Jack Sullivan, Private Eye: Volume One

by John M. Dunlap

For fifteen years, Jack Sullivan wore the badge with pride, a rare breed of cop who believed in the law more than the politics behind it. In a city where justice is sold to the highest bidder, Jack was a stubborn relic—a man who couldn’t be bought, bribed, or bent. That made him a liability.

Forced to give up his gold shield, Jack now walks the shadowed streets of Gateway City as a private investigator. The badge may be gone, but his moral compass hasn’t wavered. With a battered trench coat, his trusted .357 Magnum, and eyes that have seen too much, Jack takes the cases no one else will touch—the ones that pit him against the criminal underworld and the corrupt elite who once called him "brother."

Each case is a small war in a bigger battle. Crooked judges, dirty cops, corporate thugs, desperate citizens, and the occasional divorce attorney all move through his path. He can’t save the whole city, but he might just save one life at a time—and maybe, in the process, tip the scales a little closer to justice.

In The Case Files of Jack Sullivan, Private Eye, loyalty is rare, truth is dangerous, and one man fights not just for what's right, but to prove that even in a rotten town, a good man can still make a difference.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2025

About the author

John M. Dunlap, a native of St. Louis Missouri, was born, raised and currently resides on the city’s south side. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri St. Louis, where he studied Film and Media. His passion for storytelling first manifested itself in the form of filmmaking. John has written, directed, and produced several short films and also written several more screenplays.

In recent years that passion has shifted to novels. One of his favorite genres being detective fiction, he chose to begin his journey as a novelist with the creation of his character Jack Sullivan, Private Eye. There are currently five titles in various stages of development and, once that series of novels is established, his goal is to dust off some of his unpublished screenplays and translate them into novels as well.

Reviews

[J. Bagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific reading for cold winter couch time....

Good start to what will be, I'm sure, a popular series. Gritty, properly introduced world of the textbook private eye.... would have loved it more if it had been a noir 1950s setting, but that's on me.... I expect you will like it just fine, and you should..

[Shawn McDonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its been a long time since I had the pleasure of reading Noir. I was excited to pick up one again, and Jack Sullivan Volume 1 didn't disappoint. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife. The way the author spins his narrative makes it a fun read. I got invested in Jack pretty quickly and wanted him to succeed. The mental image I drew of his characters stuck with me quickly and had me invested in them. That I think says a lot for the author's ability to be the right level of descriptive. Not too much that makes the book drag, not too short that we forget them.

-What John Dunlap got right
He NAILED the dialog, the atmosphere of a Noir right down to names, places, and tone. If you loved reading chandler then you will enjoy these books. Very tight on grammar, I only found a single error during my read.

-What John Dunlap got wrong or not quite right
Nothing much, my only real minor gripe was, I would have liked double spaces between paragraphs... I know it's a nitpick. The other minor pick was that I think, as great as this book was, it would have been even better if it were set in 1940. That's personal taste, it didnt make the book worse at all.

[Josephine Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dick Tracy vibes in 2023. I will take it all day and keep reading. Throw in Jessica Rabbit and a murder mystery in Clue style and I am all in. This is the first in a series and the rest can not come out soon enough. John M. Dunlap uses a language that creates a 1950's gumshoe backdrop in a modern world. Good old fashion detective work from Jack Sullivan.

[Greg Kitzmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was well orchestrated. The manuscript was wrought with typos misspelling and poor grammar. It could benefit from a good editor. If my for this it could easily have rated a 4-5. Even an editing program like Atticus and grammar check of MS Word could greatly improve this. Sorry for the brutal honesty. I fully intend to read more from the files of Jack Sullivan.

[Regina Mouradian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good private eye book

Contemporary Novel with an old school style. Enjoyed the smart cranky private investigator who reminded me of yesteryear protagonists. I enjoy reading Indy authors

[Thom Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neo-noir and delightfully self-aware, this book brings a venerable set of tropes into the modern age quite neatly. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next installment in the Jack Sullivan series.