Paul Pine

Created by John Evans Pseudonym of Howard Browne (1907-1999)    Of all of Raymond Chandler's followers, the most Chandlerish of them all might have been Howard Browne. And Browne's private eye hero, PAUL PINE, is simply one of the great eyes, no matter how inspired by (or derivative of ) Chandler's Philip Marlowe he obviously …

John Evans

Created by Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) JOHN EVANS was the last pseudonym given to the character of Philip Marlowe, in a short story by Raymond Chandler. Unlike his previous short story attempts at a series character, however, by the time of Evans' one and only appearance, "No Crime in the Mountains," in the September 1941 issue …

Simeon Grist

Created by Timothy Hallinan (1942 --) According to the blurb, SIMEON GRIST, hip young Los Angeles private eye, "knows the City of Angels inside and out -- the sex for sale, the chic seductions, the clientele of every bar from downtown L.A. to Venice." Well, not quite. Thirtyish man-about-town Simeon does seem to get around, …

Johnny April

Created by Mike Roscoe Pseudonym of John Roscoe and Michael Ruso A very underrated, nearly forgotten series from the fifties, written by real private detectives! Kansas City private eye JOHNNY APRIL is, according to at least one character, "a nasty, viscious and dirty bastard." Suffice it to say that Johnny's one hard-talkin', fast-shootin', dirty-fightin' guy, always …

Anthony Bathhurst

Created by Brian Flynn Pseudonyms include Charles Wogan (1885--1958) Tall, grey-eyed ANTHONY LOTHERINGTON BATHHURST, son of Irish parents and a former Uppingham schoolboy, was a blandly affable  British private detective who appeared in over fifty clever, clue-packed novels by Brian Flynn. They're all very much in the classic mystery mode, clearly and admittedly influenced farnmore by Doyle …

My Back Pages

Thrilling Detective Trivia Sam Spade's hat size? Marlowe's socks? Rockford's License number? Find out here...  THE HALL OF FAME THE P.I. POLL WIT & WISDOM What the hell is a private eye, anyway? And what the hell do you mean by "Hard-boiled," for that matter? And while we're at it, what the hell is "Noir"? According …

Charity Deacon

Created by P.A. Wilson "I'm a P.I. I know that sounds cool and dangerous, but mostly it's just seedy. Every now and then I feel like just chucking it all in, but then someone asks me for my help and I get back in the groove. When I'm in the groove, I follow wandering spouses, …

Colwyn Dane

Created by Rupert Hall Pseudonym of Edward Reginald Home-Gall Authors include Mark Grimshaw (house pseudonym; used by Ernest McKeag, Harry Belfield) "Gosh, that was worth seeing, guv'nor!" exclaimed Slick Chester. Crikey! Cut from the same cloth as Sexton Blake but aimed at a younger audience, COLWYN DANE was a private detective/adventurer, the kind of hero so beloved …

Roy Markham (Markham)

Created by Sterling Silliphant and Robert C. Dennis This short-lived American TV series, intended as a summer replacement, tried to cash in on the success of Perry Mason and Peter Gunn (and preceded Burke's Law), consummate pro Ray Milland starred as suave, wealthy, educated, ex-patriate Brit ROY MARKHAM, a successful, but rather bored criminal attorney who …

Thomas Kyd

Created by Timothy Harris Pseudonym of Timothy Hyde Harris (1946--) "You want to solve a crime, Granville? Why don't you go arrest your tailor?" -- Kyd can crack wise with the best of 'em. THOMAS KYD is a Los Angeles P.I. of "high principles and low assets" who appeared in two very good private eye …