Archives: detective fiction

The president and the detective novel – a continuing love story

May 31, 2018 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: books, journalism, writers, writing.

The President Is Missing, by Bill Clinton and James Patterson. Coming to your physical and digital bookstore in June. Watch for it. Pre-order from Amazon if you like. This won’t be the first time that a president has ventured into the mystery/detective/thriller genre, as Clay Fehrman points out in an interesting and enlightening article in • Read More »

Raymond Chandler and the development of the ‘private eye’; newsletter, Jan. 12, 2018

January 15, 2018 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: journalists, newsletter, watercolor.

This newsletter was sent to everyone on Jim’s email list (4,500) on Friday, Jan. 12, 2018. Special note: If you have unsubscribed to this list previously, I apologize for this email. I had some problems with the list over the past couple of weeks — due mainly to my incompetence — and some unsubscribers may have • Read More »

Trouble is their business: the ‘private eye’ and the writers who created them

December 21, 2017 | By Jim Stovall | 2 Comments | Filed in: Private eye, writers, writing.

The opening scene of Raymond Chandler’s story Trouble is My Business tells you a lot in a very few words about Chandler’s “private eye,” Phillip Marlowe. Marlow is talking to a woman who runs a detective agency, a big one with several agents. But none of her people is suitable for the job she has. • Read More »