Created by Doug Hornig Laid-back Vietnam vet and amateur scuba diver LOREN SWIFT hails from Charlottesville, Virginia, where he plies his trade as a private eye (the only one on town) in a four novels and at least one short story in EQMM. Horning himself calls them "medium boiled" adventures. I just call 'em fun. … Continue reading Loren Swift
Tag: Vietnam Vet
John Francis Cuddy
Created by Jeremiah Healy (1948-2014) Private investigator JOHN FRANCIS CUDDY is based in Boston and, at least in the early novels, seemed to have been based quite clearly on that 1980's Boston success story Spenser. He grew up in the Irish-American neighborhood of South Boston, educated by the Jesuits at Holy Cross College, and served in … Continue reading John Francis Cuddy
Dave Garrett
Created by Neil Albert DAVE GARRETT at first seems like just another cookie cutter eye. A disbarred lawyer? Now working as a Philadelphia private eye, not exactly setting the world on fire?A Vietnam vet suffering from PSTD? Aren't they all? Okay. I think we've been here before. But that doesn't take into account the writing here, … Continue reading Dave Garrett
Ford Morgan & Roy Shepherd
Created by Michael Collins In 1995's The Cadillac Cowboy, Michael Collins gave us not one, but two intriguing detective characters to add to our list. While neither LANGFORD "FORD" MORGAN or ROY ROGERS SHEPHERD are actually private eyes per se, they're both far too good at what they do to be dismissed as mere amateurs. And … Continue reading Ford Morgan & Roy Shepherd
Hawk (A Man Called Hawk)
Created by Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) Developed for television by Stephen Hattman and William Robert Yates "You push yourself till you can't stand the pain, then you push yourself a little bit more.'' -- Hawk counsels black youth He's big, he's Black and he's mean. And he knows you didn't watch his show!!! It's generally … Continue reading Hawk (A Man Called Hawk)
Kidd
Created by John Camp Pseudonyms include John Sandford I always thought the KIDD series was unjustly neglected. A unique creation, particularly for its time (the late 1980s), he was a sort of high-tech scam artist/computer whiz/Travis McGee type with a very stretchy set of ethics and one cracker of a hacker who would--for a price--make … Continue reading Kidd
Rick Harper
Created by David Mazroff(1907-82) San Francisco-based RICK HARPER is a "big, tough, hard" private eye whom the police seem to respect, and even turn to, when they just can't seem to crack a case. He appeared a few times in the crime digests of the early seventies. He's six feet tall, thirty years of age, … Continue reading Rick Harper
Kilroy
Created by Stephen Mertz Other pseudonyms include Stephen Brett, Jim Case, and house pseudonyms Jack Buchanan, Cliff Garnett, Don Pendleton and Dick Stivers (1947--) "I like Denver well enough, all things considered." -- Kilroy. Not susceptible to Rocky Mountain Highs (Cold in the Ground) "KILROY IS HERE!" is the obvious tagline for this equally obvious but solidly entertaining throwback of … Continue reading Kilroy
Patrick Hardy
Created by Martin Meyers (1934-2014) "Breasts to the left of him, breasts to the right..." -- Patrick notices these things (from Spy and Die) New York's PATRICK HARDY is your "classic, 1970's paperback private eye", according to Max Allan Collins, in his intro to the 1998 anthology Private Eyes that he co-edited with Mickey Spillane, … Continue reading Patrick Hardy
Wyatt Storme
Created by W.L. Ripley And a-hunting we will go... Bow-hunter and Vietnam vet WYATT STORME is a former Dallas Cowboy wide receiver who walked away from football at his peak, fed up with the politics of the NFL, to become a "freelance troubleshooter." Then again, Wyatt's a bit of a recluse, anyway--he prefers hunting out in … Continue reading Wyatt Storme