Tru Lewis
Created by Robert Randisi (1951 --)

That's the ad TRUXTON "TRU" LEWIS places in the paper, as a way of escaping the clutches of his annoying, though well-meaning daughter and her dentist husband. Tru is a widower in his early sixties, and has been retired from the NYPD for ten years. He still mourns the death of his wife, and housesits across the country in an attempt to relieve the boredom.

And wouldn't you know it? Tru somehow always seems to find something interesting to keep him occupied, like, oh, I don't know, maybe MURDER???

It's only just begun, but already I like the laidback charm of this new series. No surprise, really, mind you. Tru's creator, Robert Randisi, of course, is one of the big shots in P.I. fiction , having created several memorable and apealling eyes, founded the Private Eye Writers of America, and co-founded, with Ed Gorman, Mystery Scene magazine.

SHORT STORIES

• "Midnight Pass" (May 2000, EQMM)
• "Black and White Memories" (Summer 2000, The Mississippi Review)
• "The Listening Room" (2004, Murder... and All That Jazz)

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.