Joseph Nicholas Gores 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" 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, Spade & Archer and his Edgar Award-winning or -nominated works, such as A Time of Predators, 32 Cadillacs and Come Morning.
Work
Gores was a three-time Edgar Award winner, and only one of three authors to receive Edgars in three separate categories; Gores won Best First Novel, Best Short Story and Best TV Series Segment. In addition, Gores received the 1986 Maltese Falcon Award and the Private Eye Writers of America lifetime achievement award, and he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. His novels 32 Cadillacs and Come Morning were nominated for Best Novel Edgars. Gores and Donald E. Westlake wrote a chapter in each of their own respective books—Westlake's Drowned Hopes and Gores' 32 Cadillacs—having their characters being influenced by the same event. Beyond Kojak, Gores composed teleplays and screenplays for popular mystery-related series such as Remington Steele, B.L. Stryker, Mrs. Columbo, and Magnum, P.I..
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 Stanford University 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, showing the drudgery and grunt work of detection." Gores died in a Marin County, California, hospital 50 years to the day afterDashiell Hammett died.
Works
Novels:
A Time of Predators
Interface
Wolf Time
Come Morning
Dead Man
Menaced Assassin
Cases
Glass Tiger
Hammett Novels:
Hammett
Spade & Archer
DKA Novels :
Dead Skip
Final Notice
Gone, No Forwarding
32 Cadillacs
Contract Null & Void
Stakeout on Page Street and Other DKA Files
Cons, Scams & Grifts
Short Story Collections:
Mostly Murder
Speak of the Devil: 14 Tales of Crimes and Their Punishments
