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, Ken Hamlin, 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 … 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 Other pseudonyms include Ben Kerr, Jonas Ward, and Mike Moran (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 … 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 Other pseudonyms include Jonas Ward, Thomas Wills and Mike Moran (1922-60) Another series private eye from William Ard, and another series 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 … 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 Pseudonyms include Ben Kerr, Jonas Ward, Thomas Wills and Mike Moran (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 … Continue reading Timothy Dane