# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![PalJuicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@PalJuicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PalJuicy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/61 "2012-01-11T13:44:42Z")
Edward X. Delaney (Lawrence Sanders) Charlie Parker (John Connolly) Elvis Cole/Joe Pike (Robert Crais) ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/62 "2012-01-11T14:59:34Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Arrgh! NOBODY in Jersey says “Joisey”. > > Janet Evanovich is from my home town, but she lives in NH now. lol. easy, **cal**. i grew up in washington township, i’ll have you know. i used to have an accent that would cut thru beef jerkey. 30 years in the mid of west has softened it beyond recognition. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/63 "2012-01-11T16:11:45Z")
This was more difficult than I thought it would be, but: Peter Shandy, by Charlotte MacLeod Miles Vorkosigan, by Lois McMaster Bujold David Small, by Harry Kemelman I also like reading Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Parker’s Spenser, Christie’s Miss Marple, and Wells and Tatham’s Cherry Ames. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/64 "2012-01-13T18:45:32Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > This was more difficult than I thought it would be, but: > > Peter Shandy, by Charlotte MacLeod > Miles Vorkosigan, by Lois McMaster Bujold > David Small, by Harry Kemelman > > I also like reading Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Parker’s Spenser, Christie’s Miss Marple, and Wells and Tatham’s Cherry Ames. And oh, how could I have forgotten Pratchett’s Sam Vimes? ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/65 "2012-01-13T19:21:10Z")
Spenser (Robert B. Parker) Lucas Davenport (John Sandford) Dave Robicheaux (James Lee Burke) ---
**Author:** ![Library\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@Library\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Library_Boy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/66 "2012-01-13T20:10:56Z")
Philip Marlowe. The best. Amos Walker (by Loren Estleman) While some are blatant Marlow rip-offs, they are well done (at least the early ones), and they are great at giving a real sense of Detroit. I think “Sugartown” or “The Glass Highway” are the best. Artie Wu & Quincy Durant, McCorkle & Padillo (by Ross Thomas) Yes, not traditional detectives I guess, but just outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/67 "2012-01-13T20:23:45Z")
**Lew Archer** **Easy Rawlins** Jane Langton’s **Homer Kelly** ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/68 "2012-01-13T23:32:11Z")
I have to give a shout out to Nick and Nora Charles seeing as how they’re relatives … second cousins, once removed I think. (The once removed is because they’re fictional, while I, on the other hand, am not.) Still, Marlowe is my all time favorite. Tough enough to make the gangsters nervous, but also intellectual and well-educated in many ways. He moves easily among the different strata of 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles culture. He’s generally respectful of all sorts of people, but he’s not overly impressed by wealth or power. Add to that healthy (or sometimes unhealthy) doses of curiosity, determination, and intuition, and you’ve got a detective who really earned his $25 a day (plus expenses). ---
**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 14, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961/69 "2012-01-14T00:46:41Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Still, Marlowe is my all time favorite. Tough enough to make the gangsters nervous, but also intellectual and well-educated in many ways. He moves easily among the different strata of 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles culture. He’s generally respectful of all sorts of people, but he’s not overly impressed by wealth or power General Sternwood: “Did you meet my Daughter?” Marlowe: “Yes, she tried to sit in my lap. I was standing up at the time.” Oh! To the Butler: “You ought to ween her. She’s old enough.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-detectives-book-division/608961.md?page=3)