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A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z Adams, Chuck: Los Angeles attorney who hires Al Colby and puts him on the cold, five-year-old trail of the mysterious Robert R. Parker. (The Long Escape)
Al (“Allie”): Social director on the cruise ship Astrid, who arranges for John Lincoln to meet Glorious Gloria during his trip to South Africa. (Troubleshooter)
Albert: A tough-looking lad who relieves Whit Whitney of a pair of angels. (Death and Taxes)
Andy: A grizzled “Bill Hart” with a handlebar moustache and big Stetson, he is sheriff in Reno and does not quite believe Whit Whitney’s story. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Barot: The handsome, practical director of La Belle Poitrine in Cannes. (Carambola)
Barreiro, Tony: A “slight, swarthily, handsome man with a thin dark mustache over a small nasty mouth” who is Barney Steele’s right-hand goon. Tony, along with two “zoot suiters” with pointed shoes, gives Whit Whitney a severe beating after Steele feels that Whit has double-crossed him. Tony ends up on ice—literally—when Whit and the cops raid the smugglers’ boat. (It Ain’t Hay)
Baxter, Preston: Young, well-dressed, “owl-eyed” man who attacks Marko with a broken ketchup bottle after getting high on marijuana. (It Ain’t Hay)
Beauchamp: Superintendent of Paul Herzog’s diamond mine in Botswana who pronounces his name “Beecham” and gives John Lincoln a South Africa history lesson. (Troubleshooter)
Bellini, Henri: A Cannes businessman—both legitimate and illegitimate—who is John Robie’s best friend and helps him. (Note: Based on a Dodge acquaintance named Platano.) (To Catch a Thief)
Benavides, Ana Luz: Nurse to the invalid Alfredo Berrien, who reminds Al Colby of a Grecian vase. (Plunder of the Sun)
Bernstein, Solly: A round, balding South African with an over-large diamond on his little finger who is hopelessly in love with his fiancée, Glorious Gloria. (Troubleshooter)
Berrien, Alfredo: Wheelchair-bound antique dealer who hires Al Colby to help him smuggle a Peruvian artifact—a quipu, an Inca message-cord that attracts the attention of several competing “collectors”—out of Chile and back into Peru. (Plunder of the Sun)
Blake, Sam: The big, good-natured, sun-tanned captain of the Angel, a luxury yacht owned by American playboy Freddy Farr. He is paid to take care of the ship and her passengers. His responsibilities—and his loyalty to his employer—are put to the ultimate test when murderous gangsters hijack the Angel. (Angel’s Ransom)
Bradley, Kenneth: A junior accountant in Los Angeles who has the important task of delivering an important package to Agent “X-9” Whit Whitney. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Braillard, Carl: The skinny teenage son of Simon and Lili Braillard. He is a strange kid who doesn’t say much, even though he can converse in six different languages. (The Red Tassel)
Braillard, Lili: The handsome blonde European wife of mine manager Simon Braillard. She is fiercely protective of her son Carl and passes her time knitting borlas, ear tassels for llamas. (The Red Tassel)
Braillard, Simon: American manager of Pancha Porter’s mining properties at San Martín Coquellache high in the Bolivian Andes. When strange things start happening at the mine—thefts, sabotage, and missing llamas—his boss comes to investigate, bringing Al Colby along for the ride. (The Red Tassel)
Bruno: Owner of a juke joint in Half Moon Bay that has a good view of Barney Steele’s private jetty. (It Ain’t Hay)
Bulic, Colonel: Chief of the dreaded Security police of the People’s Free Federal Republic. He is the second most powerful—and the most feared—individual in the Republic and he rules the country with an iron fist. He also has a secret that could destroy him and when American reporters Jess Matthews and Cora Lambert discover it, he leads a manhunt through the Balkans to catch them. (The Lights of Skaro)
Burns, Jack (“Lucky”): The identity that retired jewel thief John Robie assumes when he goes undercover. (To Catch a Thief)
Caldwell, Jess: Walter Gates’ right-hand man who is of average height, average weight, average coloring, and average looks whose job is to stick close to Whit and Kitty Whitney, just in case they turn out to be undercover FBI agents rather than newlyweds. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Candelas: Harry Magill’s broad, powerful Catalan “animal,” he’s a smuggler by trade who helps Andy Holland smuggle Magill out of Barcelona, over the Pyrenees, and into France. (Carambola)
Carpenter, Frederick (Fred): The late Harald Wolff’s pilot who may or may not have intentionally crashed his plane. (Death and Taxes)
Casey, Bruce: Representative of the Attorney General’s office attending John Abraham Lincoln’s hearing. (Troubleshooter)
Catlett, Calvin: Deceased husband of Loo Loo Catlett who dropped dead of a heart attack one April Fool’s Day leaving a will which named the Citizens’ National Bank executor of his estate. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Catlett, Loo Loo: The widowed owner of a boarding house named Dreamhaven, which was left in trust of the Citizens’ National Bank by her late husband. She has “no head for money” and her mismanagement of the trust brings in the Bank, in the form of assistant trust officer Charlie, to take over the house. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
César: The Monegasque steward of the Angel. (Angel’s Ransom)
Charles (Charlie): Assistant trust officer with the Citizens’ National Bank, which has responsibility for the Catlett Trust, in essence a boarding house named Dreamhaven. In order to assume direct management of the house, Charlie moves in and persuades the trust’s “remaindermen,” Loo Loo Catlett’s two nieces Ginger and Ellie, to also take rooms. This brings him into the lives of the house’s eccentric residents (“pee gees”) and the beautiful Raymond sisters. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Charlie: Friend of the boorish, drunk Jumbo on the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. (Hooligan)
Chavarría Serra, Víctor: Administrador of the Ruano fundo near Melipilla, Chile. He ends up with a broken nose at the hands of Al Colby after he insults Idaho Farrell. (The Long Escape)
Chen: Chinese guard in Ts’ao Lan Tze who nurses John Lincoln. (Troubleshooter)
Chief, The: Head of the California Dept. of Justice, Division of Narcotic Enforcement in San Francisco. With the help of Whit Whitney and the S.F.P.D., the Chief leads a raid on marijuana smuggler Barney Steele’s boat. (It Ain’t Hay)
Claude: The professeur de natation at La Plage Nautique in Cannes. He has broad shoulders, slim hips, and sleek black hair and looks like he might make a good cat burglar. (To Catch a Thief)
Clayton, John J.: A wealthy wool-broker who hires Whit Whitney to investigate his son Bob’s mysterious misuse of the company bank account. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Clayton, Kathryn: The attractive, intelligent, long-suffering wife of the philandering Bob Clayton. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Clayton, Robert (Bob): The big, good-looking son of Whit Whitney’s client John J. Clayton who manages the Los Angeles office of the family wool business. He’s addicted to aspirin, high stakes poker, and “killer-diller” redheads—one of which turns out to be fatal. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Cleary, Ed: An Allied Press reporter who is the first to interview the Gorzas after their escape from the People’s Free Federal Republic. (The Lights of Skaro)
Coco: An expert skull-cracker who was in John Robie’s band of maquisards during World War II, he assists Robie in his efforts to trap the copycat thief. (To Catch a Thief)
Colby, Al: Private eye based in Mexico City; a tough-guy adventurer whose investigations take him throughout Central and South America. Colby is a norteamericano but was born in Mexico, lived most of his life there, and speaks fluent Spanish. He is a loner who, although never lacking for female companionship, is unable to commit himself to a relationship. In The Long Escape (1948), he tracks a runaway husband from Mexico to Santiago, Chile; in Plunder of the Sun (1949), he is hired to recover lost Inca treasure in Peru; and, in The Red Tassel (1950), Colby faces off against saboteurs and a witch-doctor at a silver mine in the high altitudes of the Bolivian Andes. (Note: Please see also essay on the Thrilling Detective Web Site)
Collins: Proprietor of the Never Say Die Collection Agency—“no bill too old, no trail too cold”—who enjoys sparring with Loo Loo Catlett over her bills. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Colusa, Lorenzo (Renzo): The handsome Italian owner of Lorenzo’ Club in Reno, he’s somewhat of a wolf when it comes to pretty girls; he’s also a spy. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Commandante, The: Officer of the Guardia Civil in Puno, on the Peruvian shore of Lake Titicaca, who helps Al Colby catch up with Jeff. (Plunder of the Sun)
Cornejo, Raul: Young peruano from Arequipa who manhandles Ana Luz and wants to kill Al Colby. (Plunder of the Sun)
Corsi: A plainclothes officer of the Sûreté Publique. (Angel’s Ransom)
Danielle: A young, pretty French girl with curly blonde hair who “Jack Burns” (AKA John Robie) hires to be seen with him at the Cannes casinos. She reminds Paul du Pré of his late wife and turns out to have a background eerily similar to Robie’s. (To Catch a Thief)
Danitza: The blonde secretary and mistress of Yoreska, Minister of Internal Affairs for the People’s Free Federal Republic; she’s also American reporter Cora Lambert’s chief informant. (The Lights of Skaro)
DeWitt, “Buster”: A slick young man with a hairline mustache, he inherited his father’s interest in Harald Wolff’s Gold Star Brewery and becomes a prime suspect. (Death and Taxes)
Di Lucca, Bruno: A handsome Italian whose wife Laura is twice his age. He makes her jealous by flirting with the beautiful Valentina, and makes her a widow by defying the hijackers. (Angel’s Ransom)
Di Lucca, Laura: The rich, possessive wife of pretty boy Bruno di Lucca. (Angel’s Ransom)
Dieter: A farmer who comes to Paul Herzog’s farm for a baboon hunt. (Troubleshooter)
Dill, Graham: Correspondent for Reuters stationed in the People’s Free Federal Republic. (The Lights of Skaro)
Djakovo, Anton: A religious fanatic and leader of the outlawed Peasant Party. He has a price on his head. (The Lights of Skaro)
Draine, Lady Margaret: An elderly Englishwoman with a poodle who resides in Hong Kong. (Hooligan)
Du Pré, Lisa: Wife of Paul du Pré, who dies of tuberculosis. (To Catch a Thief)
Du Pré, Paul (le Comte du Pré de la Tour): A good friend of retired jewel thief John Robie. When he discovers his friend in disguise, he believes Robie has returned to his criminal ways. (To Catch a Thief)
Durham: A heavy-set, balding FBI agent who doesn’t survive his meeting with spy-ring leader Walter Gates. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Dwight, J. Dabney: Whit Whitney’s client who owns half of Santa Cruz County. (Death and Taxes)
Eddie: A young man who is on the receiving end of a punch in the stomach, courtesy of Whit Whitney. (Death and Taxes)
Ellis, Marian: A slim, dark-haired ex-Rockette trying to make living as a dancer in Monaco. She becomes an unwitting accomplice to murderous gangsters and falls in love with the Angel’s captain, Sam Blake. (Angel’s Ransom)
Emily: Kitty Whitney’s sister in Denver who thinks Whit is a “dope” and doesn’t deserve a wife like Kitty, and with whom Kitty goes to stay after Whit refuses to abandon his vendetta against Barney Steele. (It Ain’t Hay)
Ernie: Plainclothes San Francisco police officer. (Death and Taxes)
Escombro, Francisco (Frank): The 20-year old son of a San Francisco crab fisherman who helps Whit Whitney locate goon Tony Barreiro after Tony steals his girlfriend Rosa Maria Martín. (It Ain’t Hay)
Escombro, Santiago: An old Spanish crab fisherman with curly iron-gray hair who owns a boat called the Francisco Chico. He and his son Frank help Whit Whitney obtain key evidence against smuggler Barney Steele. (It Ain’t Hay)
Evelyn (Ev): The young widowed mother of Sixteen Tons who works six days a week, eight hours a day on her feet at a bargain basement to provide for herself and her baby. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Farr, Frederick (Freddy): A fat, homely, and bald American playboy who likes to drink, gamble, and chase pretty girls. Since he is also very rich, he usually catches them. He owns a luxury yacht named the Angel, that is hijacked by gangsters; fortunately he also employs a competent captain, Sam Blake. (Angel’s Ransom)
Farrell, Ann (“Idaho”): Foreign-exchange clerk at the Santiago branch of the National City Bank. She distracts Víctor Chavarría while Al Colby breaks into the tomb of “Roberto Ruano Parker.” (The Long Escape)
Fatma: A pretty, dark girl who is in charge of a truckload of singing Party girls who help Jess Matthews and Cora Lambert. (The Lights of Skaro)
Foster, Pop: An old family friend of Whit Whitney, who also happens to be a justice of the peace in Verdi, Nevada. Whit takes his bride-to-be Kitty to Pop so that he can perform a “matrimonial welding job” on them and stumbles into a nest of spies. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Frances: A girl who dances with Whit Whitney at the Frisco Club. (Death and Taxes)
Fung Erfeng: See Fung, Everett.
Fung, Everett: A shrewd Chinese “old-fashioned, financially minded, profit-motivated, nonpolitical hardshell capitalist” based in Canton. After Typhoon Xanthippe devastates Hong Kong, Special Service agent John Lincoln is sent to the colony to discover why, and for whom, Fung is accepting insurance payoffs in U.S. dollars and to put a stop to it. (Hooligan)
Furlong, Thomas: Chair of the committee charged with investigating John Lincoln’s account of the events that took place in China that landed him in prison for three years on a murder charge. (Troubleshooter)
Gates, Walter: A stocky, heavy-set man with graying hair, pale blue eyes, and dirty fingernails, Gates, whose real name is Götz, is a former colonel in Hitler’s army. He heads an elaborate spy ring that is sending information about American ship movements in the Pacific to the Japanese. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Germaine: John Robie’s French cook. (To Catch a Thief)
Gibson, Miss: A stenotype operator with exceptionally fine legs. (Hooligan)
Gilmore, Johnny: A young dentist engaged to secretary Ruth Martin. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Gilmore, Ruth: See Martin, Ruth
Gladys: A B-girl at the Frisco Club who loves champagne. (Death and Taxes)
Gloria (“Glorious”): A tall, beautiful, middle-aged woman with golden hair, and cornflower-blue eyes, who “radiate[s] charm as naturally as a star radiating light.” John Lincoln meets her aboard the Astrid, a cruise ship sailing to South Africa. Lincoln is going to South Africa to investigate rumors about illegal diamonds; Gloria is going to South Africa to meet Solly Bernstein, her fiancé. Their paths cross again after they both become involved with Paul Herzog. (Note: Based on an American woman Dodge knew in San Miguel de Allende named Betty Garay.) (Troubleshooter)
Gorza, Madame: Wife of Dr. Sigmund Gorza. Without her, he never could have made it out of the People’s Free Federal Republic. (The Lights of Skaro)
Gorza, Sigmund: An Austrian professor who is an expert in agronomy and food synthesis. After being virtually held prisoner in the People’s Free Federal Republic for six years, his escape leads American reporter Jess Matthews to his discovery of Colonel Bulic’s deadly secret. (The Lights of Skaro)
Gruber, Heinz: West German correspondent in the People’s Free Federal Republic. (The Lights of Skaro)
Grundberg, Joe: A CPA pal of Whit Whitney’s from Los Angeles whose weakness for Bloody Marys puts him in the mood to do Whit some favors. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Gutro, Joseph: see Gutter, Joe
Gutter, Joe: Nickname of Joseph Gutro, a “dirty mean” fisherman and killer whose favorite weapon is a long sheath knife. Joe is one of Barney “Blackbeard” Steele’s hired thugs. (It Ain’t Hay)
Hall, Elwood: Stockholder in Harald Wolff’s Gold Star Brewery who is suspected of George MacLeod’s murder. (Death and Taxes)
Hamilton, Art: A traveling salesman who drinks too much, plays poker with his expense money, and makes the mistake of accusing one of his fellow players of being a crook. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Harrigan, Edward: Retired East Bay businessman, former Gold Star Brewery stockholder, and “amateur detective” who throws a wrench into the official police investigation of George MacLeod’s murder. (Death and Taxes)
Harris: Englishman aboard the Talca. (Plunder of the Sun)
Hemingway, Peter G.: Alias used by reluctant detective Whit Whitney. (Death and Taxes)
Hendry: Captain at Central Station, L.A.P.D., and a good friend of Lieutenant Webster who doesn’t like amateur detectives—like Whit Whitney—mucking around in murder investigations. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Herzog, Freida: Small, fragile, middle-aged, attractive English wife of Paul Herzog. (Troubleshooter)
Herzog, Paul: A Boer living in Johannesburg, South Africa, reputed to be the most powerful man in the country; he is a large man with a barrel chest, big bones, and curly black hair. He is also the leader of the Twelve Apostles, a shadow organization that controls the Broederbond (“Brotherhood”), a nationalistic, white-supremacist organization operating in South Africa that seems bent on bringing about a full-scale race war. (Troubleshooter)
Holland, Andy: An international mining engineer, Holland spots a bikini-clad young woman on a beach in Cannes and is struck by how much she resembles his ex-wife, who had left him in Peru 18 years before. The girl, Micaela Magill, turns out to be the daughter he never knew he had. After meeting with her mother Marsha, he learns that Marsha’s husband, Harry Magill, is hiding out in Barcelona on a murder charge. He also learns that the Marqués de Vilasar, a wealthy, egotistical Spanish playboy, has pledged to rescue Harry, but the price for his assistance is Marsha’s permission to marry Micaela. Marsha convinces Andy to attempt the rescue himself in order to protect his daughter. (Carambola)
Holtz: The small, buglike, vicious leader of a trio of hijackers. He speaks “fluent and wholly unnatural copybook English,” but uses a Walther pistol to do his talking for him. (Angel’s Ransom)
Hong, Ngan: A small, slim, half-Chinese, half-European who is an agent of businessman Everett Fung who arranges a travel permit for John Lincoln to Canton. She has the ability to metamorphose from peasant girl to temptress. (Hooligan)
Hotaling, Alex: The leathery old-timer who talks like a Zane Grey character and owns the “best hosses in Nevayda.” Whit Whitney and Swede Larson ride a pair of those hosses over some pretty wild country in search for an illegal radio transmitter. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Humphreys, Willie: Old-timer at the Club Unión in Antofagasta who provides Al Colby with a clue about the Ruano mystery. (The Long Escape)
Jack: Plainclothes San Francisco police officer. (Death and Taxes)
Jack: A photographer who takes lots of pictures of the Raymond sisters—and pays them $50 an hour for the privilege. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Jackson, Harry: A dice man at Lorenzo’s Club in Reno, he’s also an undercover G-man who stops a lucky shot during the climactic gun battle. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Jean-Pierre: A small-time Marseilles fence who once served in the Resistance with convicted jewel thief John Robie. (To Catch a Thief)
Jefferson (Jeff): An American “sharp-shooter” who collects antiques. He is tough and ruthless and would have made a good conquistador. Jeff squares off against Al Colby over 84 pieces of priceless Inca treasure. (Plunder of the Sun)
Joe: Fingerprint expert with the S.F.P.D. (Death and Taxes)
Jones, Kenneth C. (Casey): An electrical engineer by trade, and friend of San Francisco CPA Whit Whitney. Whit finds him as a shabby, “a down-and-out” living on the streets in Reno, but soon discovers that Casey really an undercover FBI Special Agent on the trail of gang of spies operating an illegal radio to send messages about American ship movements in the Pacific to the Japanese. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Jules: A big Provençal gangster who helps hijack Freddy Farr’s yacht. (Angel’s Ransom)
Julie: Dizzy blonde gringa who “paint[s] her mouth square at the corners, like a comic-strip glamor girl” and likes mystery men, especially ones like Al Colby. (Plunder of the Sun)
Jumbo: A boorish, drunken passenger who causes a disturbance on the San Francisco to Hong Kong flight that results in John Lincoln losing his gun. (Hooligan)
Karl: A farmer who comes to Paul Herzog’s farm for a baboon hunt. (Troubleshooter)
Karsta: A big girl with a baritone voice who is in the group of singing Party girls who help Jess Matthews and Cora Lambert. (The Lights of Skaro)
Kasper: Alias of Jess Matthews when he and Cora Lambert are on the run. (The Lights of Skaro)
Kelly, Miss: Whit Whitney’s smart, loyal secretary who has a bit of a maternal complex when it comes to Whit. (Death and Taxes and It Ain’t Hay)
Kent, Sir Cecil: British Territorial Governor of Hong Kong. (Hooligan)
Kent, Lady: The gracious wife of Sir Cecil Kent. (Hooligan)
Kerry, Lady: An Englishwoman whose jewels are famous. (To Catch a Thief)
Kim, Miss: Miggs’ sexy Chinese secretary. (Hooligan)
Kipinsky: The small, pale antique dealer who helps Charlie dispose of some of Loo Loo’s furniture. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Kohler, Samuel S. (Sammy): The small, weasel-faced gunman who tangles with Whit Whitney and Casey Jones. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Krebs: A tall, thin accountant at MacLeod & Whitney uncovers a dirty secret about his late boss, George MacLeod—and provides Whit Whitney with a clue about his death. (Death and Taxes)
Krug: A Boer gentleman who meets John Lincoln at Paul Herzog’s Johannesburg house. (Troubleshooter)
Krug, Alain: Freddy Farr’s Swiss banker. (Angel’s Ransom)
Lambert, Cora: An American press reporter on the run from the Security police of the People’s Free Federal Republic, she has a harder job making herself look ordinary than most women have making themselves eye-catching. Along with fellow American Jess Matthews, she leads a chase through the Balkans. (The Lights of Skaro)
Larrick, Evan: Department of the Treasury representative on the ad hoc committee investigating John Abraham Lincoln. (Troubleshooter)
Larry: An American boy who drives around Cannes in a noisy Fiat and would like to have a chance at marrying Micaela Magill, something that Micaela’s real father Andy Holland would also like to see. (Carambola)
Larson, Swede: A plain-clothes San Francisco cop who is an ex-pug and a gunman. He first meets Whit Whitney when he is assigned to intercept any bullets that may be headed in Whit’s direction in Death and Taxes. In Bullets for the Bridegroom, Whit summons him to Reno to help him track down an illegal radio transmitter being operated by an elaborate spy ring sending information to the Japanese army. In It Ain’t Hay, he and Whit are involved in rounding up murderous drug smuggler Barney Steele.
Laski, Maurie: The dark, flashy, sullen professional gambler who carries a pair of brass knuckles—and uses them on people who call him a crook. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Le Borgne: “A one-eyed man whose specialty was sharp-shooting through lighted windows at night” as a member of the maquis during World War II. (To Catch a Thief)
Le Chat: See Robie, John
Lee: U.S. consul in Valparaíso, Chile, who introduces Al Colby to chileno society and bails him out of the calabozo. (The Long Escape)
Leo: The big, strong, hulk of a truck driver who lives at Dreamhaven and has a keen sense of right and wrong ... and a keen interest in one of the Raymond sisters. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Leon: An admirer of Francie Stevens who pays more attention to her mother’s diamond dog than he does to her. (To Catch a Thief)
Lepic: The commissaire divisionnaire who is sent to Cannes from Paris to take charge of the investigation into a string of daring jewel heists—remarkably similar to those perpetuated by the notorious Le Chat twelve years earlier. (To Catch a Thief)
Lila, Princess: A one-time American cinema star who owns a priceless string of pearls and attends the Sanford gala. (To Catch a Thief)
Lincoln, John Abraham: A member of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Special Service Bureau (informally known as Hooligans), Lincoln is a big, spare, homely man in his mid-thirties whose special talent lies in the use of a .45 caliber Colt automatic pistol. In Hooligan (1969), Lincoln is sent to Hong Kong to negotiate with Chinese businessman Everett Fung for $100 million dollars in insurance claims after a massive typhoon hits the colony. In Troubleshooter (1971), he is sent to South Africa to investigate rumors of a new source of diamonds that are illegally flooding the American market. While there he meets Paul Herzog, leader of a shadow organization called the Twelve Apostles that is dedicated to apartheid and seems bent on igniting a full-scale race war.
Lisieux, Madame: Wealthy French woman who loses three million francs worth of jewels to an agile thief. (To Catch a Thief)
Ljubo: Waiter at Marko’s in San Francisco. (It Ain’t Hay)
Lucas, Tom: Inspector in the Division of Narcotic Enforcement who takes part in the climactic raid on the Sea Witch. (It Ain’t Hay)
Mabel: Fred Carpenter’s girlfriend and alibi. (Death and Taxes)
MacLeod, George: Reputed to be one of the best tax men in San Francisco, he is a Certified Public Accountant who has “a bankroll, a good-looking brunette wife, and a weakness for blondes.” After he starts working on a case for the beautiful Marian Wolff, he ends up with a bullet in the middle of his forehead and it is up to his partner James “Whit” Whitney to unravel Marian’s tax troubles and uncover a murderer. (Death and Taxes)
MacDougal: A friend of Al Colby who “does something for international relations” at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz; he introduces Al to Pancha Porter. (The Red Tassel)
MacLeod, Kitty: see Whitney, Kathryn (Kitty).
Madwoman, The (La loca): The old village crazy woman who is neither as old nor as crazy as she appears. (The Red Tassel)
Maggie: John Lincoln’s former lover; their relationship fails, mainly because Lincoln can never go out without wearing his gun or be out of quick reach by telephone. (Hooligan)
Magill, Harry: The balding, nearsighted husband of Marsha Magill; he is also the only father Micaela has ever known. He is a manufacturer’s agent and importer operating in Barcelona. When Andy Holland meets him he is hiding out from a murder charge—he shot a business associate who raped Marsha. (Carambola)
Magill, Marsha: The ex-wife of American mining engineer Andy Holland. She left him in Iquitos, Peru eighteen years ago, shortly after their marriage, as Holland was in the middle of his first contract. What Holland did not know was that Marsha was pregnant when she left. He finds out when he runs into Marsha, and her daughter Micaela, in Cannes. (Carambola)
Magill, Micaela (Mike): The tanned, nice-looking, coltish, teenage daughter of Andy Holland and Marsha Magill, although she doesn’t know that Holland is her real father. Holland sees her for the first time when she is competing in a beauty pageant on the beach in Cannes, and it is for her sake that he agrees to try to smuggle Marsha’s husband Harry Magill out of Spain. (Carambola)
Malvin, Pete: A young gringo mining engineer that Pancha Porter hires to run her mine in San Martín Coquellache after Simon Braillard is murdered. (The Red Tassel)
Manchego, Carmen-María (Carmen): Simon and Lili Braillard’s neat little housemaid. (The Red Tassel)
Manchego, Catalina: The supposedly dead sister of Carmen, Saturnino, and Sixto Manchego. (The Red Tassel)
Manchego, Saturnino: Simon Braillard’s handyman at the mine in San Martín Coquellache. He tries to kill Al Colby a couple of times. (The Red Tassel)
Manchego, Sixto: A plump good-looking Indian who wears a snappy blue-serge suit. He is Braillard’s chief assistant—the mine accountant, paymaster, supply clerk and clerical department. (The Red Tassel)
Marbleton-Hicks: See Miggs.
Margaret, Lady: A first-class passenger on the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. (Hooligan)
Marston, Frank: Marian Wolff’s attorney and executor of her father’s estate who knows more about his late client’s business dealings than meets the eye. (Death and Taxes)
Martín, Rosa Maria (Rose): Dancer at El Flamenco in San Francisco with a small ripe figure, dark hair, and dark eyes. She falls in love with Whit Whitney, gives him first hand experience with “hay,” and causes him to do things he will regret in the morning. (It Ain’t Hay)
Martin, Ruth: Secretary to Los Angeles wool-broker Bob Clayton, she’s 19 years old, 5’2” tall, 110 lbs., with elegant legs, a page-boy haircut, nice teeth, and “a very neat superstructure.” She is engaged to a young dentist and has a dangerous affection for her boss. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Martínez Castro, Enrique: A hacendado, who Al Colby is persuaded not to follow. (Plunder of the Sun)
Masilikos, John: The Greek proprietor of John’s Grill in Reno. He is the best fry-cook in town, a former professional wrestler and current undercover G-man. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Matthews, Jess: A fully-accredited American foreign correspondent, he disguises himself as a Balkan peasant driving a herd of goats in an attempt to escape the Security police of the People’s Free Federal Republic after he and fellow American journalist Cora Lambert discover Colonel Bulic’s secret. (The Lights of Skaro)
McLean, Jock: Chief Superintendent of Her Majesty’s Colonial Constabulary in Hong Kong, he knows John Lincoln entered the colony with an illegal gun. (Hooligan)
McPheerson, Barlow C.: Minister called to Dreamhaven to perform a double-wedding ceremony. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Mendell, Sam: A San Francisco attorney hired by a murderer to bail out Fred Carpenter. (Death and Taxes)
Mendoza, Molly Jean: A Mexico City rubia, who greets Al Colby in “a form fitting housecoat with a zipper running from neck to hem in front that practically said Pull me, kid.” (The Long Escape)
Michaud: The sullen, ill-tempered engineer of the Angel. (Angel’s Ransom)
Michel: A former member of the maquis who goes to work for John Robie. (To Catch a Thief)
Miggs: Managing director of a Hong Kong import/export business who has information about Everett Fung that he passes on to John Lincoln. (Hooligan)
Mike: Brawny young man making his first trip as a crew member of the Sea Witch. He gives Joe Gutter a black eye and has to spend the rest of the trip awake—and watching his back. (It Ain’t Hay)
Miller, John: Young, scholarly-looking psychiatrist who helps Whit Whitney put clothes back onto his inner man. (It Ain’t Hay)
Miller, Robert: Department of State representative of the ad hoc committee investigating John Abraham Lincoln. (Troubleshooter)
Montaner-Engordany, Baron: The generous, master Andorran contrabandist who pays duty on nothing and smuggles everything. He also opens his home to Andy Holland, Harry Magill, and Candelas on their journey over the Pyrenees. (Carambola)
Morgan, Jack: A handsome Hollywood movie actor who thinks Kitty MacLeod is “one hell of a swell girl” and helps her and Whit Whitney corner a murderer. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Morganstern, Ed: A CPA who speaks Afrikaans and helps brief John Lincoln on the diamond situation in South Africa. (Troubleshooter)
Murphy: A San Francisco Police detective. (Death and Taxes)
Naharro, Ubaldo: Collector of antiquities and translator of the ancient Quechua language who joins Al Colby in his quest for lost Inca treasure. (Plunder of the Sun)
Naude, Pieter: An older, white-haired Boer who speaks English with a Germanic accent and makes the acquaintance of John Lincoln at Paul Herzog’s house. (Troubleshooter)
Never Say Die: See Collins.
Neyrolle: The conscientious sous chef of the Sûreté Publique in Monaco. He chain-smokes Gauloises and plays a major role in the climax of the plot to kidnap the Angel. (Angel’s Ransom)
Nicholas, Mr.: A schoolteacher and born bachelor who plays international chess matches by correspondence and a strong attachment to Ev’s baby Sixteen Tons. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Ng Kam Lung: A Chinese “antiques” dealer in Hong Kong who sells a Navy-issue Colt .45 handgun to John Lincoln. (Hooligan)
Ng Loon Jin: Brother of Ng Kam Lung, who sells John Lincoln an airplane bag. (Hooligan)
Oliver, Jim: An American reporter who gets himself kicked out of the People’s Free Federal Republic for filing a story the government didn’t like. (The Lights of Skaro)
Oriol: The commissaire de police of the town of Vence, where ex-thief John Robie has retired. He befriends Robie and doesn’t like to believe his friend has returned to his life of crime. (To Catch a Thief)
Oscar: The bald, skinny, pot-bellied cook employed at Dreamhaven, who never leaves the kitchen but knows practically everything about everyone. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Ott, E. Farrington: Vice-president of the Citizens’ National Bank Trust Department, he puts Junior Executive Charlie in charge of the Catlett trust. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Paige: A special agent from a London insurance company in Cannes trying to make sure his company doesn’t lose too much in jewelry claims. (To Catch a Thief)
Paquita: The young and very pretty maid at the baron’s villa in Andorra. She is “an authentic Catalan beauty with lustrous eyes, lustrous hair, clear white skin, a white flashing smile, [and] a trim, full-figured body as attractive as a ripe peach.” She is also the object of Candelas’ affections. (Carambola)
Parker, Robert R.: Wealthy mystery man who deserted his wife and $250,000 worth of property in Pasadena, California. Al Colby trails him from Mexico City to Chile. (The Long Escape)
Pepe-Joe: Waiter at El Flamenco in San Francisco. (It Ain’t Hay)
Peralta, Tacho: Coca-chewing Indian who works as a guide for Al Colby and Jeff. (Plunder of the Sun)
Piotr: Member of the underground Peasant Party, he helps Jess Matthews and Cora Lambert. (The Lights of Skaro)
Porter, Frances (Pancha): She’s 100% gringa with Technicolor hair and a Latin nickname. When mysterious things start happening at the lead and silver mine her father left her in the Bolivian Andes, she travels to South America and hires Al Colby to investigate. (The Red Tassel)
Porter, Robert: Even though he’s been dead for twenty years, his ancient feud with a witch doctor leads to strange doings at the mine in San Martín Coquellache that he left to his daughter Pancha. (The Red Tassel)
Powell, Elmo: A short, tubby, balding CPA who takes a job that Whit Whitney won’t touch and whose greed and lack of ethics earn him a grateful knife in the back from drug smuggler Barney Steele. (It Ain’t Hay)
Powell, Iris: The slim, good-looking wife of Elmo Powell who helps get the goods on drug smuggler Barney Steele by letting Steele’s hired watchdog Max Zoller get a little too friendly with her. (It Ain’t Hay)
Priest, The: The young, near-sighted padre of San Martín Coquellache, who doesn’t know all that he should about his people. His church’s vital records hold a key clue to the mystery. (The Red Tassel)
Putnam, S. G.: Absentee stockholder of the Gold Star Brewery. (Death and Taxes)
Radovic, Janos: The elected president of the People’s Free Federal Republic, although Yoreska and Bulic hold the real power. (The Lights of Skaro)
Rajkovich, Marko: A big Serb who is a good cook and “the only bartender in San Francisco able to buy a drink without acting like a man pouring out his heart’s blood.” It’s in his place that Whit Whitney first sees what can happen to someone “full of hay.” (It Ain’t Hay)
Ramon: Resident of San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill whose “maw” happens to be looking out her window at the right time. (Death and Taxes)
Raymond, Elinor (Ellie): One of the “remaindermen” of the Catlett trust (the Dreamhaven boarding house), Ellie is a strawberry blonde with a kissable mouth, cute nose, grey-blue eyes, and “long smoky eyelashes that practically stirred up a breeze when she waved them at you.” She and her sister Ginger are Loo Loo’s nieces and their occupation causes Charlie severe concern. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Raymond, Virginia (Ginger): Although she doesn’t have quite the firepower of her sister Ellie, Ginger is a high-octane redhead with a short temper who keeps her “tart tongue flicking at you the way a boxer sticks his left hand in your face, keeping you off balance until he can chill you with the Sunday punch.” She and Charlie get off on the wrong foot, have a meeting of the minds—and lips—and eventually join into a life tenancy. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Rebillard, Leon: Correspondent for Agence France-Presse stationed in the People’s Free Federal Republic. (The Lights of Skaro)
Roberts: Deceased Gold Star Brewery stockholder. (Death and Taxes)
Robie, John: An American thief nicknamed “Le Chat” by the French press for his stealth and agility. As a young boy, John’s father trains him to join the family’s small-time acrobat act. After his mother is killed in a trapeze accident and his father dies shortly thereafter, John joins a French troupe touring Europe. After breaking into a small villa on the Cote d’Azur and stealing several thousand dollars worth of jewelry, Robie discovers that “climbing drainpipes was an easier and more profitable way of using his skill to make a living than any other he had known” and Le Chat is born. Robie’s new professional career is cut short when he is arrested and sentenced to a 20-year prison stretch in La Maison Centrale a few months before the outbreak of World War II. When the German army occupies France and empties the prison, he joins the French resistance and earns a permanent, albeit provisional, freedom. When that freedom is jeopardized by a new thief imitating his methods, Robie determines to catch the copycat before the flics catch him. So, with the assistance of his former comrades in the maquis, he goes undercover as American tourist Jack “Lucky” Burns and makes the acquaintance of the wealthy, enigmatic Francie Stevens. (To Catch a Thief)
Roche, Louis: A rabbit-faced gangster whose job is to carry a $100,000 ransom note to a Swiss banker. (Angel’s Ransom)
Rogers: Deceased Gold Star Brewery stockholder. (Death and Taxes)
Ruano, Fito: Son of don Rodolfo Ruano and brother of Terry Ruano. He lets a bullet fly at Al Colby’s head. (The Long Escape)
Ruano Parker, Roberto: The name on a tombstone on the Ruano fundo near Melipilla, Chile. (The Long Escape)
Ruano Parker, Don Rodolfo: Patriarch of the Ruano family; to Al Colby, he is a “Spanish grandee from Grandeeville.” (The Long Escape)
Ruano Tarracena, María Teresa (Terry): Beautiful chilena socialite who reminds Al Colby of Mexican movie star Mapy Cortés. She gives Al a kiss that lasts “two or three blocks.” (The Long Escape)
Ruso: Waiter at Marko’s in San Francisco. (It Ain’t Hay)
Sam: The Chinese house servant of actor Jack Morgan. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Sanford, George: An American who made his money in California real estate and retired at an early age to a villa on the Cote d’Azur. (Note: Based on a Hollywood producer named Bamberger who owned a villa on the French Riviera during the time that the Dodges lived there.) (To Catch a Thief)
Sanford, Mimi: Wife of American George Sanford who drinks too much, likes to put her jewelry on display, and is famous for putting the most elaborate galas. (To Catch a Thief)
Saunders, George: A free-lance reporter doing a story on Freddy Farr, “the Lovable Lush.” (Angel’s Ransom)
Sheila: Frieda Herzog’s maid; Sheila has a small son in Soweto and one desire—to bring death and destruction down on her master, Paul Herzog. (Note: The character of Sheila was based on a Cape Malay woman who worked as the Dodges’ maid during their stay in Cape Town, South Africa, in the early 1960s.) (Troubleshooter)
Sidik: One of the singing Party girls who has slanting wicked eyes and “a way of moving her hips when she walked that should have been enough in itself to collectivize a country.” (The Lights of Skaro)
Sims, Andrew: A neat, precise, retired college psychology professor who moonlights as professional poker player and card clipper and becomes a prime suspect in the murder of Bob Clayton. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Sixteen Tons: Ev’s hefty baby boy. (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Solière, Odile: A beautiful, smoothly tanned French girl with champagne-colored hair who wins a beauty contest on a Cannes beach wearing a leopard skin bikini. (Carambola)
Souza: A Brazilian coffee planter living on the Cote d’Azur whose wife likes to flirt. He and Mme. Souza help the French police set a trap for Le Chat. (To Catch a Thief)
Smith, Ted: East African expert who speaks Swahili and some Bantu dialects. (Troubleshooter)
Smithson, Peter: Legal Counsel for the Department of Justice who questions John Lincoln. (Troubleshooter)
Sparks: Radio operator on the Talca. (Plunder of the Sun)
Sparks, Sam: Doctor employed by the Medical Division of the Treasury Department Special Service Bureau (Hooligan Squad) who treats John Lincoln. (Troubleshooter)
Spencer, Miss: A pretty, blonde stewardess on the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong who has trouble with an over-sized, drunken passenger. (Hooligan)
Steele, Barney (“Blackbeard”): When Steele comes to San Francisco CPA Whit Whitney seeking advice about income derived from illegal activities—he’s smuggling marijuana from Mexico into San Francisco—he sets in motion a tale of drugs, sex, and hard-boiled tax accounting. (It Ain’t Hay)
Stevens, Francie: “A blue-eyed brunette with a keep-your-distance look” who wears no jewelry and sees through John Robie’s disguise. Initially, she wants to help Robie steal her mother’s jewels, for a thrill. Then she gets Robie into the Sanford gala and helps him trap—and ultimately set free—the copycat thief. (To Catch a Thief)
Stevens, Maude: A wealthy American widow in her mid-fifties who has “a tendency to be haphazard with her make-up,” gambles heavily, and is staying in Cannes with a beautiful daughter and jewels insured for $72,500. (To Catch a Thief)
Steyn: An elderly Boer associate of Paul Herzog who speaks not quite fluent English. (Troubleshooter)
Storey, Gwen: A “killer-diller” redhead with a husky “whiskey-tenor” voice; she’s a “hard-boiled baby” who sets wool-broker Bob Clayton up for a shearing in a high stakes poker game. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Storey, Les: A good-natured, untalkative con artist and professional gambler who tries to relieve wool-broker Bob Clayton of $25,000. (Shear the Black Sheep)
Strong: Deputy-sheriff in Reno. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Swart, Hans: Paul Herzog’s foreman at his Vaalkranz Farm. (Troubleshooter)
Swift: Stockholder of Harald Wolff’s Gold Star Brewery. (Death and Taxes)
Tittle, George: John Lincoln’s mean-tempered Treasury contact stationed in Pretoria; some aspects of South Africa make him physically ill. (Troubleshooter)
Tolan, Leslie: Doctor from the Office of Agricultural Economics who questions John Lincoln. (Troubleshooter)
Tony: A young, good-looking, well-dressed “bad apple” whose presence upsets the Dreamhaven “pee gees.” (Loo Loo’s Legacy)
Tsen: Cantonese chauffeur provided to John Lincoln by Chinese businessman Everett Fung. (Hooligan)
Turk, The: A wealthy businessman who holds an option on most of the bauxite deposits in Anatolia. He meets with Andy Holland in Cannes. (Carambola)
Valdez: A fat, bullnecked officer high up in the Cuerpo de Investigaciones in La Paz who comes to San Martín Coquellache to investigate the murder of Simon Braillard. (The Red Tassel)
Vicente: The stocky, gray-haired Catalan captain of the Montserrat, a boat that is supposed to take Harry Magill and Andy Holland out of Barcelona. (Carambola)
Vilasar, Carlos (Marqués de Vilasar): The influential, well-connected Spanish hidalgo who agrees to help Marsha Magill rescue her husband Harry in exchange for Marsha’s promise that he can marry her daughter Micaela. (Carambola)
Walowska, Valentina: A Polish blonde doll with wise honey-colored eyes who is the personal guest of Freddy Farr. (Angel’s Ransom)
Ward, Tommy: A college graduate who aspires to be a CPA, he uncovers a key piece of evidence in the MacLeod murder mystery. (Death and Taxes)
Warren, Gladys: A “pocket-size taffy blonde” with a beautiful figure and a doll’s face whose outward appearance effectively disguises her true profession. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Webster: Detective Lieutenant Webster is head of the San Francisco Police Department’s Homicide Squad. He first suspects CPA James “Whit” Whitney of murdering his business partner in Death and Taxes, than has to protect Whit from the real killer. Then he helps Whit land the job that takes him to Los Angeles in Shear the Black Sheep. In It Ain’t Hay he lets Whit get involved in a police operation tracking down drug smugglers.
Weston, Pete: A tall, pleasant representative of the Associated Press in Nevada, he and Whit Whitney are old friends. But Whit finds out he doesn’t know his old friends as well as he thought. (Bullets for the Bridegroom)
Weston, Reg (Reggie): A colonel in Her Majesty’s Colonial administration stationed in Hong Kong; he passes Hurricane Xanthippe shacked up with a tsip, a Chinese concubine. (Hooligan)
Weston, Ruby: Colonel Weston’s wife, who apparently did her husband tit for tat during a typhoon. (Hooligan)
Whitney, James (Whit): Hard-boiled San Francisco Certified Public Accountant who becomes a reluctant detective when his partner George MacLeod is murdered in Death and Taxes (1941). Whit goes to Los Angeles to investigate a wool-broker’s son who is embezzling money from the family business and turns up a high stakes poker game run by a gang of professional card sharps in Shear the Black Sheep (1943). In Bullets for the Bridegroom (1944) Whit and Kitty MacLeod (George’s widow) go to Reno to get married and get caught between German spies and the undercover FBI agents who are trailing them. It gets personal for Whit in It Ain’t Hay (1946) when he receives a severe beating ordered by a drug smuggler, Barney Steele, who thinks Whit has double-crossed him. Whit risks everything—his friends, his marriage, his business, his life—in order to even the score with Steele. (Note: Please see also essay on the Thrilling Detective Web Site)
Whitney, Kathryn MacLeod (Kitty): The tall, clever, stubborn wife of San Francisco CPA James “Whit” Whitney (and widow of Whit’s late business partner George MacLeod). She is an ex-blues singer and chorus girl who spends most of her time trying to keep Whit out of the path of flying bullets (with only moderate success; she even intercepts one bullet herself). She is described variously as “the best-looking girl in San Francisco” (Shear the Black Sheep), “the prettiest pair of gams west of the Mississippi” (Bullets for the Bridegroom), “stacked,” and “the most luscious female in San Francisco” (It Ain’t Hay). She and Whit are the only characters who appear in four Dodge novels.
Wolff, Harald: The late father of Marian Wolff, he made a fortune during Prohibition as a bootlegger and paid over too much of it to Uncle Sam. He died under mysterious circumstances when the plane he was in crashed and his parachute failed to open. (Death and Taxes)
Wolff, Marian: An ash blonde with cornflower blue eyes who “won a beauty contest at U.C. a couple of years ago,” her tax troubles lead to the murder of CPA George MacLeod. (Death and Taxes)
Yatiri: His name is an Aymará word meaning “medicine man;” Al Colby discovers that his real name is Anselmo Yépez. He can read the future in coca leaves and is the most powerful man in the village of San Martín Coquellache. His curse on Pancha Porter’s father 25 years earlier is believed to be the cause of the sabotage taking place at Porter’s mine. (The Red Tassel)
Yépez, Anselmo: See Yatiri.
Yoreska, Milo: Minister of Internal Affairs for the People’s Free Federal Republic. He is the top man in the government and has a blonde mistress who has a secret relationship with American reporter Cora Lambert. (The Lights of Skaro)
Zara: Alias of Cora Lambert when she and Jess Matthews are on the run. (The Lights of Skaro)
Zimmermann, Adolph: A German bookkeeper with a criminal record who helps Harald Wolff cover up his bootlegging profits. (Death and Taxes)
Zoller, Max: A dumb, nasty mug who works as a watchman at Barney Steele’s wharf in Half Moon Bay. He tries to get Iris Powell to go home with him and ends up taking an unexpected nap while Whit Whitney and the cops search the jetty. (It Ain’t Hay)
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