"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," by Joseph Goodrich, in What the World Needs Now: Mystery Stories Inspired by the Music of Burt Bacharach, edited by Martin Edwards, Level Best Books, 2026.
So, what's a private eye story?
Glad you asked. A simple answer would be a story in which a major character is a private eye. But it is not that easy.
When the Private Eye Writers of America created the Shamus Awards they said any story qualified if the protagonist was a non-government worker paid to investigate a crime. I think of this as the Scudder Exception since one of the best private dicks of the time was Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder who did not have a P.I. license. As he put it, he sometimes did favors for friends and sometimes they gave him gifts.
The typical non-P.I. starring in a private eye story is a lawyer or reporter, but Goodrich offers something different. Howie Feldstein is a New York auctioneer and appraiser. A producer friend has flown him out to Hollywood to check the authenticity of a photograph he has been offered: one supposedly shot on the set of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and featuring none other than President Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. Invaluable if it is real.
Feldstein's investigation takes him down a number of rabbit holes, not least of which are a missing woman and, eventually a killing. This is a nice example of a private eye story without a P.I. license or rundown office in sight.
Oh, spoiler alert: This story does reveal key points of the plot of the movie. If you haven't seen the flick do watch it.
