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Auguste Dupin

Sherlock Holmes

Fictional detectives are characters indetective fiction. These individuals have long been a staple ofdetectivemysterycrime fiction, particularly indetective novels and short stories. Much of early detective fiction was written during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction" (1920s–1930s). These detectives includeamateurs,private investigators and professionalpolicemen. 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 film characters.

The first famous detective in fiction wasEdgar Allan Poe'sC. Auguste Dupin.^[1] Later, SirArthur Conan Doyle'sSherlock Holmes became the most famous example and remains so to this day. The detectives are often accompanied by aDr. Watson–like assistant or narrator.

Fictional detectives generally fit one of four archetypes:^{[according to whom?]}

• 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 (Cordelia, 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, Alleyn, Maigret); 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:

• Misir Ali – part-time professor of psychology and academic author atUniversity of Dhaka, created byHumayun Ahmed
• Arjun – young detective fromJalpaiguri in West Bengal, created bySamaresh Majumdar
• P. K. Basu – criminal lawyer, created byNarayan Sanyal
• Trixie Belden – teen detective, created by Julie Campbell Tatham
• Boston Blackie – reformed jewel thief, created by Jack Boyle
• Rosemary Boxer – with Laura Thyme, gardening detective, created byBrian Eastman
• Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley – widowed socialite, created byGladys Mitchell
• Father Brown – Catholic priest, created by English novelistG. K. Chesterton. Features in 51 detective short stories.
• Encyclopedia Brown – boy detective Leroy Brown, nicknamed "Encyclopedia" for his intelligence and range of knowledge.
• Cadfael – early 12th-century monk solves murders and social problems, created byEllis Peters, also known asEdith Pargeter.
• Jonathan Creek – creative consultant to a magician, in a British TV series by the same name, written byDavid Renwick.
• Nancy Drew – High school sleuth, created byEdward Stratemeyer.
• C. Auguste Dupin – upper class character created byEdgar Allan Poe. Dupin made his first appearance in Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), widely considered the firstdetective fiction story.^[2]
• Dr Gideon Fell – "lexicographer" and drinker, created byJohn Dickson Carr
• Sister Fidelma – A Celtic nun in the 7th century who solves mysteries, byPeter Berresford Ellis
• The Famous Five (novel series) - Child detectives and their pet dog created byEnid Blyton.
• Jessica Fletcher – writer, created byWilliam Link andRichard Levinson forMurder, She Wrote TV series (1984–1996)
• Pandab Goenda – team of five child detectives, created bySasthipada Chattopadhyay
• Gogol – teenage detective, created bySamaresh Basu
• Beverly Gray – protagonist of the Beverly Gray Mystery series byClair Blank
• Myrtle Hardcastle – Victorian girl detective, main character in the Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery novels, created byElizabeth C. Bunce
• The Hardy Boys – Sibling high school sleuths, (Frank & Joe) created byEdward Stratemeyer.
• Jonathan & Jennifer Hart – millionaire couple, created bySidney Sheldon
• Patrick Jane – con artist, created byBruno Heller forThe Mentalist TV series
• Jagga Jasoos – young detective, created byAnurag Basu for the eponymous film
• Al Moghameron Al Khamsa (The Five Adventurers or The Adventurous Five) - kid detectives created byEgyptian writerMahmoud Salem.
• Jayanta & Manik – amateur detective duo created byBengali novelistHemendra Kumar Roy
• Kakababu – former director of theArchaeological Survey of India, created bySunil Gangopadhyay
• Sally Lockhart – teenage girl, created byPhilip Pullman
• Miss Marple – a small town old spinster who solves a number of crimes using common sense, created byAgatha Christie
• Veronica Mars – school girl whose father is a private detective, created byRob Thomas
• Amelia Peabody – Egyptologist who solves a variety of dastardly crimes in turn-of-the-century Egypt, created byElizabeth Peters.
• Ellery Queen – author and editor of a magazine, created by two writers, using the pseudonymEllery Queen
• Easy Rawlins – black WWII veteran from Houston. All stories take place in Los Angeles during the 50s & 60s. Created byWalter Mosley.
• Joseph Rouletabille – journalist created by French writerGaston Leroux. Main character inThe Mystery of the Yellow Room.
• Niladri Sarkar – retired colonel, naturist and amateur investigator, created by Bengali writerSyed Mustafa Siraj
• Laura Thyme – with Rosemary Boxer, gardening detective, created byBrian Eastman
• Dr. John Thorndyke – medical doctor who trained to become a forensic specialist, created byR. Austin Freeman
• Philip Trent – gentleman sleuth, created byE. C. Bentley
• Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen – created byJacques Futrelle
• Hetty Wainthropp – retired working-class woman, created byDavid Cook
• Lord Peter Wimsey – wealthy English gentleman, created byDorothy L. Sayers, assisted by his valet (and batman from WW1) Bunter and later also Harriet Vane
• Kyoko Kirigiri - a former detective from the gameDanganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
• Shuichi Saihara - main detective and secondprotagonist inDanganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
• Three Investigators - An American juvenile detective book series created byRobert Arthur Jr.
• Kiyoshi Shimada - a Buddhist priest who excels at solving mysteries, created byYukito Ayatsuji. Shimada first appeared in Ayatsuji's debut novelThe Decagon House Murders (1987). The book belongs to his Bizarre House/Mansion Murders series. The first two volumes of the series have been translated into English by Locked Room International.^[3]
• Hildegarde Withers- a New York City schoolteacher turned amateur sleuth created byStuart Palmer

• David Addison inMoonlighting – created byGlenn Gordon Caron
• Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) – Vampire with a soul and private investigator in Los Angeles
• Byomkesh Bakshi – created bySharadindu Bandyopadhyay
• Goenda Baradacharan – created byShirshendu Mukhopadhyay
• Parashor Barma – created byPremendra Mitra
• Batman – World's Greatest Detective in theDC Universe – created byBob Kane andBill Finger
• Tommy and Tuppence Beresford – created byAgatha Christie
• Sexton Blake - created byHarry Blyth
• Benoit Blanc - created byRian Johnson
• Jackson Brodie – created byKate Atkinson
• Nestor Burma – created byLéo Malet
• Albert Campion – created byMargery Allingham
• Pepe Carvalho – created byManuel Vázquez Montalbán
• Richard Castle – Very successful novelist and private investigator from the ABC television seriesCastle
• Nick & Nora Charles – created byDashiell Hammett
• Dipak Chatterjee – created by Swapan Kumar
• Elvis Cole – created byRobert Crais
• Bulldog Drummond – created byH. C. McNeile
• Feluda – created bySatyajit Ray
• Phryne Fisher – created byKerry Greenwood
• Ganesh – created bySujatha
• Garrett – created byGlen Cook
• Dirk Gently (Svlad Cjelli) - created byDouglas Adams
• Cordelia Gray – private detective in London, created byP. D. James
• Peter Gunn – created byBlake Edwards
• Mike Hammer – created byMickey Spillane
• Dixon Hawke - created for D. C. Thomson
• Madelyn "Maddie" Hayes inMoonlighting – created byGlenn Gordon Caron
• Sherlock Holmes – created by SirArthur Conan Doyle
• Matt Houston – created byLawrence Gordon
• Jack Irish – created byPeter Temple
• Robert T. Ironside Created byCollier Young Handicapped police consultant, former police detective. Played byRaymond Burr
• Jessica Jones - created byBrian Michael Bendis andMichael Gaydos
• Jake Lassiter – created byPaul Levine
• Nelson Lee - created byJohn William Staniforth
• Bernie Little – in the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series, created bySpencer Quinn
• L. Lawliet – created byTsugumi Ohba andTakeshi Obata
• Thomas Magnum – created byDonald P. Bellisario forMagnum, P.I. TV series
• Joe Mannix – created byRichard Levinson andWilliam Link forMannix TV series
• Philip Marlowe – created byRaymond Chandler
• Mitin Masi – created bySuchitra Bhattacharya
• Kinsey Millhone – created bySue Grafton for her "alphabet mysteries" series of novels.
• Tess Monaghan, created byLaura Lippman
• Adrian Monk – created byAndy Breckman forMonk TV series
• Kogoro Mori, created byGosho Aoyama
• Bhaduri Moshai – created byNirendranath Chakraborty
• Hercule Poirot – created byAgatha Christie
• Precious Ramotswe – created byAlexander McCall Smith
• Jeff Randall – created byDennis Spooner forRandall and Hopkirk (Deceased) TV series
• Jim Rockford – created byRoy Huggins andStephen J. Cannell forThe Rockford Files TV series
• Kiriti Roy – created by Indian dermatologist and a popular Bengali novelistNihar Ranjan Gupta
• John Shaft – created byErnest Tidyman
• Sam Spade – created byDashiell Hammett
• Shawn Spencer andBurton Guster – created bySteve Franks forPsych TV series
• Spenser – created byRobert B. Parker
• Remington Steele – created by Robert Butler, Michael Gleason forRemington Steele TV series
• Jake Styles – created byDean Hargrove andJoel Steiger forJake and the Fatman TV series
• Cormoran Strike – created by Robert Galbraith (a pen name ofJ.K. Rowling)
• Jack Taylor - based onKen Bruen's crime-drama books an Irish ex-cop as a maverick private investigator
• The Continental Op – created byDashiell Hammett
• Philo Vance – created byS. S. Van Dine
• V. I. Warshawski – created bySara Paretsky
• Nero Wolfe – created byRex Stout
• Ace Ventura - created by Jack Bernstein

• Inspector Roderick Alleyn – created byNgaio Marsh
• Sgt.Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson – from the television seriesPolice Woman, created byRobert L. Collins, played by Angie Dickinson
• 87th Precinct detectives – created byEd McBain
• Inspector Alan Banks – created byPeter Robinson
• Superintendent Battle – created byAgatha Christie
• Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte – created byArthur Upfield
• Harry Bosch – created byMichael Connelly
• Inspector Nash Bridges fromNash Bridges (1996 to 2001), played byDon Johnson – created byCarlton Cuse
• Charlie Chan – created byEarl Derr Biggers
• Inspector Clouseau – from thePink Panther franchise
• Columbo – from the American TV seriesColumbo, created byWilliam Link andRichard Levinson
• Sergeant Cork – created byTed Willis
• James "Sonny" Crockett – created byAnthony Yerkovich, played byDon Johnson (1984 to 1990) andColin Farrell (2006) inMiami Vice
• Inspector Adam Dalgliesh – created byP. D. James
• Shabor Dasgupta – created byShirshendu Mukhopadhyay
• Judge Dee – 8th century Chinese fictionalized magistrate with later editions byRobert van Gulik
• Popeye Doyle – created byRobin Moore, based on the real DetectiveEddie Egan
• Harrier "Harry" Du Bois - created byRobert Kurvitz for the video game Disco Elysium. Chosen name may vary depending on the player's choices.
• Inspector French (Joseph French) – created byFreeman Wills Crofts
• Inspector Frost – created byR. D. Wingfield
• D.C.S. Christopher Foyle – from the British TV seriesFoyle's War, created byAnthony Horowitz
• Chief InspectorArmand Gamache – created byLouise Penny
• Inspector Alan Grant – created byJosephine Tey
• Inspector Japp – created byAgatha Christie
• Richard Jury – created by mystery authorMartha Grimes
• Lt. Theo Kojak – TV series (played byTelly Savalas)
• Duca Lamberti – created byGiorgio Scerbanenco, becomes a police in the second novel of the Milano Quartet
• Christie Love - fictional New York City police detective from TV movie and seriesGet Christie Love!
• Inspector Lestrade – created bySir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Judge Bao – Chinese judge and investigator
• Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald – created byE.C.R. Lorac
• Jules Maigret – created byGeorges Simenon
• Steve McGarrett –Hawaii Five-O TV series
• Adrian Monk – created byAndy Breckman andDavid Hoberman
• Salvo Montalbano – Italian police commissioner created byAndrea Camilleri
• Inspector Morse – created byColin Dexter
• Detective Chief InspectorEndeavour Morse – created byColin Dexter, played byJohn Thaw inInspector Morse (1987 to 2000, original series), and byShaun Evans inEndeavour (2012 to 2023, prequel series)
• Detective William Murdoch – created byMaureen Jennings
• Furuhata Ninzaburō – created byKōki Mitani, a Japanese version of Columbo
• Inspector Palmu – created byMika Waltari
• Jake Peralta (fromBrooklyn Nine-Nine) – created byDan Goor andMichael Schur
• Inspector Walter Purbright – created byColin Watson
• Inspector Rebus – created byIan Rankin
• Dave Robicheaux – created byJames Lee Burke
• Inspector Simon Serrailler – created bySusan Hill
• Detective InspectorLuke Thanet – created byDorothy Simpson
• Thomson and Thompson – fromThe Adventures of Tintin, created byHergé
• Dick Tracy – created byChester Gould
• Inspector Wallander – created byHenning Mankell

• Siri Paiboun -Dr. Siri Paiboun Mysteries - novels created byColin Cotterill
• Temperance Brennan –Bones TV series based on the books byKathy Reichs
• Donald "Ducky" Mallard –NCIS TV series
• Dexter Morgan –Dexter TV series
• Henry Morgan –Forever TV series immortal medical examiner and private investigator
• Dr. Lancelot Priestly – created byJohn Rhode
• Dr. R. Quincy –Quincy, M.E. TV series
• Lincoln Rhyme andAmelia Sachs – created byJeffery Deaver^[9]
• Elizabeth Rodgers –Law & Order TV series
• Dr. Kay Scarpetta – created byPatricia Cornwell
• Abby Sciuto –NCIS TV series
• Dr. John Thorndyke – created byR. Austin Freeman
• Bruce Wayne –Batman comics and adaptions
• Barry Allen –Flash comics and adaptions

• 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

• Koichi Zenigata – character inLupin III, byMonkey Punch. Arch rival to the main protagonistLupin.
• Hajime Kindaichi – character from themanga andanime seriesKindaichi Case Files.^[10]
• Shinichi Kudo/Conan Edogawa –protagonist ofGosho Aoyama's seriesCase Closed, which is known in Japan as Meitantei Conan.^[11]
• L – a detective featured in the Death Note series created byTsugumi Ohba andTakeshi Obata
• Alice –protagonist ofKamisama no memochou, a NEET Detective.
• Sou Touma – main character of theQ.E.D. series created and produced byMotohiro Katou.
• Kyoko Kirigiri – character inDanganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc started off as "Ultimate ???" revealed as the "Ultimate Detective".
• Shuichi Saihara – character inDanganronpa V3: Killing Harmony known as the 'Ultimate Detective".
• Naoto Shirogane – character inPersona 4 who is lonely, has a 200 level IQ, has insecurities on her age and her gender, and is the Detective Prince. Her weapon of choice is a handgun, mostly a revolver. She is currently voiced byMary Elizabeth McGlynn.
• Goro Akechi – character inPersona 5 who is the charismatic, lonely and wanting to be at the centre of attention at all times, pancake loving, black mask wearing, Second Advent of the Detective Prince. His Metaverse weapons of choice are: a chainsaw sword, a laser sabre, a serrated blade, and a ray gun. He is currently voiced byRobbie Daymond.
• Dick Gumshoe – character from the manga and video game seriesAce Attorney.
• Grévil de Blois - inspector working in Sauville's police department. Featured in the novel series Gosick created byKazuki Sakuraba.
• Siesta - character from theLight Novel andanime seriesThe Detective Is Already Dead.
• Sakaido - character from the originalanime seriesId – Invaded directed byEi Aoki and written byŌtarō Maijō. The anime has also received amanga sequel.
• Armed Detective Agency - an organization from the animanga seriesBungou Stray Dogs, the most notable of which being Edogawa Ranpo.
• Kyouko Okitegami -protagonist ofNisio Isin's novel seriesBōkyaku Tantei. She is a famous detective who finishes all her cases in one day, because she resets her memory every time she goes to sleep.

• 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 science fiction and fantasy detectives
• Spy film

• Julian Symons.The Great Detectives: Seven Original Investigation，1981，ISBN 0810909782

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

• Lists of fictional detectives

• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• Articles with short description
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