Created by Christopher Chambers “The streetlights are buzzing to life as the sun does somewhere over Virginia.” — opening line of Standalone Talk about a reluctant detective... Recovering addict (maybe) and unlicensed Black private eye DICKIE CORNISH, one of Washington D.C.’s homeless (one of the publisher’s blurbs refers to him in wokespeak as a “street … Continue reading Dickie Cornish
Tag: Washington D.C.
A Conversation About The Conversation
Sam Wiebe Introduces the 1974 Classic Slated to introduce The Conversation at the Vancouver Film Center before the pandemic, Canadian crime writer Sam Wiebe, the creator of private eyes Dave Wakeland and Michael Drayton, finally got to do it in April 2022. The screening was part of a free day of programming in memoriam for VIFF staff … Continue reading A Conversation About The Conversation
Harry Caul (The Conversation)
Created by Francis Ford Coppola Gene Hackman nails the character of HARRY CAUL, a twitchy, shopworn surveillance expert hired to do a little wiretapping in The Conversation, Francis Ford Coppola's explosive and darkly disturbing pre-Watergate morality tale of slimy corporate treachery and dirty secrets. You'll feel like taking a shower after this one. Harry may … Continue reading Harry Caul (The Conversation)
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)
Cal Lightman (Lie to Me)
Created by Samuel Baum Presenting the human lie detector as prick... Lie to Me is yet another post-millennial television how about "private investigators" who aren't quite "private investigators." But while he may not be a private eye, trained psychologist and human lie detector DR. CAL LIGHTMAN does indeed offer the Washington, D.C. based and well-respected (if … Continue reading Cal Lightman (Lie to Me)
Giff Speer
Created by Don Tracy Pseudonyms include Barnaby Ross, Roger Fuller (1905-1976) GIFF SPEER is a special agent of sorts for the Military Police, occasionally even going undercover to investigate crimes involving the U.S. Army. So what's he doing here? Well, about halfway through the series by Don Tracy, following events in Pot of Trouble (1971), Giff … Continue reading Giff Speer
Chet Drum
Created by Stephen Marlowe Pseudonym of Milton Lesser Other pseudonyms include Adam Chase, Andrew Frazer, Jason Ridgway, C.H. Thames, S.M. Teneshaw, Gerald Vance, Alexander Blade, Darius John Granger, Adam Chase, Stephen Wilder, Ellery Queen (1928–2008) Stephen Marlowe wrote a quite popular, but now almost-forgotten series for Fawcett/Gold Medal about globe-trotting private eye, CHESTER "CHET" DRUM. It's a … Continue reading Chet Drum
Leo Haggerty
Created by Benjamin M. Schutz (1949-2008) One of the better post-Spenser P.I.'s out of the 1980s was LEO HAGGERTY, a Washington, D.C.-based private investigator with a mustache, a receding hairline à la Jack Nicholson, and enough little quirks to make him worth remembering. Like Spenser, he's a bit of a renaissance man, obsessed with the moral … Continue reading Leo Haggerty
Steve Bentley
Created by Robert Dietrich Pseudonym of E. Howard Hunt Other pseudonyms include John Baxter, Gordon Davis and David St. John (1918-2007) "(D.C. is) a great town if you've got the stamina of a Cape buffalo and the wealth of a Punjab prince." -- Steve comes clean on D.C. Here's a rare case in the P.I. … Continue reading Steve Bentley
Jack Bodine
Created by Thomas Bunn (1944--) Hmmmm.... wonder if he's any relation to Jethro? Lansing, Michigan gumshoe JACK BODINE puts his P.I. ticket on the line frequently, because he tends to take his cases very personally. In the first novel, Worse Than Death (1989), for example, he becomes emotionally attached when he takes on a case involving a … Continue reading Jack Bodine