Poll to follow later from top twenty.
Who are your top three fictional book and/or magazine detectives, private or governmental? I’m looking for your personal favorites, not the ones you think are the best they are at what they do. It’s o.k. if they have also appeared on television, radio or in the movies, but stick to the characters as they appear on paper, please.
Nero Wolfe-Good food, good beer, and a good right hand man in Archie Goodwin makes for a damnfine detective book.
Irwin Maurice Fletcher-If you can strike those gawdawful movies from your memory, the Fletch books by Gregory McDonald are a real treat.
Aloysius Xingú L. Pendergast-With a name like that, you’ve really got to wonder what the “L.” stands for. He first appeared in a horror book titled Relic, and authors Preston and Child have built up a weird fictional world(18 books so far) on this walking X-File of an FBI agent.
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot is a dandy.
Georges Simenon’s Inspector Maigret is a treat.
Elizabeth George’s Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley is an Earl.
The flaws in fictional detectives are what make them interesting. I like the Poirot’s outrageous ego, Maigret’s drinking and comfort seeking, and Lynley’s unintentional snobbery.
1.) Sherlock Holmes – predictable choice, I know, but I love him.
2.) Judge Jien Jeh Dee – Robert Hans van Gulik’s T’ang dynasty official. He really did exist, and just last year they released another movie inspired by him (with a ridiculous amount of wire work)
3.) Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin. What can I say? I’m listen to one of his audiobooks now.
Henry (I’m not sure if his last name is ever given), from Asimov’s Black Widower stories
Seconding Sherlock Holmes: Without him, the genre wouldn’t even exist. Yes, I know that Poe’s Dupin came first, but he wasn’t nearly in Holmes’ league.
Encyclopedia Brown: Many a child’s first introduction to mystery stories. There have been a great many imitators, but Brown is the one with staying power.
Fr. William of Baskerville, though I admit that only appearing in one book is a point against him.
Harry Dresden from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series. Being both a smart ass and a wizard puts him on my top 3 list.
Rachel Morgana Morgan from Kim Harrison’s the Hollows series. While not a detective in the classical sense, she solves her share of mysteries, including discovering the history of elves, demons, and witches. From the way the storyline is heading, she’ll soon be discovering how to give vampires their souls back too.
John Taylor, from Simon Green’s Nightside series. Another smart ass, with powers that can lead to all kinds of humorous situations.