Created by Joe R. Lansdale (1951--) and Lewis Shiner (1950--) A co-creation by two young, aspiring writers, private eye JOHN TALBOT was only showed up in two short stories penned in the late seventies, and those stories didn't exactly set the world on fire. Except... the two young, aspiring writers were Joe R. Lansdale and Lewis Shiner, … Continue reading John Talbot
Tag: Texas
Ray Slater
Created by Joe R. Lansdale (1951--) The very first story popular storyteller Joe R. Lansdale ever sold was a private eye story, "The Full Count." It showed up in the June 1978 issue of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. It introduced gumshoe big RAY SLATER. According to Lansdale, "the readers liked it," and he managed to sell … Continue reading Ray Slater
Dan Sloane
Created by Lewis Shiner (1950--) DAN SLOANE was a private eye hero created way back in the late seventies by author Lewis Shiner, best known for his award-winning work in the science fiction and cyber-punk fields. A true product of his times, Dan was a disillusioned Vietnam vet, a Marine who came home after the … Continue reading Dan Sloane
Poppy Dillworth
Created by Dorothy Tell Dorothy Tell wrote about POPPY DILLWORTH, a cranky 65-year-old retiree from the Dallas Police Department who decides to become a private detective instead of committing suicide. Go figure. She made her debut in the author’s first book, a romance, Wilderness Trek (1990), which was ostensibly a story of six women on a camping … Continue reading Poppy Dillworth
Jim Bob Luke
Created by Joe R. Lansdale More private eye action... as you like it. Shit-kicker gumshoe JIM BOB LUKE first appeared in the 1992 one-off Cold in July, a nasty little slice of vengeance and Texas justice run amock, full of crooked cops, murderous ex-cons and straight-arrow dads just trying to do the right thing, which … Continue reading Jim Bob Luke
Deuce Ramsey
Created by Jamie Mandelkau There wasn't much love for the off-beat The Leo Wyoming Caper when it was released in 1977, and it hasn't much improved with age. Dallas, Texas gumshoe DEUCE RAMSEY is hired to track down eccentric (ie: batshit crazy) millionaire and merry prankster Leo Wyoming, an aging hippie who's planning a local "art … Continue reading Deuce Ramsey
Clayton Yankee Taggart
Created by Robert J. Ray CLAYTON YANKEE TAGGART is a Vietnam vet turned Texas private eye, big and tough as all git out. As one character spouts out, "Man don't run across many like that. No sir.'' Which may be the problem. The author tries to tamp down Clayton's character a little, adding a few Spenserian … Continue reading Clayton Yankee Taggart
Dan Roman
Created by Edward Mathis (1927-1988) "Mathis was the real thing--a fine writer with a slant and style all his own. He brought us a dusty tapped-out Texas I'd never encountered before. If he reminded me of anybody it was the proletariat novelists of the Forties and Fifties such as Harvey Swados and Clancy Sigal." -- … Continue reading Dan Roman
Welcome to Texas, y’all.
Address to Attendees at the 2019 PWA Shamus Awards Banquet By Michael Bracken Dallas, Texas Nov. 1, 2019 Welcome to Texas, y’all. More than just part of fly-over America, the Lone Star State is home to an incredible diversity of ethnicities, religious affiliations, political persuasions, sexual orientations, and sociological stratification. Located within the confines of … Continue reading Welcome to Texas, y’all.
Billy Raskolnikov & Ringo
Created by William Dylan Powell Peg-legged ex-cop turned unlicensed private eye BILLY RASKOLNIKOV and his pet monkey RINGO (yeah, you read that right) work out of a boat, David's Fifth Margarita, docked in Redfish Bay near Corpus Christi. They've appeared in several humorous short stories in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, set on the Texas coast in the … Continue reading Billy Raskolnikov & Ringo