Joseph Nicholas Gores (December 25, 1931 - January 10, 2011) was an American mystery writer. He was known best for his novels and short stories set in San Francisco and featuring the fictional "Dan Kearney and Associates" (the "DKA Files") private investigation firm specializing in repossessing cars, a thinly veiled escalation of his own experiences as a confidential sleuth and repo man. Gores was also recognized for his novels ''Hammett'' (1975; made into the 1982 film '' Hammett''), ''Spade & Archer'' (the 2009 prequel to Dashiell Hammett's ''The Maltese Falcon'') and his

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

-winning or -nominated works, such as ''A Time of Predators'', ''32 Cadillacs'' and ''Come Morning''.

Work

Gores was a three-time

winner, and only one of three authors (the other two being

Donald E. Westlake Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with more than a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into ...

and William L. DeAndrea) to receive Edgars in three separate categories; Gores won Best First Novel (for ''A Time of Predators'' (1969)—a story set in the San Francisco Bay Area and having to do with a

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

professor who re-learns his military commando skills in order to go after a gang of juvenile thugs who raped his wife), Best Short Story ("Goodbye, Pops," '' Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine'', Dec. 1969) and Best TV Series Segment (for writing an episode of the crime drama '' Kojak'' titled "No Immunity for Murder"—airdate Nov. 23, 1975). In addition, Gores received the 1986 Maltese Falcon Award (Japan's highest commendation in the mystery fiction field) and the Private Eye Writers of America lifetime achievement award (The Eye), and he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. His novels ''32 Cadillacs'' and ''Come Morning'' were nominated for Best Novel Edgars. Beyond '' Kojak,'' Gores composed teleplays and screenplays for popular mystery-related series such as '' Remington Steele'', ''

B.L. Stryker ''B.L. Stryker'' is an American detective drama that aired on ABC from February 13, 1989, to May 5, 1990, as part of the '' ABC Mystery Movie'' umbrella group, along with '' Columbo'', and ''Kojak''. Tom Selleck was one of the series' executive p ...

, Mrs. Columbo'', and '' Magnum, P.I.''.

Literary crossovers

Westlake and Joe Gores wrote the same encounter between two of their characters from different perspectives in two different novels. In Chapter 18 of Gores' 1972 novel ''Dead Skip'', San Francisco detective Dan Kearney meets Westlake's amoral thief

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado *Parker, Florida *Parker, Idaho *Parker, Kansas *Parker, Missouri *Parker, North Carolina *Parker, Pe ...

while looking for one of Parker's associates. The sequence is described from Parker's viewpoint in the 1972 book ''Plunder Squad'', which Westlake wrote under the pseudonym Richard Stark. Gores hints further at the connection between the two books by referring to Parker's associates as "the plunder squad." Additionally, earlier in the novel, the book's protagonist Larry Ballard is described as being a reader only of Richard Stark novels. Gores and Westlake also wrote a shared chapter in Westlake's ''Drowned Hopes'' and Gores' ''32 Cadillacs'', having the characters in those books influenced by the same event.

Background

Gores lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and was a longtime resident. He obtained a degree in English literature from Notre Dame University and received a master's degree, also in English literature, from

in 1961. Gores worked for 12 years as a real-life private investigator for San Francisco's David Kikkert & Associates, and put in other stints as a truck driver, logger, assistant motel manager and an English teacher at a boys' school in Kenya. In his novels he used variations of the names of former associates—such as Stan Groner. According to The Thrilling Detective Web Site, "He has often relied on his former occupations, particularly his stint as a private eye, to lend an air of authenticity to his work, blasting through the 'glamour' of detective work, ndshowing the drudgery and grunt work of detection." Gores died in a

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

, California, hospital 50 years to the day after Dashiell Hammett died.

Works

Novels: *''A Time of Predators'' (Edgar Award winner, Best First Novel; 1969) *''Interface'' (1974) *''Wolf Time'' (1989) *''Come Morning'' (Edgar Award nominee, Best Novel; 1986) *''Dead Man'' (1993) *''Menaced Assassin'' (1994) *''Cases'' (1999) *''Glass Tiger'' (2006) Hammett Novels: *''Hammett'' (1975) *''Spade & Archer'' (2009) DKA Novels (involving detective agency Dan Kearney and Associates): *''Dead Skip'' (DKA; 1972) *''Final Notice'' (DKA; 1973) *''Gone, No Forwarding'' (DKA; 1978) *''32 Cadillacs'' (DKA; Edgar Award nominee, Best Novel; 1992) *''Contract Null & Void'' (DKA; 1996) *''Stakeout on Page Street and Other DKA Files'' (DKA Short Stories; Crippen & Landru, 2000) *''Cons, Scams & Grifts'' (DKA; 2001) Short Story Collections: *''Mostly Murder'' (Short Stories; 1992) *''Speak of the Devil: 14 Tales of Crimes and Their Punishments'' (Short Stories; 1999) Editorial Works: *''Honolulu: Port of Call'' (Editor; 1974) *''Tricks and Treats'' (Editor with Bill Pronzini; 1976) *''Marine Salvage: The Unforgiving Business of No Cure, No Pay'' (1971) Non-Fiction: *''Marine Salvage: The Unforgiving Business of No Cure, No Pay'' (1971) *''Joe Gores Interview'' (Audio Book; 1987)

Selected short stories

''EQMM'' = '' Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine''; DKA = stories involving "Dan Kearney and Associates" *"Inscrutable" (2001, ''The Mysterious Press Anniversary Anthology'') *"Summer Fog" (2001, ''Flesh and Blood'') *"Ishmael" (1993, ''New Mystery'') *"Sleep the Big Sleep" (April 1991, ''EQMM''; Danny Durant) *"Dance of the Dead" (Spring 1991, ''The Armchair Detective''; Neal Fargo) *"File #12: Do Not Go Gentle" (March 1989, ''EQMM''; DKA) *"Detectivitis, Anyone?" (January 1988, ''EQMM''; aka "Plot It Yourself") *"Smart Guys Don't Snore" (1987, ''A Matter of Crime #2''; Bonecrack Krajewski) *"File #11: Jump Her Lively, Boys!" (July 1984, ''EQMM''; DKA) *"File # 9: Full Moon Madness" (February 1984, ''EQMM''; DKA) *"Rope Enough" (1976, ''Tricks and Treats'') *"Kirinyga" (March 1975, ''EQMM'') *"File #8: The O'Bannon Blarney File" (1973, ''Men and Malice''; DKA) *"Raptor" (October 1983, ''EQMM'') *"File #10: The Maimed and the Halt" (January 1976, ''EQMM''; DKA) *"Watch for It" (1973, ''Mirror, Mirror, Fatal Mirror'') *"The War Club" (May 1972, ''Argosy'') *"File #7: O Black and Unknown Bard" (April 1972, ''EQMM''; DKA) *"File #6: Beyond the Shadow" (January 1972, ''EQMM''; DKA) *"You're Putting Me On—Aren't You?" (1971, ''Adam's Reader'', 1971) *"Trouble at 81 Fathoms" (June 1971, ''Argosy'') *"Force 12" (January 1971, ''Argosy'') *"The Andrech Samples" (September 1970, ''Swank'') *"The Bear's Paw" (April 1970, ''Argosy'') *"The Criminal" (1970, ''Adam'' 14, No. 12) *"Goodbye, Pops" (December 1969, ''EQMM; winner of 1970 Edgar Award for Best Short Story) *"Quit Screaming" (November 1969, ''Adam's Reader'' 41) *"Gunman in Town" (October1969, ''Zane Grey's Western Magazine'') *"File #5: The Maria Navarro Case" (June 1969, ''EQMM''; aka "Be Nice To Me;" DKA) *"South of the Moon" (January 1969, ''Argosy'') *"File #4: Lincoln Sedan Deadline" (September 1968, ''EQMM''; DKA) *"File #3: The Pedretti Case" (July 1968, ''EQMM''; aka "The Three Halves;" DKA) *"The Golden Tiki" (June 1968, ''Argosy'') *"Olmurani" (February 1968, ''Argosy'') *"File #2: Stakeout on Page Street" (January 1968, ''EQMM''; DKA) *"File # 1: The Mayfield Case" (December 1967, ''EQMM''; aka "Find the Girl;" DKA) *"Odendahl" (December 1967, ''Argosy'') *"The Second Coming" (August 1966, ''Adam's Best Fiction'') *"Kanaka" (1966, ''Adam'' 10, No. 11) *"The Seeker of Ultimates" (November 1965, ''EQMM'') *"A Sad and Bloody Hour" (April 1965, ''EQMM'') *"My Buddy" (1965) *"Sweet Vengeance" (July 1964, ''Manhunt'') *"The Price of Lust" (April 1963, ''Manhunt'') *"Darl I Luv U" (February 1963, ''EQMM'') *"Trouble in Papeete" (April 1962, ''Rake'') *"The Main Chance" (April 1962, ''Gent'') *"Muscle Beach" (March 1962, ''Rogue'') *"The Mob" (December 1961, ''Negro Digest'') *"Night Out" (October 1961, ''Manhunt'') *"Sailor's Girl" (August 1961, ''Manhunt'') *"You Aren't Yellow" (January 1960, ''Mike Shayne's Mystery Magazine'') *"Down and Out" (June 1959, ''Manhunt'') *"Killer Man" (June 1958, ''Manhunt''; aka "Pro") *"Chain Gang" (December 1957, ''Manhunt'')

Selected Screenplays

*''B.L. Stryker'': "Blind Chess" (Airdate: Mar. 27, 1989) *''T.J. Hooker'': "Death Trip" (Airdate: May 14, 1986) *''Magnum, P.I.'': "A Pretty Good Dancing Chicken" (Airdate Apr. 4, 1985) *''Remington Steele'': "Let's Steele a Plot" (Airdate Dec. 18, 1984) *''Kate Loves a Mystery'' (aka ''Mrs. Columbo''): "Love, on Instant Replay" (Airdate: Oct. 18 1979) *''Kojak'': "Case without a File" (Airdate: Dec. 17 1977) *''Kojak'': "Bad Dude" (Airdate: Jan. 25, 1976) *''Kojak'': "No Immunity for Murder" (Airdate: Nov. 23, 1975; Edgar Award winner, Best Episode in a TV Series)

Audio Drama

German Audio-Drama-Producer "Ohrenkneifer" releases "South of Market" on CD, a full-cast Audio Dramaversion of the Shortstory (in German language). August 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gores, Joe 1931 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers Maltese Falcon Award winners People from Marin County, California People from Rochester, Minnesota Pulp fiction writers Private detectives and investigators Shamus Award winners Stanford University alumni Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumni Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area Novelists from Minnesota 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from California