Sal Kilkenny

Created by Cath Staincliffe Don't be fooled by the domestic, "women's issues" nature of her cases -- this aint no cosy, this ain't no foolin' around. SAL KILKENNY is the real deal; one of the more appealing, post-boom female eyes, a British single mother and no-nonsense private eye working out of a rented basement in a …

Julian “Digger” Burroughs/Devlin “Trace” Tracy/Daedulus Patrick Murphy

Created by Warren Murphy (1933-2015) "It's a bubble that's gonna break, it's Murphy's law..." --theme song lyrics, sung by Al Jarreau I'm sorry, but there's just no sense listing these guys separately. Warren Murphy wrote them all, and they're all basically the same guy, especially the first two, JULIAN "DIGGER" BURROUGHS and DEVLIN "TRACE" TRACY. …

Jeff Regan

Jeff Regan, Investigator was the last of three detective radio shows Jack Webb did before Dragnet (see also Pat Novak For Hire and Johnny Modero: Pier 23). It debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played JEFF REGAN, a rough-and-tough private eye working for the Los Angeles-based International Detective Bureau, run by Anthony J. Lyon. …

Dennis O’Brien

Created by Herbert H. Margolis Louis Morheim (1922-2013) and Richard L. Breen (1918-67)   "I rent out boats and do anything that means long odds and short hours. My sideline's trouble." -- O'Brien explains his occupation in Roaring City "When you deal with these dames --you're in the DANGER ZONE!" -- tagline from Danger Zone    All …

Chet Drum

Created by Stephen Marlowe Pseudonym of Milton Lesser 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 shame they've slipped into relative obscurity, because they were quite well written and often very engaging books, and brought a new wrinkle into the Shamus …

Martin Kane (Private Eye)

Created by J. Walter Thompson & Co., on behalf of The U.S. Tobacco Company   MARTIN KANE was television's first private eye, so there! And just to rub it in, his show was called Private Eye. No muss, no fuss--just the straight goods. Talk about putting your mark on something. Featuring an easy-going but determined Big …

The Thrilling Detective Noir at the Bar (May 23, 2020)

We had our first Thrilling Detective Noir at the Bar on Saturday, May 23, 2020, and I'm so happy it turned out okay. Despite a few minor technical snafus (carefully edited out of the video--nobody really wants to see me naked and dripping wet), it went relatively smoothly (especially if you squint)... well enough, in …

Addison Holmes

Created by Liliana Hart "His muscles had muscles, and I was pretty sure it wasn't his gun pressing into my belly." -- Whiskey Sour A little bit of Shell Scott, a whole lotta Stephanie Plum... ADDISON HOLMES is so very, very bored with teaching history in nowheresville Whiskey Bayou, Georgia, until she lands a job at …

Horace Dorrington

Created by Arthur Morrison (1863-1945) Arthur Morrison is one of the forgotten crime authors of the Conan Doyle generation. He grew up in genuine poverty, and is remembered by literary critics for his social protest "slum novels", most famously the semi-autobiographical A Child of the Jago. His work also included the intriguingly-titled, but as I …

Cliff Chandler

Created by Baynard H. Kendrick Pseudonyms include Richard Hayward (1894-1977) All hands on deck! CLIFF CHANDLER was rather unique, in that he was an ocean-going ship's detective, who specializes in protecting the welfare of transatlantic passengers on the SS Moriander, a swanky luxury liner which sailed regularly from Southampton. "Slim and debonair from crisp black …