# Who's the best genre detective? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373 "2009-06-10T19:44:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/101 "2009-06-16T20:44:02Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > What about Max Carrados? Somehow I can’t see it. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/102 "2009-06-16T20:45:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Those who enjoy seeing Nero back in action can catch him thinly disguised as the Marquis of London in the Lord Darcy series (where several other famous characters show up from time to time), and as the Dead Man in the Garrett PI series by Glen Cook. I’m fairly sure the Marquis of London is intended to be Mycroft Holmes, not Nero Wolfe. Though the two have much in common. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/103 "2009-06-16T21:20:09Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Why is Batman even considered a detective? He has the same half dozen opponents almost every time, and they’re always wearing clown suits and broadcasting threats to destroy the city. You hardly need great deductive powers to figure out Gotham’s criminals. Yeah but Batman has to be able to find where the villain is hiding. Is Two Face in the clock tower? No, Clock King is there. Is he in the abandoned puzzle factory? No, that’s where the Riddler is. Is he hiding in the basement of Janus Pizza Parlor? Could be. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/104 "2009-06-16T21:34:15Z")
> [@foolscap](#): > > being an Asimov fan, my vote would go to Henry > > Who solved the crime? everybody knows the butler did it. > > If you have never read “tales of the black widowers” that joke just isn’t funny. Henry is indeed a subtle thinker. But if legwork and teamwork are needed, Asimov gave us two detective teams: Elijah Baley–R. Daneel Olivaw and R. Daneel Olivaw–R. Giskard Reventlov. Not that either of those teams is better than Holmes and Watson, of course. I just mention them for completeness. On the other hand, Holmes and Watson didn’t solve cases that set twenty thousand years of human history on its one best course. They didn’t name any planets after Holmes. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/105 "2009-06-17T01:42:13Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > and sleep with the daughter! Nope - he’d be hit on by every female, but declare his love for Susan at every turn. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/106 "2009-06-17T01:45:28Z")
> [@misling](#): > > I’m fairly sure the Marquis of London is intended to be Mycroft Holmes, not Nero Wolfe. Though the two have much in common. He has Lord Bontriomphe as his assistant, that’s _Good Win._ Read the reviews, they all agree: [http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Darcy-Randall-Garrett/product-reviews/0743435486/ref=cm\_cr\_dp\_all\_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending](http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Darcy-Randall-Garrett/product-reviews/0743435486/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending) ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/107 "2009-06-17T03:41:30Z")
I nominate Wassup Holmes ([.mov version](http://famouslastnerds.com/videos/wassupholmes.mov)) ([.wmv version](http://famouslastnerds.com/videos/wassupholmes.wmv)) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/108 "2009-06-17T13:55:11Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > We all know that House would stop by to use the bathroom on his way to a Jazz concert with Wilson. He’d peek into the room, lift the blanket over the body and explain that the deceased had died from _Acute Onset Skin Failure_. Well, yeah – and fifteen minutes later, he’ll swap out that incorrect diagnosis for an entirely different incorrect diagnosis. When you get right down to it, he’s really just That Guy Who Gets Stuff Wrong In Front Of Henry. (And there’s no shame in that; even Bruce Wayne wound up being That Guy for Henry once. House, though, is That Guy to everyone in earshot at least twice per case.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/109 "2009-06-17T15:58:55Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > [Spenser would] sleep with the daughter! Probably, early in his career. But then he’d feel all angsty about it. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/110 "2009-06-17T16:10:35Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > He has Lord Bontriomphe as his assistant, that’s _Good Win._ > > Read the reviews, they all agree: > [Amazon Sign-In](http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Darcy-Randall-Garrett/product-reviews/0743435486/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending) It’s been a long time since I read Lord Darcy, but IIRC, doesn’t the Marquis also have Nero Wolfe’s famous yellow chair and giant globe in his office? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/111 "2009-06-17T17:03:12Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > No Cadfael? Hey, I resemble that remark! I’d go with Peter Wimsey, myself. Although Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden would be interesting… ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/112 "2009-06-17T18:08:23Z")
> [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > I’d go with Toby what’s-his-name, the telepathic paramedic who solves crimes and missing person’s cases in the new (and almost certainly doomed to be axed) drama **The Listener**. The dude has no formal training in law enforcement, but his ability to read people’s thoughts gives him an infallible access to secret truths. > > Plus, he’s cute as the dickens. 😃 [HIJACK] I am in the new episode that airs tomorrow (Thursday the 19th). I’m the guy in the stretcher on the fire escape. [/HIJACK] I suppose if it really is a locked-room mystery, then the lab-geeks of C.S.I. can’t run any (or at least most) of their special tests, the Law & Order cops wouldn’t have access to LUDs and bank statements and security cam footage and whatnot… yeah, of the sleuths specifically mentioned in the OP, my vote goes to Hercule. He’s that perfect mix of character insight and clue wrangling. He won’t let himself get bogged down in minutia (Holmes), diverted by personality (Marple), distracted by some dame (Hammer) or delayed by lunch & lost glasses (The Scooby-Doo Gang). ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/113 "2009-06-17T18:17:15Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Somehow I can’t see it. > > Regards, > Shodan aaaaaaarrrgh:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Avidchick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Avidchick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avidchick)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/114 "2009-06-17T20:04:50Z")
Chalk me up as another believer in Sherlock Holmes, although given his track record, someone else has to die before the answer is given. A close second being the Ellery Queen of the '30s novel, who was a locked room solving analytical fiend before they softened him up in the later novels. And a third to Batman, but the real brains in the DCU now is Oracle… hmmmm, maybe she’d be second instead of Ellery… And glad to see the love for Morse! I still miss the grouch! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/115 "2009-06-17T21:01:45Z")
> [@Avidchick](#): > > A close second being the Ellery Queen of the '30s novel, who was a locked room solving analytical fiend before they softened him up in the later novels. Analytical fiend, maybe, but not a locked room maven. The only locked room puzzle in the 1930s novels was _The Chinese Orange Mystery_, probably the most contrived and silliest locked room mystery of the period. And that’s saying something. ---
**Author:** ![Avidchick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Avidchick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avidchick)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/116 "2009-06-18T15:45:31Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Analytical fiend, maybe, but not a locked room maven. The only locked room puzzle in the 1930s novels was _The Chinese Orange Mystery_, probably the most contrived and silliest locked room mystery of the period. And that’s saying something. Good call. It wasn’t that silly when I was a child reading it- but perhaps I was wearing the rose-tinted glasses of youth! But I did err in my years, as his other locked room books were in the later years, like '52 for The King is Dead (and sadly, other Queen detectives, like Barnaby Ross in the Tragedy of X and the Tragedy of Y)… They were the first mystery series (after Holmes) I read when I was 13 or so- and I wiped out every used bookstore of any book that had the name Ellery Queen! Perhaps I should refresh my memory with these old friends- it’s been over 20 years since I read them… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/117 "2009-06-18T17:09:33Z")
> [@Avidchick](#): > > Good call. It wasn’t that silly when I was a child reading it- but perhaps I was wearing the rose-tinted glasses of youth! But I did err in my years, as his other locked room books were in the later years, like '52 for The King is Dead (and sadly, other Queen detectives, like Barnaby Ross in the Tragedy of X and the Tragedy of Y)… They were the first mystery series (after Holmes) I read when I was 13 or so- and I wiped out every used bookstore of any book that had the name Ellery Queen! Perhaps I should refresh my memory with these old friends- it’s been over 20 years since I read them… I did exactly the same thing when I discovered Queen. As well as the aforementioned Carr. There was a wonderful used book store in town that dealt in basic used books, not the antiquarian kind. It also had a small selection of new books, mostly paperback. That made it about the about the only place in town to buy the Ace Science Fiction Special series. The used paperbacks were piled, literally, in no order. A very large table was covered edge to edge with piles of paperbacks, 30, 40, 50 books high. To go through them I took a pile and set it on the floor, went through the adjacent pile book by book to fill up that hole and create a new hole, and then moved on. Hey, this was before video games. You could find anything in that store if you searched long and hard enough, but coming up with a book you wanted was like finding nuggets of gold while panning a river. Fortunately I was fanatic about getting all of an author and I didn’t care which paperback edition I read. It was an afternoon’s entertainment for 19 cents. Something about Queen made him my favorite and it’s hard to say what. The 30s novels are barely competently written, have no real characterization, and the plots are outlandish, unguessable more because no sane human could imagine them than because the detective was uniquely perceptive. Queen did change everything about his style in the 40s - I think Dannay wrote less and Lee took over - and those are far more readable and infinitely more human. After the war he recognized that the old fashioned whodunit was a dying genre and so experimented with a different way of rejiggering the field in each novel. None of them are completely successful - The King is Dead is particularly bad, a short story stretched to novel length to make a moral point that was obvious on the first page - but none of his contemporaries made any attempt at all to modernize and the ingenious variations on the theme are unlike anything else in the field. (Ed McBain comes closest with the variations on the police procedural in the 1970s.) I’ve read all the Queen books many times over, having the felicitous ability to forget whodunit as soon as the cover is closed. There is something magical about them even at their worst, whereas the Philo Vance books that the early Ellery was modeled on are completely unreadable. So definitely, go back and reread them. Your glasses won’t be rose but your day will be a little rosier. ---
**Author:** ![Notassmartasithought](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c0e974/32.png) [@Notassmartasithought](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Notassmartasithought)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/118 "2009-06-19T02:34:34Z")
If Lewis and Morse aren’t involved, then you have to fly in the Swedes from the 70’s, Martin Beck and his crew. This is just a hint that if you haven’t read the mysteries by the Swedish husband and wife team of Per Whaloo and Maj Sjowall, you need to get yourself to your local library or used paperback store immediately. Not next month, not a fortnight, but as soon as you can. Great police procedurals. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373/119 "2009-06-19T16:35:10Z")
> [@susan\_foster](#): > > Nope - he’d be hit on by every female, but declare his love for Susan at every turn. I’m thinkng the _Godwulf Manuscript_ Spenser wouldn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-best-genre-detective/499373.md?page=5)