voodoo hoodoo crime fiction? Country … Continue reading Hap Collins & Leonard Pine
Van Shaw
Created by Glen Erik Hamilton Cold, relentless and tougher than dirt, Army Ranger and reportedly former thief VAN SHAW hits the sweet spot somewhere between Stark's Parker and Child's Jack Reacher, albeit with a veneer of vulnerability (and sentimentality) unimaginable in the other two men, thanks to the shitload of PTSD he lugged back from … Continue reading Van Shaw
Jim Grant (aka “Resurrection Man”)
Created by Colin Campbell Sheesh! Apparently Jack Reacher's massive success has not been lost on writers who are not named Lee Child. Colin Campbell's JIM GRANT is yet another cheeky parody/tribute/homage/rip-off. And I do mean cheeky -- Jim Grant is Lee Child's real name. Not that that's the only connection. When we first meet him … Continue reading Jim Grant (aka “Resurrection Man”)
Jack Reacher
Created by Lee Child Pseudonym of James Grant (1954--) “My name is Jack Reacher. No middle name. No address.” “I’m not looking for trouble. I like a quiet life.” -- Reacher in Blue Moon (2019) The audacious breadth and scope of this series continues to amaze me. One book, the ex-MP drifter (Silver Star, Purple … Continue reading Jack Reacher