(not including mutant, alien or sci-fi/fantasy beings)
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Detectives in Print, Sorted by Detective First Name | |
 Agatha Raisin → Portrayed by Ashley Jensen Based on the mystery novels by Marion Chesney, a former public relations professional in the British TV series Agatha Raisin (Created by Marion Chesney using the pseudonym M. C. Beaton). •Novels: 1992‑2019 •TV series: 2014‑2020. | |
 Agaton Sax → No screen presence Owner of a detective agency in an animated movie and animated TV series, based on several Swedish novels including Agaton Sax and the London Computer Plot (Created by Nils Olof Franzén). •Novels: 1955‑1978 •Movie: 1976 •TV series: 1976. | |
 Albert Campion → TV portrayal by Peter Davidson An aristocrat in the early 20th century in several novels and the TV series Campion (Created by Margery Allingham). •Novels: 1930‑1965 •TV series: 1989‑1990. | |
 Alex Cross → Portrayed by Morgan Freeman Even tempered psychologist and former FBI agent in several books and movies such as Along Came a Spider (Created by James Patterson). •Books: 1993‑2014 •Movies: 1997, 2001. | |
 Amelia Peabody → No screen presence A rich Egyptologist in the novels series including The Curse of the Pharaohs (Created by Elizabeth Peters). •Novels: 1975‑2006. | |
 Arsène Lupin → Portrayed by Georges Descrières Gentleman thief and master of disguise in books, stage, comics, numerous movies, and several TV series including the French show Arsène Lupin (Created by Mauraice Leblanc ). •Books: 1907‑2012 •Movies: 1908‑2011 •TV series: 1971‑2007. | |
 Beatrice Adela Bradley → Portrayed by Diana Rigg A widowed socialite in the novel series and British TV series The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries (Created by Gladys Mitchell). •Novels: 1929‑1975 •TV series: 1999‑2000. | |
 Bernie Little (image from 2015 book cover of Bernie's canine companion) → No screen presence A down-on-his-luck P.I. in the series of novels beginning with Dog on It (Created by Spencer Quinn, aka Peter Abrahams). •Novels: 2009‑2020. | |
 Beverly Gray → No screen presence A young woman solving mysteries in various venues Beverly Gray Mystery Stories (Written by Clair Blank). •Novels: 1034‑1955. | |
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Beverly Gray → No screen presence A young woman solving mysteries in various venues Beverly Gray Mystery Stories (Written by Clair Blank). •Novels: 1034‑1955. | |
 Brother Cadfael → Portrayed by Derek Jacobi An early 12th-century monk in the novel series and TV series Cadfael (Created by Ellis Peters also known as Edith Pargeter). •Novels: 1977‑1994 •TV series: 1994‑1998. | |
 Bulldog Drummond → Portrayed by Ronald Coleman A gentleman adventurer in novels, short stories, and several movies including Calling Bulldog Drummond (Created by H. C. McNeile). •Novels: 1920‑1969 •Short stories: 1937 •Movies: 1922‑1969. | |
 C. Auguste Dupin → No screen presence An upper class gentleman appearing in stories by such as The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Created by Edgar Allan Poe). •Novels: 1841,1842, 1844. | |
 Cordelia Gray → Portrayed by Helen Baxendale A shy young woman who inherited a detective agency in two novels and several TV series including An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (Created by P. D. James). •Novels: 1972, 1982 •TV series: 1997‑2001. | |
 Cormoran Strike → Portrayed by Tom Burke An ex-SIB investigator, and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan in the books and the TV series Strike (Created by J. K. Rowling). •Novels: 2013‑2020 •TV series: 2017‑2020. | |
 Dave Robicheaux → Portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones Former New Orleans officer and recovering alcoholic in the book series and two movies including The Electric Mist (Created by James Lee Burke). •Books: 1987‑2013 •Movies: 1996, 2009. | |
 Dirk Gently (real name is Svlad Cjelli) → Portrayed by several actors includingStephen Mangan in the 2010 TV series and show here. a "holistic detective" and psychic in the book series and TV series Dirk Gently (Created by Douglas Adams). •Books: 1987, 1988, 2002 •TV series: 2010‑ 2012, 2016. | |
 Dr Gideon Fell (image cropped from the book cover) → No screen presence A lexicographer and drinker in a series of novels such as The Man Who Could Not Shudder (Created by John Dickson Carr). •Novels: 1933‑1967. | |
 Dr. John Thorndyke → Portrayed in the 1964 TV series by Peter Copley A medical doctor and forensic specialist in a series of novels and short stories and TV series including The Case of Oscar Brodski (Created by R. Austin Freeman). •Novels: 1907‑1942. | |
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 Duncan Maclain → Portrayed by Edward Arnold.
A blind detective with a seeing-eye dog in the novel series of the detective and movies such as Eyes in the Night (Created by Baynard Kendrick). •Books: 1937‑1961 •Movies: 1942, 1945. | |
 Ellery Queen → Portrayed in the 1975 TV series by Jim Hutton A mystery writer and editor of a magazine in novels, movies, and several TV series including The Adventures of Ellery Queen (Ghost writers as Ellery Queen). •Novels: 1929‑71 •TV series:1950‑1956, 1975‑1976 •Movies: 1940‑1942. | |
 Elona Holmes → Portrayed by Millie "Bobby" Brown The sister of Sherlock Holmes in the book series The Enola Holmes Mysteries and the movie Enola Holmes (Created by Nancy Springer). •Book series: 2006‑2010 •Movie: 2020. | |
 Encyclopedia Brown (Leroy) → Portrayed in the TV series by Scott Bremner A boy detective in the book series, a comic strip, and the TV HBO series beginning with The Case of the Missing Time Capsule (Books written by Donald J. Sobol). •Books: 1963‑2012 •TV series: 1989‑1990. | |
 Feluda (aka Prodosh Chandra Mitra) → Portrayed in 1974 movie by Soumitra Chatterjee An Indian detective of Bengali origin in novels and movies such as Sonar Kella (Created by Satyajit Ray). •Novels: 1966‑1997 •Movies: 1974‑2014. | |
 Francesca Victoria (image from a comic book cover) → No screen presence A young, attractive and adventurous female private investigator in the popular Dutch comic book series Franka (Created by Henk Kuijpers). •Comics: 1972‑now. | |
 Frank and Joe Hardy (The Hardy Boys) → Portrayed by Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy Teenage brothers and amateur detectives in a series of books and a TV series The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (Created by Edward Stratemeyer). •Books: 1929‑present •TV series: 1974‑1977. | |
 Garrett (image cropped from the book cover) → No screen presence A P.I. in a fantasy universe with his partner, the Dead Man, in a series of novels such as Old Tin Sorrows (Created by Glen Cook). •Novels: 1987‑2013. | |
 Gil Jourdan along with partners Libellule and Crouton → No screen presence A Belgian dectective handles various cases which sometimes took them to many countries in comics titled Tout Gil Jourdan (Created by Maurice Tillieux). •Comics: 1956‑1989. | |
 Hamilton Nash (aka The Continental Op) → Portrayed by James Coburn. A master of deceit in the 36 short stories and two novels and the TV series The Dain Curse (Created by Dashiell Hammett). •Short stories: 1923‑1927 •Novels: 1929 •TV series: 1978. | |
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 Hercule Poirot → Portrayed in the British TV series by David Suchet A dignified and meticulous Belgian detective in novels, short stories, movies and TV including Agatha Christie's Poirot (Created by Agatha Christie). •Novels: 1926‑1975 •Movies: 1931‑1986 •TV series: 1989‑2013. | |
 Hildegarde Withers → Portrayed by Edna May Oliver and later others. Spinster school teacher and amateur detective who collaborates, and frequently butts heads, with Inspector Oscar Piper in a series of novels and movies such as Murder on the Blackboard (Created by Stuart Palmer). •Novels: 1932‑1969 •Movies: 1932‑1972. | |
 Jack Casey → Portrayed by Richard Carlye A photographer who helps the police solve crimes in books, movies, radio, and the TV series Casey, Crime Photographer (Created by George Harmon Coxe). •Books: 1942‑1964 •Movies: 1936, 1938 •TV series: 1951‑1952. | |
 Jackson Brodie → TV portrayed by Jason Isaacs. A tough former soldier and policeman in several novels and the TV series Case Histories (Created by Kate Atkinson). •Novels: 2004‑2010 •TV series: 2011‑2013. | |
 James Hazell → Portrayed by Nicholas Ball. A cockney private detective in the British TV drama Hazell (Created by Gordon Williams and Terry Venables). •TV drama: 1978‑1979. | |
 Jesse Stone → Portrayed by Tom Selleck Former baseball shortstop and homicide detective in the book series and several movies, such as Benefit of the Doubt (Created by Robert B. Parker). •Books: 1997‑2015 •Movies: 2005‑2012. | |
 John Shaft → Portrayed by Richard Roundtree A black P.I. in the style of James Bond in three movies beginning with Shaft (Screenplay by Ernest Tidyman). •Movies: 1971, 1972, 1973. | |
 Joseph Rouletabille → Portrayed in the 1949 French movie by Serge Reggiani A journalist in several movies and a novel series starting with The Mystery of th Yellow Room (Created by Gaston Leroux). •Novels: 1907‑1923 •Movies: 1913‑2005 •TV series: 1965‑1966. | |
 Kinsey Millhone → No screen presence A tough-talking former cop, P.I. in the alphabet mysteries series of novels including "H" is for Homicide (Created by Sue Grafton). •Novels: 1982‑2017. | |
 Lemmy Caution → Portrayed by Eddie Constantine Witty, crafty womanizing private detective in the book series and French movies such as La môme vert de gris (Created by Peter Cheyney). •Books: 1936‑1945 •Movies: 1953‑1991. | |
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 Lew Archer (renamed to Harper in movies) → Portrayed by Paul Newman An often world-weary P.I. working in Southern California in books, a TV series and movies such as Harper (Book written by Ross MacDonald). •Books: 1949‑1976 •TV series: 1975 •Movies: 1966, 1974, 1975. | |
 Matthew Scudder → Portrayed in the movie by Liam Neeson An alcoholic ex-cop in the several novels including A Walk Among the Tombstones (Created by Lawrence Block). •Novels: 1976‑2019 •Movie: 2014. | |
 Michael Shayne → Portrayed in the movies by Lloyd Noland Detective in old style, gathering suspects in one place and naming the murderer, in a series of books, TV series, and several movies such as Michael Shayne, Private Detective (Created by Brett Halliday). •Books: 1939‑1958 •Movies: 1940‑1946 •TV series: 1960‑1961. | |
 Mike Hammer → Portrayed on TV by Stacy Keach A P.I. who doesn't shy away from violence in the series of novels, movies, and several TV series such as Mike Hammer, ;Private Eye (Created by Mickey Spillaine). •Novels: 1947‑2014 •Movies: 1952‑2003 •TV series: 1958‑1960, 1984‑1998. | |
 Miss Marple → Portrayed in movies by Margaret Rutherford An old spinster is of independent means in a novels series, movies and TV series including 4.50 from Paddington (Created by Agatha Christie). •Novels: 1930‑1976 •Movies: 1961‑1964 •TV series: 1984‑1992, 2004‑2013. | |
 Nancy Drew → Portrayed in the 2007 movie by Emma Roberts A young teenager, then young woman in several novel series including Nancy Drew Mystery Stories (Created by Edward Stratemeyer). •Novels: 1930‑2003, 2002‑2012 •Movie: 2007. | |
 Nancy Drew → Portrayed by various actors over the years including Sophia Lillis in the 2019 film as seen in image. A young high school graduate in many books, a TV series and several movies including the 2019 movie Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (Many writers under the ghost name Carolyn Keene ). •Novels: 1930‑2003 •TV series: 1997, 1995, 2019 •Movies: 1938‑1939, 2002. | |
 Nero Wolfe → Portrayed in the 2001 TV series by Maury Chaykin An armchair detective in novels, short stories, movies, radio, and several TV series including A Nero Wolfe Mystery (Created by Rex Stout). •Novels: 1934‑1985 •Movies: 1936, 1937 •TV series: 1981, 2001‑2003. | |
 Nestor Burma → Portrayed by Guy Marchand French private detective in a series of books and the TV series Nestor Burma (Created by Léo Malet). •Books: 1943‑1983 •TV series: 1991. | |
 Nick and Nora Charles → Movie portrayal of Nick by William Powell An alcoholic former private detective and a wealthy heiress in the novel and several movie adaptations such as The Thin Man (Created by Dashiell Hammett). •Novel: 1934 •Movies: 1934‑1947 •TV series: 1957‑1959. | |
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 Paul Drake → Portrayed by William Hopper The private detective working for Parry Mason Perry Mason (Created by Erle Stanley Gardner). •Novels: 1933‑1973 •Movies: 1934‑1940 •TV series: 1985‑1995, 2020. | |
 Philip Marlowe → Portrayed in the 1978 movie by Robert Mitchum A wisecracking, hard-drinking, tough P.I. in novels, TV series, and movies including The Big Sleep (Created by Raymond Chandler). •Novels: 1939‑1989 •Movies: 1942‑1978 •TV series: 1959‑1960, 1983‑1986. | |
 Philo Vance → Portrayed in the 1933 movie by William Powell An aristocrat of unusual culture and brilliance in novels and movies including The Kennel Murde Case (Created by S. S. Van Dine). •Novels:1926‑1939 •Movies: 1929‑1947. | |
 Phryne Fisher → Portrayed by Essie Davis A wealthy aristocrat in a series of novels the TV series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (Created by Kerry Greenwood and others). •Novels: 1989‑2008 •TV series: 2012‑. | |
 Sally Lockhart → Portrayed by Billie Piper A teen-age girl in the novel series and TV shows such as The Shadow in the North (Created by Philip Pullman). •Novels: 1872‑1882 •Movie: 2006, 2007. | |
 Sam Spade → Portrayed in the 1941 movie by Humphrey Bogart A hard and shifty P.I. in a novel, short stories, and movies, including The Maltese Falcon (Created by Dashiell Hammett). •Novel: 1930 •Short stories: 1932 •Movies: 1931‑1978. | |
 Sarah Keate → Portrayed by Ann Sheridan and others A nurse in novels and movies such as The Patient in Room 18 (Created by Mignon Eberhart). •Novels: 1929‑1932 •Movies: 1935‑1938. | |
 Sexton Blake → Portrayed by Laurence Stanley Payne A bargain basement Sherlock Holmes solving mysteries of all manner. Sexton Blake (Written by Harry Blyth (using the pseudonym Hal Meredeth)). •Comic strips: 1939‑1979 •Silent movies: 1909‑1928 •Movies: 1935‑1945 •TV series 1967‑1971. | |
 Shell Scott → No screen presence A 6-foot-2 ex-marine in several novels such as Case of the Vanishing Beauty (Created by Richard S. Prather). •Novels: 1950‑1987. | |
 Sherlock Holmes-1 → Portrayed in the 1983 movie by Ian Richardson A renowned detective in four novels, 56 short stories, and many movies including The Hound of the Baskervilles (Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). •Novels: 1887‑1915 •Short stories: 1891‑1927 •Movies: many •TV series: many. | |
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 Sid Halley → Portray on TV by Mike Gwilym Former British jump racing Champion Jockey in a TV series based on novels such as Whip Hand (Created by Dick Francis). •Novels: 1965‑1995 •TV series: 1979. | |
 Simon Templar (known as The Saint) → Portrayed by Roger Moore in the TV series A British amateur detective portrayed in books, radio, movies and TV by various actors over many years; for example, in the TV series The Saint (Originally created by Leslie Charteris). •Books: 1928‑1963 •Movies: 1938‑1943 •Radio: 1944‑1951 •Comics: 1948‑1961. | |
 Sister Fidelma → No screen presence A Celtic nun in the middle of the 7th century who solves mysteries in the book series Sister Fidelma Mysteries (Created by Berresford Ellis, aka Peter Tremayne). •Books: 1994‑2015. | |
 Slam Bradley (Samuel Emerson "Slam" Bradley) → No screen presence A tough private eye who loves working for women but prefers the platonic company of his sidekick "Shorty" Morgan in the comic book series. Detective Comics (Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster). •Comic books: 1937‑1949, revived in later years. | |
 Spenser → Portrayed by in the TV series Robert Urich A smart-mouthed tough P.I. in novels, movies and the TV series Spenser: For Hire (Created by Robert B. Parker). •Novels: 1973‑2014 •TV series: 1985‑1988 •Movies: 1999, 2000, 2001. | |
 Tif and Tondu (no last names for the duo) → No screen presence Adventurers and detectives who solve cases around the world in the Belgian comic strip Tif et Tondu (Created by Fernand Dineur). •Comic strip: 1938‑1997 •Books: 1954‑1997. | |
 Tommy and Tuppence Beresford → TV portrayal of Tommy by David Walliams, of Tuppence by Jessica A typical upper middle class couple in novels, short stories and in the TV series Partners in Crime (Created by Agatha Christie). •Novels: 1922‑1973 •TV series: 2015. | |
 V. I. Warshawski → Portrayed in the movie by Kathleen Turner A lean and athletic female P.I. appearing novels, short stories, and the movie V.I. Warshawski (Created by Sara Paretsky). •Novels: 1982‑2013 •Movie: 1991. | |
 Varg Veum → In movies portrayed by Trond Espen Seim A Norwegian private detective in a series of novels and several movies such as Bitre Blomster (Created by Gunnar Staalesen). •Novels: 1977‑2014 •Movies: 2007‑2012. | |
 Victoria "Vicki" Nelson → Portrayed by Christine Cox Based on the Blood Books by Tanya Huff, a former Toronto Police Service officer in the Canadian TV series Blood Ties (Series created by Peter Mohan). •Novels: 1991‑1997 •TV series: 2007. | |
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 William Monk (image from book cover) → No screen presence An inspector, fired from the police force, becomes a private investigator in the series of novels featuring William Monk (Created by Anne Perry). •Novels: 1990‑2018. | |
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For a list of other private eyes in novels where no image is available, see Detecting Men: Hard-boiled Private Eyes. | |
First first name on each page | |
| 1 | Agatha Raisin (Agatha Raisin) |
| 2 | Beverly Gray (Beverly Gray Mystery Stories) |
| 3 | Duncan Maclain (Eyes in the Night) |
| 4 | Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie's Poirot) |
| 5 | Lew Archer (Harper) |
| 6 | Paul Drake (Perry Mason) |
| 7 | Sid Halley (Whip Hand) |
| 8 | William Monk (William Monk) |
Detectives in Print Sorted by First Name | ||
| # | Detective | Title |
| 1. | Agatha Raisin | (Agatha Raisin) |
| 2. | Agaton Sax | (Agaton Sax and the London Computer Plot) |
| 3. | Albert Campion | (Campion) |
| 4. | Alex Cross | (Along Came a Spider) |
| 5. | Amelia Peabody | (The Curse of the Pharaohs) |
| 6. | Arsène Lupin | (Arsène Lupin) |
| 7. | Beatrice Adela Bradley | (The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries) |
| 8. | Bernie Little | (Dog on It) |
| 9. | Beverly Gray | (Beverly Gray Mystery Stories) |
| 10. | Beverly Gray | (Beverly Gray Mystery Stories) |
| 11. | Brother Cadfael | (Cadfael) |
| 12. | Bulldog Drummond | (Calling Bulldog Drummond) |
| 13. | C. Auguste Dupin | (The Murders in the Rue Morgue) |
| 14. | Cordelia Gray | (An Unsuitable Job for a Woman) |
| 15. | Cormoran Strike | (Strike) |
| 16. | Dave Robicheaux | (The Electric Mist) |
| 17. | Dirk Gently | (Dirk Gently) |
| 18. | Dr Gideon Fell | (The Man Who Could Not Shudder) |
| 19. | Dr. John Thorndyke | (The Case of Oscar Brodski ) |
| 20. | Duncan Maclain | (Eyes in the Night) |
| 21. | Ellery Queen | (The Adventures of Ellery Queen) |
| 22. | Elona Holmes | (Enola Holmes) |
| 23. | Encyclopedia Brown | (The Case of the Missing Time Capsule ) |
| 24. | Feluda | (Sonar Kella) |
| 25. | Francesca Victoria | (Franka) |
| 26. | Frank and Joe Hardy | (The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries) |
| 27. | Garrett | (Old Tin Sorrows) |
| 28. | Gil Jourdan | (Tout Gil Jourdan) |
| 29. | Hamilton Nash | (The Dain Curse) |
| 30. | Hercule Poirot | (Agatha Christie's Poirot) |
| 31. | Hildegarde Withers | (Murder on the Blackboard) |
| 32. | Jack Casey | (Casey, Crime Photographer) |
| 33. | Jackson Brodie | (Case Histories) |
| 34. | James Hazell | (Hazell) |
| 35. | Jesse Stone | (Benefit of the Doubt) |
| 36. | John Shaft | (Shaft) |
| 37. | Joseph Rouletabille | (The Mystery of th Yellow Room) |
| 38. | Kinsey Millhone | ("H" is for Homicide) |
| 39. | Lemmy Caution | (La môme vert de gris) |
| 40. | Lew Archer | (Harper) |
| 41. | Matthew Scudder | (A Walk Among the Tombstones) |
| 42. | Michael Shayne | (Michael Shayne, Private Detective) |
| 43. | Mike Hammer | (Mike Hammer, ;Private Eye) |
| 44. | Miss Marple | (4.50 from Paddington) |
| 45. | Nancy Drew | (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories) |
| 46. | Nancy Drew | (Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase) |
| 47. | Nero Wolfe | (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) |
| 48. | Nestor Burma | (Nestor Burma) |
| 49. | Nick and Nora Charles | (The Thin Man) |
| 50. | Paul Drake | (Perry Mason) |
| 51. | Philip Marlowe | (The Big Sleep) |
| 52. | Philo Vance | (The Kennel Murde Case) |
| 53. | Phryne Fisher | (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries) |
| 54. | Sally Lockhart | (The Shadow in the North) |
| 55. | Sam Spade | (The Maltese Falcon) |
| 56. | Sarah Keate | (The Patient in Room 18) |
| 57. | Sexton Blake | (Sexton Blake) |
| 58. | Shell Scott | (Case of the Vanishing Beauty) |
| 59. | Sherlock Holmes-1 | (The Hound of the Baskervilles) |
| 60. | Sid Halley | (Whip Hand) |
| 61. | Simon Templar | (The Saint) |
| 62. | Sister Fidelma | (Sister Fidelma Mysteries) |
| 63. | Slam Bradley | (Detective Comics) |
| 64. | Spenser | (Spenser: For Hire) |
| 65. | Tif and Tondu | (Tif et Tondu) |
| 66. | Tommy and Tuppence Beresford | (Partners in Crime) |
| 67. | V. I. Warshawski | (V.I. Warshawski) |
| 68. | Varg Veum | (Bitre Blomster) |
| 69. | Victoria "Vicki" Nelson | (Blood Ties) |
| 70. | William Monk | (William Monk) |
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