Lucas Hallam

Created by L.J. Washburn (1957 --)

Shucks.

LUCAS HALLAM is an ex-Texas Ranger and honest-to-god cowboy trying to make a living as a stuntman in the Hollywood of the 1920's. But times are tough and business practices can get a mite rough in the fledgling movie industry, so ol' Luke ends up tossing his Stetson in the P.I. ring every now and then, if you know what I mean.

There's some truly great period colour and detail -- you can almost taste the leather and dust -- and Lucas is a truly compelling character. Why this series never caught on is beyond me.

Author L.J. Washburn, by the way, is the wife of fellow crime writer James M. Reasoner, creator of contemporary Texan gumshoe Cody. Between the two of them, they wrote or co-wrote thirty-seven Mike Shayne stories under the pseudonym of Brett Halliday for Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine at one time, and they've also collaborated on Tie a Black Ribbon, a novel featuring bouncer/P.I. Skeeter Barlow, who works for The Hallam Agency in Dallas/Fort Worth.

NOVELS

• Wild Night (1987) ...Buy this book
• Dead-Stick (1989) ...Buy this book
• Dog Heavies (1990) ...Buy this book

SHORT STORIES

• "Hallam" (1984, The Eyes Have It)
• "On the Prod" (1987, A Matter of Crime)
• "Hollywood Guns" (1988, An Eye for Justice)
• "Double Take" (December 1995, EQMM)
• "Lynching in Mixville" (1996, Lethal Ladies)
• "The Wireless Bluff" (January 1998, EQMM)
• "Hollywood Flesh" (2001, The Book of All Flesh)
• "Ladysmith" (2002, Guns of the West)
• "The Blue Burro" (2005, Lone Star)

COLLECTIONS

• Hallam (2011) ...Kindle it!

Contains four Hallam stories.

RELATED LINKS

• My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

Cowboy Eyes

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.