Fictional detectives

Fictional detectives are characters in detective fiction. These characters have long been a staple of detective mystery crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories. Much of early detective fiction was written during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction" (1920s-1930s). These detectives include amateurs, private investigators and professional policemen. They are often popularized as individual characters rather than parts of the fictional work in which they appear. Stories involving individual detectives are well-suited to dramatic presentation, resulting in many popular theatre, television, and movie characters.

The first famous detective in fiction was Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin.^[1] Later, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes became the most famous example to this day. The detectives are often accompanied by a Dr. Watson-like assistant or narrator.

Types

Fictional detectives generally fit one of four archetypes:

• The amateur detective (Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher, Lord Peter Wimsey); From outside the field of criminal investigation, but gifted with knowledge, curiosity, desire for justice, etc.
• The private investigator (Dupin, Holmes, Marlowe, Spade, Poirot, Magnum, Millhone); Works professionally in criminal and civic investigations, but outside the criminal justice system.
• The police detective (Dalgliesh, Kojak, Morse, Columbo, Frost, Clouseau); Part of an official investigative body, charged with solving crimes.
• The forensic specialist (Scarpetta, Quincy, Cracker, CSI teams, Thorndyke); Affiliated with investigative body, officially tasked with specialized scientific results rather than solving the crime as a whole.

Notable fictional detectives and their creators include:

Amateur detectives

• The Baron (John Mannering) – reformed jewel thief, created by John Creasey under the pseudonym Anthony Morton^[2]
• Beverly Gray – protagonist of the Beverly Gray Mystery series by Clair Blank
• Boston Blackie – reformed jewel thief, created by Jack Boyle
• Rosemary Boxer – with Laura Thyme, gardening detective, created by Brian Eastman
• Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley – widowed socialite, created by Gladys Mitchell
• Father Brown – Catholic priest, created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton. Stars in 51 detective short stories (and two framing vignettes), most of which were later compiled in five books.
• Cadfael – early 12th-century monk solves murders and social problems, created by Ellis Peters, also known as Edith Pargeter.
• Jonathan Creek – creative consultant to a magician, in a British TV series by the same name, written by David Renwick.
• Father Tom Christmas – Anglican priest, created by C.C. Benison
• Nancy Drew – High school sleuth, created by Edward Stratemeyer.
• C. Auguste Dupin – upper class fictional detective character created by Edgar Allan Poe. Dupin made his first appearance in Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), widely considered the first detective fiction story.^[3]
• Dr Gideon Fell – "lexicographer" and drinker, created by John Dickson Carr
• Jessica Fletcher – writer, created by William Link and Richard Levinson for Murder, She Wrote TV series (1984-1996)
• Jonathan & Jennifer Hart – millionaire couple, created by Sidney Sheldon
• Kate Ivory – Oxford-based novelist, created by Veronica Stallwood ^[4]
• Patrick Jane – con artist, created by Bruno Heller for The Mentalist TV series
• Sally Lockhart – teenage girl, created by Philip Pullman
• Miss Marple – old spinster living in the small town of St. Mary Mead, created by Agatha Christie solves a number of crimes and village issues using common sense
• Veronica Mars – school girl whose father is a private detective, created by Rob Thomas
• Amelia Peabody – Egyptologist who solves a variety of dastardly crimes in turn-of-the-century Egypt, created by Elizabeth Peters.
• Ellery Queen – author and editor of a magazine, created by two writers, using the pseudonym Ellery Queen
• Imogen Quy – nurse at St Agatha's College, Oxford, created by Jill Paton Walsh ^[5]
• Easy Rawlins – black WWII veteran from Houston. All stories take place in Los Angeles during the 50's & 60's. Created by Walter Mosley. A dozen books and counting.
• Joseph Rouletabille – journalist created by French writer Gaston Leroux. Main character in The Mystery of the Yellow Room.
• Inspector Shan – Chinese detective in Tibet, created by Eliot Pattison
• Laura Thyme – with Rosemary Boxer, gardening detective, created by Brian Eastman
• Dr. John Thorndyke – medical doctor who trained to become a forensic specialist, created by R. Austin Freeman
• The Toff (Hon. Richard Rollison) – upper-class sleuth created by John Creasey^[6]
• Philip Trent – gentleman sleuth created by E. C. Bentley
• Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen – created by Jacques Futrelle
• Hetty Wainthropp – retired working-class woman, created by David Cook
• Lord Peter Wimsey – wealthy English gentleman, created by Dorothy L. Sayers, afflicted by shell shock, assisted by his valet (and batman from WW1) Bunter and then Harriet Vane
• Misir Ali – part-time professor of psychology at University of Dhaka, created by Humayun Ahmed

Private investigators

Sherlock Holmes has become an icon of a detective. The term "Sherlock" is also used to refer to a detective.^[7]

• Byomkesh Baksi – created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
• Tommy and Tuppence Beresford – created by Agatha Christie
• Jackson Brodie – created by Kate Atkinson
• Albert Campion – created by Margery Allingham
• Nick & Nora Charles – created by Dashiell Hammett
• The Continental Op – created by Dashiell Hammett
• Elvis Cole – created by Robert Crais
• Bulldog Drummond – created by H. C. McNeile
• Feluda – created by Satyajit Ray
• Phryne Fisher – created by Kerry Greenwood
• Garret and the Dead Man – created by Glen Cook
• Cordelia Gray – created by P. D. James
• Peter Gunn – created by Blake Edwards
• Mike Hammer – created by Mickey Spillane
• Madelyn "Maddie" Hayes with David Addison – created by Glenn Gordon Caron
• Sherlock Holmes – created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Jack Irish – created by Peter Temple
• Jake Lassiter – created by Paul Levine
• Bernie Little – in the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series, created by Spencer Quinn
• L. Lawliet – created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
• Kinsey Millhone – created by Sue Grafton for her "alphabet mysteries" series of novels.
• Thomas Magnum – created by Donald P. Bellisario for Magnum, P.I. TV series (1980-1988)
• Joe Mannix – created by Richard Levinson and William Link for Mannix TV series (1967–1975)
• Philip Marlowe – created by Raymond Chandler
• Tess Monaghan, created by Laura Lippman
• Adrian Monk – created by Andy Breckman for Monk TV series (2002–2009)
• Hercule Poirot – created by Agatha Christie
• Jeff Randall – created by Dennis Spooner for Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) TV series
• Jim Rockford – created by Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell for The Rockford Files TV series (1974–80)
• John Shaft – created by Ernest Tidyman
• Sam Spade – created by Dashiell Hammett
• Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster – created by Steve Franks for Psych TV series (2006-2014)
• Spenser – created by Robert B. Parker
• Remington Steele – created by Robert Butler, Michael Gleason for Remington Steele TV series (1982-1987)
• Jake Styles – created by Dean Hargrove and Joel Steiger
• Philo Vance – created by S. S. Van Dine
• V. I. Warshawski – created by Sara Paretsky
• Nero Wolfe – created by Rex Stout
• Pepe Carvalho - created by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán

Police detectives

Columbo is often considered to be one of the greatest original TV detectives.^{[8][9][10][11]}

• Inspector Roderick Alleyn – created by Ngaio Marsh
• 87th Precinct detectives – created by Ed McBain
• Superintendent Battle – created by Agatha Christie
• Napoleon Bonaparte (Bony) – created by Arthur Upfield
• Harry Bosch – created by Michael Connelly
• Charlie Chan – created by Earl Derr Biggers
• Inspector Clouseau – from The Pink Panther franchise
• Columbo – from the American TV series Columbo, created by William Link and Richard Levinson
• Sergeant Cork – created by Ted Willis
• Inspector Adam Dalgleish – created by P. D. James
• Inspector French (Joseph French) – created by Freeman Wills Crofts
• Inspector Frost – created by R. D. Wingfield
• D.C.S. Christopher Foyle – from the British TV series Foyle's War, created by Anthony Horowitz
• Superintendent Hanslet – created by John Rhode, pseudonym of Cecil John Street
• Inspector Japp – created by Agatha Christie
• DCI Carol Jordan ^[12] - created by Val McDermid
• Richard Jury – created by mystery author Martha Grimes
• Lt. Theo Kojak – Kojak TV series (played by Telly Savalas)
• Inspector Lestrade – created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Lewis – TV series, based on the books by Colin Dexter
• Steve McGarrett – Hawaii Five-O TV series
• Jules Maigret – created by Georges Simenon
• Adrian Monk – created by Andy Breckman and David Hoberman
• Inspector Morse – TV series, based on the books by Colin Dexter
• William Murdoch – TV series, based on the series of novels by Maureen Jennings
• Inspector Rebus – created by Ian Rankin
• Dave Robicheaux – created by James Lee Burke
• Simon Serrailler – created by Susan Hill ^[13]
• Inspector Jimmy Waghorn – created by John Rhode, pseudonym of Cecil John Street
• Inspector Wallander – created by Henning Mankell
• Chief Inspector Armand Gamache – created by Louise Penny

Forensic specialists

• Temperance Brennan – Bones TV series based on the books by Kathy Reichs
• Donald "Ducky" Mallard – N.C.I.S. TV series
• Dexter Morgan – Dexter TV series
• Dr. Lancelot Priestly – created by John Rhode
• Dr. R. Quincy – Quincy, M.E. TV series
• Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs– created by Jeffery Deaver ^[14]
• Elizabeth Rodgers – Law & Order TV series
• Dr Tony Hill – Home Office profiler created by Val McDermid
• Dr. Kay Scarpetta – created by Patricia Cornwell
• Abby Sciuto – N.C.I.S. TV series
• Dr. John Thorndyke – created by R. Austin Freeman
• Bruce Wayne – Batman comics
• Barry Allen – Flash comics
• Dr. Siri Paiboun – created by Colin Cotterill

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV shows

• Stella Bonasera – CSI: NY TV series
• Horatio Caine – CSI: Miami TV series
• Jo Danville – CSI: NY TV series
• Calleigh Duquesne – CSI: Miami TV series
• Gil Grissom – CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV series
• Raymond Langston – CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV series
• D. B. Russell – CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV series
• Mac Taylor – CSI: NY TV series
• Catherine Willows – CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV series

Anime and manga

• Hajime Kindaichi – Character from the manga and anime series Kindaichi Case Files.^[15]
• Shinichi Kudo/Conan Edogawa – The protagonist of Gosho Aoyama's series Case Closed, which is known in Japan as Meitantei Conan.^[16]
• L Lawliet – created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
• Alice – The protagonist of Kamisama no Memochou, a NEET Detective.
• Sou Touma – The main character of the Q.E.D. series created and produced by Motohiro Katou.

See also

• Crime fiction
• List of male detective characters
• List of female detective characters
• List of fictional historical detectives
• List of fictional detective teams
• List of fictional detectives for younger readers
• List of fictional science fiction and fantasy detectives
• List of detectives, constables, and agents in Sherlock Holmes

External links

• Stop, You're Killing Me! (a list of fictional detectives found in novels)

References

• The Great Detectives: Seven Original Investigations，BY Julian Symons，1981，ISBN 0810909782

1. Silverman,Kenneth (1991). Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-092331-8.
2. http://www.johncreasey.co.uk/thebookcollection/books-by-series/series-baron
3. Silverman 1991, p. 171
4. https://www.goodreads.com/series/59058-kate-ivory
5. https://www.goodreads.com/series/52328-imogen-quy
6. https://www.goodreads.com/series/42643-toff
7. "Definition of Sherlock in Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English)". oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
8. "Best fictional detectives". latimes. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
9. "Natalie Haynes's guide to TV detectives: #1 – Columbo". London: guardian.co.uk. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
10. "Clued In: The Top 10 Television Detectives". Time. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
11. "〈ｂｅランキング〉心に残る名探偵". 朝日新聞. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
12. https://www.goodreads.com/series/41050-tony-hill-carol-jordan
13. http://www.susanhill.org.uk
14. http://www.jefferydeaver.com/novels/series-order/
15. "Kindaichi Case Files 2008 New Anime" (in Japanese). Tokyo MX. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
16. "Case Closed FAQ". Funimation. Archived from the original on March 27, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2010.