Created by Michael Lennox and George Zuckerman Newshawk MARY ROBERTS works the Québec City crime beat in the Duplessis-era Whispering City, an obscure but surprisingly strong noir from 1947. The fatal car crash of a long-retired actress intrigues intrepid reporter Roberts, sporting a rather nifty tam, and she decides to investigate further. She soon discovers … Continue reading Mary Roberts (Whispering City/La forteresse)
Tag: Stop the Presses!
Lee Raybon (The Lowdown)
Created by Sterlin Harjo "I'm a writer, huh? Most people call me an asshole, you know?" — Lee Raybon The 2025 TV series The Lowdown occupies the turf somewhere between Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, with a dash of the Coen Bros tossed in for good measure. It's a slapstick noir world of bad guys, … Continue reading Lee Raybon (The Lowdown)
Kent Murdock
Created by George Harmon Coxe (1901-84) KENT MURDOCK was a refined, cleaned-up version of author Coxe's rumpled, fast-talking crime photographer, Flashgun Casey, who appeared in the pages of Black Mask and several novels. In fact, Murdock was whipped up by Coxe explicitly to the much more lucrative book market less than a year after the … Continue reading Kent Murdock
Leon Morley
Created by George Harmon Coxe (1901-84) Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of eyes? LEON MORLEY is yet another private eye from the prolific Coxe, who started out in the pulps back in the 1930s and kept on writing novels into the seventies. But Leon wasn't one of the good guys. In his … Continue reading Leon Morley
Joseph Rouletabille (aka Joseph Josephin)
Created by Gaston Leroux (1868-1927) JOSEPH ROULETABILLE was a crime-solving, baby-faced cub reporter for the Parisian paper L'époque who regularly outsmarted the police; solving seemingly impossible crimes. His 1907 debut, Le Mystère de la Chambre Jaune by Gaston (Phantom of the Opera) Leroux is considered one of the very first locked room mysteries; a classic … Continue reading Joseph Rouletabille (aka Joseph Josephin)
Shona Sandison
Created by Philip Miller "The man's a fuckwit" — Shona on a colleague in The Goldenacre Is it all a just a lament for the “the way it used to be”? Or is it a brutal running obituary for journalism as we once know it? Either way, after over twenty years in the journalism trenches, … Continue reading Shona Sandison
Mira James
Created by Jess Loury This twelve-book series follows the romantic misadventures and investigations of Minnesota gal, sometime reporter and eventual private eye MIRA JAMES. Mira grew up in the Minnesota boonies of Paynesville but split as soon as she could for the bright lights of the Twin Cities and a BA in English. But for … Continue reading Mira James
Sugar Shannon
Created by Adam Knight Pseudonym of Lawrence Lariar Other pseudonyms include Michael Lawrence, Michael Stark (1908-81) SUGAR SHANNON was a female investigative reporter. An obvious rip-off of G.G. Fickling's Honey West, she only appeared once, in a 1960 paperback original with the totally clever title of Sugar Shannon, with the cover proudly boasting that it … Continue reading Sugar Shannon
“Special Delivery”
By Hugh LessigAn Alamo Barnes StoryApril/May 2000 The body arrived in the newsroom around mid-morning. It came in a reinforced cardboard box from American Bathroom Fixtures that supposedly held a recessed bathtub. At least that's what it said on the outside. No one paid any attention to it. Corporate flaks mail their stuff to … Continue reading “Special Delivery”
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