Created by Jeff Shelby “Marilyn Crier peered in the window and I knew the past was about to kick me in the ass.” — the opening line of Killer Swell Talk about yer Californification! San Diego gumshoe NOAH BRADDOCK has carved a real niche for himself-- as far as I can tell, he's one of … Continue reading Noah Braddock
Tag: Surfer
Am Caulfield
Created by Alan Russell Known for more hard-boiled fare, Alan Russell tried a switcheroo with a couple of more light-hearted mysteries featuring mild-mannered hotel dick AM CAULFIELD. When we first meet Am, in 1994’s The Hotel Detective, “Assistant Director” of La Jolla’s swanky Hotel California Am has been informed by his boss, Raymond Krendrick, that his job … Continue reading Am Caulfield
Wil Hardesty
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
Kai Cooke
Created by Chip Hughes "Surfing Detective: Confidential Investigations--All Islands" Kai's business card Hawaii's KAI COOKE is no mere detective--he's a surfing detective! And you can tell that right off the bat because he greets his very first client in the very first pages of his very first published adventure, Murder on Moloka'i (2004), in dripping … Continue reading Kai Cooke
Ethan Reckless
Created by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips "I'm not a private eye. I'm just... someone who helps people sometimes." It's Los Angeles in the 1980s, and former sixties radical/undercover FBI agent turned surfer dude/troubleshooter (or is that troublemaker?) ETHAN RECKLESS is on the prowl, going down mean streets Chandler could never have imagined; streets teeming with … Continue reading Ethan Reckless
Doc Sportello (Inherent Vice)
Created by Thomas Pynchon (1937-) “PIs are doomed, man, you could’ve seen it coming for years, in the movies, on the tube. Once there was all these great old PIs--Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, the shamus of shamus Johnny Staccato, always smarter and more professional than the cops, always end up solving the crime while the … Continue reading Doc Sportello (Inherent Vice)
Jack Wade
Created by Don Winslow "As a fire investigator, Bentley makes a good fisherman." --not everyone's as good as Jack... To be honest, Don Winslow's standalone California Fire and Life (1999), featuring JACK WADE, a disgraced cop/slacker surfer dude/hotdog insurance claims adjuster specializing in arson, just blew me away. It's a dizzying, circular ride that begins and … Continue reading Jack Wade
Boone Daniels
Created by Don Winslow They call it "surf noir." They call it "surf western." One critic even tagged Winslow as the "unlikely bastard child of Brian Wilson and Raymond Chandler"... All I know is that his BOONE DANIELS (and give Winslow a high five for that monicker) is one righteous San Diego private eye. Sure, … Continue reading Boone Daniels