An excerpt from the novel by Duane Swierczynski The year is 1976. Meet Del Winter, hard-boiled dick. But Winter isn't like the other shamuses you find here at THRILLING DETECTIVE. For one thing, he's back from the dead. For another, he has a strange ability: Winter can absorb other recently-departed souls and store them in … Continue reading “Secret Dead Men”
Tag: Thrilling Detective Fiction
Del Farmer (aka Del Winter)
Created by Duane Swierczynski He's hot, he's hip, he's dead. Meet DEL WINTER, hard-boiled dick. But Winter isn't like the other shamuses you may find on this site. For one thing, he's shuffled off this mortal coil and assumed permanent room temperature. Really. He's dead, Jim. Or at least, he was. For a while. And … Continue reading Del Farmer (aka Del Winter)
“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”
“The Gift of Wallace Random”
By Hugh Lessig A Picasso Smith Story January 1999 Chapter 1 Wallace Random got shellshocked at Iwo Jima, and he came home wide-eyed and full of secrets. He took government checks and wrote letters to his Aunt Tot in Eugene, Oregon, whom I suspected did not exist. He spent his nights drinking sasperella at The … Continue reading “The Gift of Wallace Random”
Picasso Smith
Created by Hugh Lessig PICASSO SMITH, hard-boiled scribbler for The Frisco Foil tabloid ("Boldly Printing the Truth and Mayhem"), circa 1931-58, is the star of a string of on-line short stories and vignettes by Hugn Lessig that harken back to the days of the pulps. Picasso's a general assignment reporter, with no time for guff … Continue reading Picasso Smith
“My Client’s Wife”
By Michael Bracken Featuring "Moe Ron" Boyette Spring 2007 I watched my client's wife through the open French doors leading from their bedroom to the back patio, surprised at my reaction to her half-clothed figure, and I knew that it would be another long, hard night. "Anything?" my client asked the following morning. I shook my … Continue reading “My Client’s Wife”
“The Gospel According to Gordon Black”
By Richard Helms Featuring Eamon Gold Fall 2007 Gordon Black was a short man with an intimidating stare. His hair and beard were completely white. He liked to accentuate his points by drawing circles in the air with his index fingers. “We are nothing but organic flotsam, bobbing in the infinite sea of life. Don't you … Continue reading “The Gospel According to Gordon Black”
Dan Fortune Has His Say (Dan’s Last Words)
As told to Dennis Lynds/Michael Collins EDITOR'S NOTE: Dennis had offered to write something for this site for a while, and finally contributed this fictional mini-rant by his politically outspoken private eye Dan Fortune in the summer of 2005, shortly before his death. In transferring it from our old site, I had a chance to … Continue reading Dan Fortune Has His Say (Dan’s Last Words)
The “Detectives in the Shadows” Zoom
August 18, 2020 On August 18, 2020, we had a very special Zoom, co-sponsored with Johns Hopkins University Press. It was a rollicking affair, boasting a keen discussion on the past and present of hard-boiled crime fiction, featuring Max Allan Collins (Road to Perdition), Ace Atkins (the Quinn Colson series), and Alex Segura (the Pete Fernandez … Continue reading The “Detectives in the Shadows” Zoom
“Horns”
By Mark Troy Featuring Val Lyon January 2009 Doyle Gillespie bellowed in a voice as loud as his shirt, a yellow and red hangover of martini glasses and hula girls. "Sperm-jacking," he said. "Somebody's getting to my bulls. Taking the goblins right outta the pipe, you might say." Gillespie smiled at his own wit. I took … Continue reading “Horns”