Looking Back on a Decade
We thought we’d do a spin on our annual Top 10 posts and select the top 10 posts from the last ten years. Which is fitting as we kicked off the Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes blog in June 2009, making it a decade old in 2019.
So how are those ten years reflected in our readers’ favorite posts? Interestingly enough, the #1 most popular post in 2009 is still the most popular post in 2019.
Let’s start at number 10 and work our way up…
Top 10 Posts of the Last 10 Years
#10: Female Private Eyes Walked Those Mean Streets, Too
From Colleen: I was surprised to read a 2014 article “The Death of the Private Eye,” by John Semley in 
the New York Times and see references to only men being shamuses in hardboiled fiction. Hey, there were lady dicks, too.
#9 Employment Background Checks: Know What’s on Yours BEFORE the Interview
One of several employment background articles Colleen wrote in 2011 about employment background checks for a media company.
#8 Private Investigators and Murder Cases
Written in 2012 for Elizabeth A. White’s blog “Editing by Elizabeth.” White is a former lawyer and current book reviewer/freelance editor specializing in crime fiction.
#7 Marketing the Private Investigations Business
This article is a blast from the past, one of the first we wrote after kicking off this blog in 2009. Much of it still rings true, while significant marketing venues, such as social media, are missing (was “social media” even a term in 2009?).
#6 Investigating Crime Scenes: Police vs. Private Investigators
Because one of the Writing PIs, Shaun, had been a criminal lawyer for nearly two decades with experience litigating many felony cases, including several high-profile homicides, our early clients were seasoned criminal lawyers who respected his knowledge and insights into criminal law and investigations. One gave us our very first case: investigating a crime scene (a bar) where a homicide had occurred. This was the first of numerous cold crime scenes we investigated over the years.
#5 A Tribute to James Garner’s Iconic Private Eye Jim Rockford
This one pops up as a readers’ favorite year after year. Who didn’t love “The Rockford Files”?
#4 National and International Private Investigator Day: History of the Private Eye
From Eugene Francois Vidocq to Allan Pinkerton to Kate Warne, credited with being the first female PI in the U.S.
#3 The Witness Who Came in From the Cold
A case we worked the old-fashioned way, on foot, as the key witness was terrified for her identity to be traced digitally.
#2 How to Conduct a Trash Hit: A Private Investigator’s Dumpster Secrets
The down-and-dirty world of trash hits. This post is continually in the top two or three of readers’ favorite articles every year.
#1 Private vs. Public Investigators: What’s the Difference?
This post has been number 1 every single year! It’s a question we address at the beginning of our workshops, too, as it can be confusing what constitutes a detective being “private” vs. “public.”
That wraps up the top 10 posts of the decade! Thank you, readers, for dropping by Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes over the years. We wish all of you a prosperous, happy 2020!
Guns, Gams & Gumshoes 