Created by Joseph Hansen Pseudonyms include include Rose Brock & James Colton (1923-2004) Tall, lean, with a "shock of Indian-black hair," usually clad in jeans, cowboy boots and a plaid shirt, HACK BOHANNON looks more like a cowboy than a private detective. And, if he had his druthers, that's probably the way he'd prefer it. … Continue reading Hack Bohannon
Tag: Short Stories
Alamo Barnes
Created by Hugh Lessig “He stormed out, knocking paperweights off desks as he went, calling the Frisco Foil 'a cheap, rotten, dickless rag.' Personally, I didn't think we were that cheap…" -- Alamo calls 'em as he sees 'em. ALAMO BARNES is another reporter for The Frisco Foil, a sensationalist tabloid that proudly offers "Truth and … Continue reading Alamo Barnes
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
Jack Hagee
Created by C.J. Henderson Pseudonyms include Robert Morgan (1951-2014) "Hagee's Manhattan is the one the tourists don't get to see. It's those small twisty back streets in Chinatown, the reeking dumpster-filled alleys of midtown, the crumbling docks, the beer-drenched bars that stink of rotting foam and their patron's indifference. It is a lump of land … Continue reading Jack Hagee
Roger & Suzanne Bowman
Created by Jerold Last A globe-trotting married couple who find trouble wherever they go? If you were expecting Frances Crane’s Pat and Jean Abbott, you’d be wrong. This is a more modern itineration. Plus dogs! Former patent attorney and police officer ROGER BOWMAN and UCLA biochemist SUZANNE FOSTER are boyfriend/girlfriend visiting Montevideo, Uruguay, when we first … Continue reading Roger & Suzanne Bowman
Onni Syrjänen
Created by Tapani Bagge (1962–) ONNI SYRJÄNEN, Finnish crimewriter Tapani Bagge's not very successful lawyer, is a sad sack drunk too poor to hire a detective. So he does his own gumshoeing. He lives and works in Kerava, a small railroad town near Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Onni's office is on the first floor … Continue reading Onni Syrjänen
Francis Quarles
Created by Julian Symons(1912-1994) Sharp-dressed man about town FRANCIS QUARLES was the low-key private detective who worked the clue-ridden streets of post-WWII London, solving countless cleverly plotted fair-play short stories in the fifties and sixties, paying homage to the Golden Age of crime fiction. Most of them first appeared in The London Evening Standard, although … Continue reading Francis Quarles
John K. Butler
(1908-64) Author JOHN K. BUTLER is best-known, at least in our little neck of the woods, for the numerous stories he pounded out for such pulps as Black Mask, Detective Fiction Weekly, Double Detective and especially Dime Detective. A native Californian, Butler was born in Auburn, up near San Francisco. In the latetwenties he migrated to … Continue reading John K. Butler
Crime & Detective Fiction in The American Magazine
Some Significant Contributors & Other Writers of Interest The American Illustrated Magazine began publishing in September 1905 and in June 1906 shortened its name simply to The American Magazine, and ran under that name until 1956. During its long run, it came to be regarded as one of the most popular and successful of the "slicks," … Continue reading Crime & Detective Fiction in The American Magazine
Crime & Detective Fiction in The Saturday Evening Post
Some Significant Contributors & Other Writers of Interest The long-running Saturday Evening Post, once the most popular magazine in the United States, got its start way back in 1821, offering something for everyone: news, history, politics, humour, science, medicine, music, cartoons, recipes and fiction. And yes, that includes crime fiction, going back at least as far … Continue reading Crime & Detective Fiction in The Saturday Evening Post