Fitch Henry Haut

Created by Dietrich Kalteis FITCH HENRY HAUT isn’t a P.I., but he should be. And maybe he would be, if he could hang around for more than one book. But that doesn’t seem likely. The prognosis for Fitch is grim. When we meet him in his one and likely only appearance, 2022’s noirish action thriller Nobody from … Continue reading Fitch Henry Haut

Gene Castle

Created by Jim Christy (1945 --) GENE CASTLE is a private eye working the mean streets of Vancouver, British Columbia in the years leading up to World War II, when we first hook up with him in Shanghai Alley (1997), a slick, entertaining (and appropriately-presented) paperback original that takes place in that city's teeming Chinatown--at … Continue reading Gene Castle

Arthur Beauchamp

Created by William Deverell Vancouver lawyer ARTHUR BEAUCHAMP has lots of personailty. He's alternately cranky, crafty and sly, an Quixotic idealist and a battle-hardened shrewd legal strategist, a lover of poetry and gardening, prone to spouting Latin even as he navigates a seemingly never-ending mid-life crisis, the Canadian equivalent of a certain Old Bailey hack. … Continue reading Arthur Beauchamp

Karl Morgen

Created by Dietrich Kalteis Seattle bounty hunter KARL MORGEN got his licence yanked for being a little too enthusiastic about bringing in a skipped bond, so he's now eking out a living as a process server across the border in Vancouver in Ride the Lightning (2014), Dietrich Kalteis' headsnapping (and promising) debut. Lark figures it'll … Continue reading Karl Morgen

Vancouver & Beautiful British Columbia

Private Eyes of the West Coast Arthur Beauchamp by William Deverall (Garibaldi Island) Gene Castle by Jim Christy (1930's-era Vancouver) Donegal Dawn by Guy Morton (Vancouver) Michael Drayton by Sam Wiebe (Vancouver) Helen Keremos by Eve Zaremba (Vancouver) John Collins by Zale R. Dalens (Vancouver) Jack Elton by Robert Scott Leo Falloon by Brent Butt … Continue reading Vancouver & Beautiful British Columbia

Joe Grundy

Created by Marc Strange So there I am, feeling homesick. And then Marc Strange's Sucker Punch (2007) arrived at my door. As the editor of this site, and a sometime-reviewer, my mailbox is often full of treasures, and nothing delights this Canadien errant more than a package from home, and this one was from Toronto's … Continue reading Joe Grundy

Michael Flynn (Flynn)

Created by Lyal Brown Another popular series from The Mystery Project on the CBC was Flynn, which enjoyed a 13-episode run in the mid-1990's.  In this one, MICHAEL FLYNN is a part-time private detective living on his boat in Vancouver.  A middle-aged drop-out from UBC Law School, he now lives on the Blarney Boy, a weather-beaten … Continue reading Michael Flynn (Flynn)

John Collins (Skip Tracer)

Created by Zale R. Dalen "He'll be sure you pay--one way or another!" -- tagline on the VHS edition Hey! Did I just dream this? JOHN COLLINS is the low-key, taciturn debt collector "hero" of Skip Tracer, a bleak, decidedly non-glamourous, low-budget Canadian character study released in 1977. Make no mistake--Collins is no goody two-shoes. … Continue reading John Collins (Skip Tracer)

Donegal Dawn (Secrets of Chinatown)

Created by Guy Morton "You're a white girl -- what are you doing in a place like this?" Dapper Vancouver, B.C. private eye DONEGAL DAWN is called in by the police commissioner, and reluctantly asked to look into the recent rash of "mysterious deaths" in Vancouver's Chinatown after one of the commissioner's own detectives is … Continue reading Donegal Dawn (Secrets of Chinatown)

Jed “Hammerhead” Ounstead

Created by A.J. Devlin Fed up with the pro wrestling circuit, JED "HAMMERHEAD" OUNSTEAD hangs up his tights and goes to work as a bouncer at , and helping out with  "some of the leg work from time to time" at his dad Frank's Vancouver, B.C. detective agency in Cobra Clutch (2018). It's a rollicking, good-natured … Continue reading Jed “Hammerhead” Ounstead