Created by William ArdPseudonyms include Jonas Ward, Ben Kerr, Thomas Wills and Mike Moran(1922-1960) I was in the mood to read a vintage hardboiled paperback, and this is what came to hand. I'd never read any of William Ard's mysteries before, but years ago I read all the Westerns he wrote under the name Jonas Ward. … Continue reading Luke MacLane
Tag: William Ard
William Ard: He Coulda Been a Contender
Pseudonyms include Jonas Ward, Ben Kerr, Thomas Wills and Mike Moran (1922-1960) "(Ard was) just about unmatched for driving story movement and acute economy." -- Anthony Boucher "... one of the most distinctive voices in the history of the private eye novel." -- Francis M. Nevins He coulda been a contender. Sure, everyone knows Chandler and … Continue reading William Ard: He Coulda Been a Contender
Tom Doran
Created by Mike Moran Pseudonyms of William Ard (1922-1960) In his only appearance, 1953's Double Cross, private eye TOM DORAN handles the narrative chores himself, explaining how, despite his status as an "independent operator," he will occasionally take on a job from a larger agency. And so he agrees to bodyguard boxer Rudy Walker, who's … Continue reading Tom Doran
The Three Barney Glines of William Ard
Created by William Ard Pseudonyms include Jonas Ward, Ben Kerr, Thomas Wills and Mike Moran (1922-1960) I really like the private eye novels of William Ard, one of the most successful (but now, criminally forgotten) hard-boiled writers of the fifties, particularly those featuring Big Apple eye Timothy Dane. But he created a whole slew of … Continue reading The Three Barney Glines of William Ard
Mike Fontaine (aka Danny Fontaine)
Created by William Ard Pseudonyms include Jonas Ward, Ben Kerr, Thomas Wills and Mike Moran (1922-1960) When we first meet MIKE FONTAINE, in William Ard's As Bad As I Am (1959), he's a struggling New York actor. Perhaps more struggling than most--he's just been released from prison, after serving five years for killing a man for beating a … Continue reading Mike Fontaine (aka Danny Fontaine)
Barney Glines
Created by Thomas Wills Pseudonym of William Ard (1922-60) Another private eye from the gumshoe factory of William Ard! When we first meet BARNEY GLINES in the noirish You'll Get Yours (1952), published by Lion Books, a notoriously seedy, paperback house of the early fifties, he's a New York private eye with a rep for integrity, … Continue reading Barney Glines
Lou Largo
Created by William Ard Pseudonyms include Jonas Ward, Ben Kerr, Thomas Wills and Mike Moran (1922-1960) LOU LARGO must have been a pretty popular dick in his time, because when his creator, William Ard, passed away--having written just two books in the series--his publisher, Monarch Books, just kept pumping them out. The byline may have read … Continue reading Lou Largo
Johnny Stevens
Created by Ben Kerr Pseudonym of William Ard (1922-60) Another private eye from William Ard, another private eye well worth investigating. Perpetually broke JOHNNY STEVENS is a New York op for the Flannagan Detective Agency, run by gruff "mick" Flannagan, his own self. A long-time favourite of mine, Brooklyn-born Ard was one of the unjustly … Continue reading Johnny Stevens
Gone Too Soon
They Coulda Been Contenders The hard-boiled highway's jammed with broken heroes who never got a chance. Here are three of the forgotten who could have been contenders... Robert Reeves (1912-45) Creator of private eye Cellini Smith and hard-boiled trucker and "highway detective" Bookie Barnes, this young New Yorker showed promise as a pulp writer, with … Continue reading Gone Too Soon
Timothy Dane
Created by William Ard (1922-1960) Partial to Seagram's Seven and a good steak dinner at Toot Shor's, TIMOTHY DANE is a young (30ish) New York gumshoe with an excellent reputation for honesty who appeared in nine (or is it ten?) books back in the fifties, all heartily recommended. He's tall, and some women find the … Continue reading Timothy Dane