James M. Cain 1946 Photo: AP / TT
Sample of authors
Cain, James M.
The American author and journalist James Mallahan Cain was a prominent figure in 20th century fiction. Alongside Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, he was among the first authors of "hardboiled" crime fiction that came to influence American noir fiction and film. Many of his works are considered classics, especially the novellas The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) and Double Indemnity...
Literary figures
Pharoah Love
Gender: Male
He must be one of the most unlikely police officers in crime literature: an Afro-American and openly homosexual hipster in New York who drives a Jaguar, uses a trendy slang and has a preference for young, sexy, white men. George Baxt wrote five novels about Pharoah (spelt like that!) Love, who is a handsome, ready-witted and jazz-loving ‘cool cat’ of early middle-age and who became a favourite wit...