Grimes' Punishment (Roger Grimes) by H.A.L. Wagner

A dark and action-packed tale featuring a unique anti-hero.

What a dark and action-packed tale. I had read a lighter PI tale after this one to get me out of a dark state of mind. The story reads well while listening to death metal (Morbid Angel in this case) I found out.

In this story we follow the journey of a criminal into a PI, his name is Grimes and he's very cool. He's big, he's got tattoos and he's a total badass. He's enlisted by a lawyer to do some good but when an old friend dies from heroin he just goes on a vigilante rampage through Daytona Beach.
The action is gut wrenching in it's realism, the characters described so well they get you either mad or give you a hard-on.
The story works both as a standalone but also as an introduction to a series.
All in all, a dark and action-packed tale featuring a unique anti-hero.

Blood Oranges (Chamberlain Cotton) by H.A.L. Wagner

Chamberlain Cotton is a PI / bounty hunter in 1950s Florida. When his client gets killed he sets out to track down the bad guys, falling in a love in the process.
 If you write a new PI novel and set it in the pulp-era you really need to write a great book for me to like it. The danger of writing a pastiche is just too big.
This fast-paced little thing won't make my Top Five this year, but is absolutely a pleasant enough read. The pacing is great and it really feels like you're reading Black Mask Magazine. The prose is cracking, pulp-infested and to  the point. The action scenes were pretty exciting and well written. The mystery wasn't very interesting however and the whole story and protagonist lacked originality.
Read it if you long for the days of Manhunt! and Black Mask.