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NFT: Who is your favorite fictional detective?

Klaatu : 3/22/2020 10:37 am
I don't think we've done that one before. So many to choose from. Feel free to add your favorite stories, books, film or TV adaptations, too.

My choice is easily Sherlock Holmes, and my favorite story is "Silver Blaze," where the dog did nothing in the evening.

I love the 'hard-boiled' private eyes like Phillip Marlowe and Mike Hammer, along with the 'little gray cells' of Hercule Poirot, but Holmes will always be my favorite.
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Another vote for  
EB222 : 3/22/2020 12:31 pm : link
Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Wonderful tandem
There's dozens of classic crime detective books  
BlueLou'sBack : 3/22/2020 12:33 pm : link
featuring Chef Inspecteur Maigret from Georges Simenon.

There's a worldly blackinsh tone to the works, and the "methods d'emploi" is typically the same to solve each murder: dig into and understand the victim, and you will arrive at how and why and by whom the murder occurred.

Good stuff. Good food scenes too, if brief compared with the Nero Wolf series.
Detective  
floridafan : 3/22/2020 12:38 pm : link
I am not sure you would call him a detective but Repairman Jack from te F. Paul Wilson novels.
Bosch is great though.
Lester Freamon  
Koldegaard : 3/22/2020 12:38 pm : link
Maybe not my favorite, but he would be top 5.
RE: Rockfish  
trueblueinpw : 3/22/2020 12:39 pm : link
In comment 14845809 lono801 said:
Quote:
and his car


Rockford Files? Probably the greatest PI show ever.
Edward X. Delaney  
ChicagoMarty : 3/22/2020 12:48 pm : link
Retired Chief of Detectives in the Lawrence Sanders Deadly Sins Novel series is my favorite of favorites.

What separates Delaney from all the rest are his eating habits.

Before Delaney solves any of the Deadly Sins he must make himself a sandwhich which Sanders goes into great detail with regard to all the toppings and fixings.

Inevitably I must put the book down and fix myself something to eat before I can re-engage.

I almost always put on weight when reading about whatever Deadly Sin Chief Delaney resolves to solve
Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport.....  
MOOPS : 3/22/2020 12:55 pm : link
from the John Sanford series.

John Corey from the Nelson DeMille series.

Harry Bosch from the Michael Connelly series, which I'm working through now.

Bill2, you might enjoy Stallion Gate from Martin Cruz Smith. Some mystery, fact and fiction mixed in to your geographical preference.

RE: Edward X. Delaney  
trueblueinpw : 3/22/2020 12:57 pm : link
In comment 14845916 ChicagoMarty said:
Quote:
Retired Chief of Detectives in the Lawrence Sanders Deadly Sins Novel series is my favorite of favorites.

What separates Delaney from all the rest are his eating habits.

Before Delaney solves any of the Deadly Sins he must make himself a sandwhich which Sanders goes into great detail with regard to all the toppings and fixings.

Inevitably I must put the book down and fix myself something to eat before I can re-engage.

I almost always put on weight when reading about whatever Deadly Sin Chief Delaney resolves to solve


I read The Case of Lucy Bending when I was a kid and loved the Edward X series. Did you happen to read his last book? I started but just couldn’t continue, very strange story line, disturbing really.
monk  
mpinmaine : 3/22/2020 1:02 pm : link
,,
..  
Named Later : 3/22/2020 1:21 pm : link
I enjoyed working my way thru the Doc Ford series of books by Randy Wayne White. Set in SW Florida, with a biological bent and just a hint of sex to keep it interesting.

It's recommended to read the books in the order they were written, as you can see both the Character and the Author growing in sync with each other.



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Sherlock Holmes and Columbo for me, The Rockford Files  
PatersonPlank : 3/22/2020 1:31 pm : link
getting an honorable mention shout out (Jim Rockford ie James Garner)
Thank you  
Bill2 : 3/22/2020 1:33 pm : link
MOOPS.

I haven't read that one
trueblue  
ChicagoMarty : 3/22/2020 1:39 pm : link
I have only read the Deadly Sins series by Sanders

I found them to be hard to put down type of stories.

I am getting hungry just thinking about them...
The self proclaimed  
Dennis From Scotia : 3/22/2020 1:53 pm : link
Sherlock Hemlock "The world's greatest detective" (Sesame Street circa 1970)
Fletch  
Stu11 : 3/22/2020 2:43 pm : link
In a landslide. Using the whole fist there doc?
Sam Spade  
Daniel in Kentucky : 3/22/2020 2:58 pm : link
For sure my favorite

And Phillip Marlow in the Big Sleep.
Awesome movie.

“Then she tried to sit on my lap while I was still standing up”
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I'm a Holmes and Poirot fanboy, too.  
Gene : 3/22/2020 3:04 pm : link
I also enjoy reading the Gereon Rath novels written by Volker Kutscher (Babylon Berlin is probably the best known). Unfortunately they all haven't been translated into English yet and I've been on hold for quite awhile after #4 of the series.

Another enjoyable read are the William Arrowood books written by Mick Finlay. There have only been two with the third soon to be released, but how can one not like a detective series with the tagline: "London Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood."?

Arrowood is the antithesis of Holmes, despises the great detective and has his own Watson & Lestrade to catch the bad guys.
John Corey times 100. Demille is my favorite author, although  
Zeke's Alibi : 3/22/2020 3:11 pm : link
I think he's lost some on his fastball recently. Does a tremendous amount of research on each book, so I learn a little bit as well, and he writes tremendous one liner quips.

Speaking of which can anyone point me in the direction of something similar? I feel like everyone else I tried is missing tremendous one liner quips like Demille can pull off. They always seem forced, or wrote by some dork.
Harry Dresden...noir fantasy  
Torrag : 3/22/2020 3:15 pm : link
Great series by Jim Butcher

Nero Wolf...old school quixotic genius by Rex Stout. PC snowflakes need not apply.

They are my two favorite literary detectives.
Just wateched Murder By Death  
JB_in_DC : 3/22/2020 3:16 pm : link
Sellers was hilarious as Charlie Chan.


From film my all-time favorite is probably Elliot Gould as Philip Marlowe in The Long Goodbye. Such a great movie - couldn't recommend enough.
Books. Holmes.  
LauderdaleMatty : 3/22/2020 3:20 pm : link
But Spenser was fun for brain candy. Poirot was great too
Matty: honorable mention to Spenser as well  
Torrag : 3/22/2020 3:21 pm : link
Good call.
Lt. Columbo  
Joey Capps : 3/22/2020 3:23 pm : link
Honorable Mention - Sam Spade
Lordy Peter Wimsey.  
BlueLou'sBack : 3/22/2020 3:24 pm : link
Dorothy L. Sayers could write!
LUTHER  
Bobby Humphrey's Earpad : 3/22/2020 3:37 pm : link
followed by Lester Freamon
A vote for the  
Dave on the UWS : 3/22/2020 3:57 pm : link
little Belgian with the little Grey cells!
Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, Rick Deckard  
Motley Two : 3/22/2020 4:05 pm : link
Special Agent Dale Cooper & Deputy Director Gordon Cole
I'll go  
GrMtWoods : 3/22/2020 5:15 pm : link
Sherlock Cumberbatch and
Philip Kerrs Bernie Gunther
RE: RE: Rockfish  
Moondawg : 3/22/2020 5:56 pm : link
In comment 14845902 trueblueinpw said:
Quote:
In comment 14845809 lono801 said:


Quote:


and his car



Rockford Files? Probably the greatest PI show ever.


Such a good show.
No love for Nancy Drew?  
Moondawg : 3/22/2020 5:57 pm : link
My daughter loved her at least!
Starting right after ...  
BronxBob : 3/22/2020 9:48 pm : link
WWII, and running through the 1950-60s, Canadian Ross Macdonald wrote a series of LA-based novels featuring the detective Lew Archer. If you like Raymond Chandler, these might be right up your alley. Two or three of them were made into films in the 1960's. Since Paul Newman was on a hot run with characters/films starting with the letter "H," he got the detective's name changed to Harper; I'm not sure a first name was ever even acknowledged in them. Nor am I sure if what I think is his first crime novel, "Blue City," actually had the Archer character in it; it might have been one of those "veteran-comes-home-and-finds-a-mess-of-crime-in-his-town" stories. If this interests you, try and get started with the earliest ones and see how he developed.
He is not to be confused, BTW, with the Siesta Key, Florida, writer John D. MacDonald, whose detective, Travis McGee, is also of the hard-boiled, flawed but incorruptible ilk.
Just to add the bbc rendition of Sherlock  
bhill410 : 3/22/2020 9:57 pm : link
Is quite entertaining. Good watch on Netflix as you likely have nothing else to do these days.
RE: LUTHER  
mfsd : 3/22/2020 9:59 pm : link
In comment 14846145 Bobby Humphrey's Earpad said:
Quote:
followed by Lester Freamon


Good call on Luther, brilliant show
...  
christian : 3/22/2020 11:35 pm : link
Jessica Fletcher, easy.
It's between Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole,  
3putt : 3/23/2020 1:21 am : link
James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux and I'll throw in Ian Rankin's John Rebus.
the Continental Op  
TJ : 3/23/2020 2:13 am : link
Nameless hard boiled detective in a number of Dashiell Hammett stories.

I also like inspector Jules Maigret from the Georges Simenon stories.

Grew up reading and rereading the Holmes stories, still pull one off the shelf occasionally.
And of course Sam Spade. I've read the story and watched the movie often enough to practically recite the lines along with the actors.
Jane Marple  
Ira : 3/23/2020 5:41 am : link
.
RE: Starting right after ...  
Del Shofner : 3/23/2020 9:26 am : link
In comment 14846549 BronxBob said:
Quote:
WWII, and running through the 1950-60s, Canadian Ross Macdonald wrote a series of LA-based novels featuring the detective Lew Archer. If you like Raymond Chandler, these might be right up your alley. Two or three of them were made into films in the 1960's. Since Paul Newman was on a hot run with characters/films starting with the letter "H," he got the detective's name changed to Harper; I'm not sure a first name was ever even acknowledged in them. Nor am I sure if what I think is his first crime novel, "Blue City," actually had the Archer character in it; it might have been one of those "veteran-comes-home-and-finds-a-mess-of-crime-in-his-town" stories. If this interests you, try and get started with the earliest ones and see how he developed.
He is not to be confused, BTW, with the Siesta Key, Florida, writer John D. MacDonald, whose detective, Travis McGee, is also of the hard-boiled, flawed but incorruptible ilk.


Yes, the two MacDonalds - always confusing which was which, but they're both good.
Sam Spade  
Victor in CT : 3/23/2020 9:30 am : link
I think The Maltese Falcon is one of the best adaptations ever. Bogart amazing in that.
Frank  
Chef : 3/23/2020 9:34 am : link
Drebin...
RE: Frank  
Victor in CT : 3/23/2020 9:44 am : link
In comment 14846746 Chef said:
Quote:
Drebin...


LOL Classic
Love Holmes  
JohnF : 3/23/2020 11:41 am : link
Both Doyle's books and the Jeremy Brett adaptation (best in film, imo...Brett nails the character!)

Lots of good selections above. I'll throw in a few more:

1) Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher). Probably the best Supernatural detection series, there are multiple books, well written, and a great read!

2) Dirk Gently (Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency)

3) Dr. R. Quincy, M.E., perhaps the first TV show to include hard forensic pathology science to solve crimes. Great show!
RE: John Corey times 100. Demille is my favorite author, although  
MOOPS : 3/23/2020 2:37 pm : link
In comment 14846102 Zeke's Alibi said:
Quote:
I think he's lost some on his fastball recently. Does a tremendous amount of research on each book, so I learn a little bit as well, and he writes tremendous one liner quips.

Speaking of which can anyone point me in the direction of something similar? I feel like everyone else I tried is missing tremendous one liner quips like Demille can pull off. They always seem forced, or wrote by some dork.


There's nobody quite like Corey, but you'd enjoy the Virgil Flowers character in the John Sandford books.
He's quirky and has his own ways of doing things.
I'm a big fan of both characters.
And agree about DeMille. He's on the downward slope.
RE: Michael Connelly's  
BigBlue2112 : 3/23/2020 3:00 pm : link
In comment 14845726 section125 said:
Quote:
Harry Bosch.


Bosch is incredible. One of my favorite all time series
Encyclopedia Brown  
John In CO : 3/23/2020 3:40 pm : link
and Jacques Clouseau
RE: Harry Dresden...noir fantasy  
HMunster : 3/23/2020 4:20 pm : link
In comment 14846107 Torrag said:
Quote:
Great series by Jim Butcher

Nero Wolf...old school quixotic genius by Rex Stout. PC snowflakes need not apply.

They are my two favorite literary detectives.


Dresden deserves a +1
Shawn Spencer  
HMunster : 3/23/2020 4:22 pm : link
and Burton Guster
Shawn Spencer  
Darth Paul : 3/23/2020 4:34 pm : link
Sherlock Holmes
RE: RE: John Corey times 100. Demille is my favorite author, although  
Zeke's Alibi : 3/24/2020 10:27 am : link
In comment 14847145 MOOPS said:
Quote:
In comment 14846102 Zeke's Alibi said:


Quote:


I think he's lost some on his fastball recently. Does a tremendous amount of research on each book, so I learn a little bit as well, and he writes tremendous one liner quips.

Speaking of which can anyone point me in the direction of something similar? I feel like everyone else I tried is missing tremendous one liner quips like Demille can pull off. They always seem forced, or wrote by some dork.



There's nobody quite like Corey, but you'd enjoy the Virgil Flowers character in the John Sandford books.
He's quirky and has his own ways of doing things.
I'm a big fan of both characters.
And agree about DeMille. He's on the downward slope.


Thanks MOOPS, got plenty of time to read now, definitely going to check it out.
Think I'm going to check out the one you suggested for Bill2 as well  
Zeke's Alibi : 3/24/2020 10:29 am : link
Seems right in my wheelhouse.
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