# Favorite Fictional Detectives-Book Division **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961 "2012-01-09T19:47:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/21 "2012-01-10T00:27:36Z")
Lord Peter Wimsey, by Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey, by Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey, by Dorothy L. Sayers ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/22 "2012-01-10T00:55:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > For the dark horse let me suggest Master Li, from > [Bridge of Birds - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Birds) Woof. The gunpowder helicopter! ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/23 "2012-01-10T00:58:09Z")
Lord Peter Wimsey Marcus Didius Falco (from the series by Lindsey Davis set in ancient Rome) Tommy and Tuppence Beresford ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/24 "2012-01-10T01:00:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > For the dark horse let me suggest Master Li, from > [Bridge of Birds - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Birds) Good book; whenever someone asks for non-Western European/Tolkien based fantasy, that’s one of my first recommendations. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/25 "2012-01-10T01:48:34Z")
Holmes The Continental Op Ellery Queen ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/26 "2012-01-10T02:46:52Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Good book; whenever someone asks for non-Western European/Tolkien based fantasy, that’s one of my first recommendations. And its apparently back out as an e-book, after being out of print for years. ---
**Author:** ![brocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@brocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brocks)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/27 "2012-01-10T02:52:31Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Lord Peter Wimsey, by Dorothy L. Sayers > Lord Peter Wimsey, by Dorothy L. Sayers > Lord Peter Wimsey, by Dorothy L. Sayers Surely someone with your handle can think of another. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/28 "2012-01-10T02:57:35Z")
1. Nero Wolfe 2. Lew Archer 3. Adam Dalgliesh (from P.D. James’s series of mysteries) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/29 "2012-01-10T03:29:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 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. I’ll second Agent Pendergast. I’ve read and enjoyed all 18, although I’m a little pissed off that the last two books, along with the unpublished next one, are in serial-cliffhanger format and should have just been released as one book. It wouldn’t have been prohibitively large. . ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/30 "2012-01-10T03:34:35Z")
[Doctor Eszterhazy.](http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Doctor-Eszterhazy-Avram-Davidson/dp/0913896284) Created by [Avram Davidson.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AvramDavidson) ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/31 "2012-01-10T04:07:06Z")
Let’s see… I’m not sure that I’m not slighting some others, but these are probably at the top of the list. In no particular order. Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters Dame Frevisse by Margaret Frazer Joe Leaphorn (with a nod to Jim Chee) by Tony Hillerman It’s unfortunate that there aren’t any new books about any of those three. Makes me sad, it does. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/32 "2012-01-10T05:01:17Z")
I am required to suggest [Temperance Brennan](http://kathyreichs.com/), but I’m a sucker for Philip Marlowe. > [@Philip Marlowe](#): > > There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge. “Red Wind” was an obscure Raymond Chandler story until Lou Grant read that paragraph on “Mary Tyler Moore,” but my dad had it in an anthology from WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/33 "2012-01-10T05:16:12Z")
I read more recent mystery books by bestselling authors, so my list will be vastly different from most… That being said, I love: 1. Harry Bosch (books written by Michael Connelly) 2. Lincoln Rhymes and Amelia Sachs (books written by Jeffery Deaver) 3. Stephanie Plum (books written by Janet Evanovich)(okay, so this one really isn’t a detective, but the books are mystery-based) Other mystery books in a series that I enjoy: Myron Bolitar (books written by Harlan Coben) Alex Delaware (books written by Jonathan Kellerman) I gave James Patteson’s Alex Cross a few tries, but I finally had to come to the conclusion that James Patterson (in my opinion) can’t write worth shit. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/34 "2012-01-10T05:33:02Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I gave James Patteson’s Alex Cross a few tries, but I finally had to come to the conclusion that James Patterson (in my opinion) can’t write worth shit. If you ever need a confirmation on that, try to read his science fiction and fantasy books. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/5daacb/32.png) [@Old\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Goat)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/35 "2012-01-10T05:39:41Z")
Excellent choices Idle thoughts. On a more international level: James Church’s Inspector O. (How to survive in North Korea) Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander Qui Xiaalong’s Inspector Chen (Modern China) ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/36 "2012-01-10T05:49:15Z")
Elvis Cole, Jack Reacher and Spencer Yeah…I said it:cool: ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/37 "2012-01-10T07:18:42Z")
If Encyclopedia Brown gets a mention, then I would like to respectfully call your attention to Bob, Pete, and Jupiter. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/38 "2012-01-10T13:55:07Z")
Agent Pendergast Richard Jury (Martha Grimes) Oskar Rheinhardt, books by Frank Tallis set in 1900s Vienna ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/39 "2012-01-10T14:28:03Z")
Kinky Friedman’s Kinky Friedman. Andrew Vachss’s Burke. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/40 "2012-01-10T15:04:11Z")
I tend to read more historical mysteries than contemporary ones. For sheer enjoyment of the characters and settings, I think my top three would be: Lord Peter Wimsey Amelia Peabody Benjamin January (Barbara Hambly’s detective, a freedman living in 1860’s New Orleans) I also like Cadfael, Joe Leaphorn, William Monk, Thomas Lynley, Gordianus the Finder, and Marcus Didius Falco. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961.md?page=3)