Thursday 13 Great Literary Detectives


For this week’s Thursday Thirteen, I was going to list my favorite fictional detectives. But TV detectives would have captured a majority of the list. So, those will wait for another week.

13 of My Favorite Literary Detectives:

1. Sherlock Holmes – Of course, the most famous and wonderful professional detective, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

2. Hercule Poirot – Maybe the next most famous and beloved detective, created by the immortal Agatha Christie.

3. Miss Marple – Christie’s loveable murder-solving old spinster.

4. Batman – Have to include the greatest comic book detective!

5. Nancy Drew – Everyone’s favorite teenage detective. (Though some may argue the Hardy Boys.)

6. Mandie – A favorite series as a child, written by Lois Gladys Leppard. I had quite a few, but unfortunately my mother or I must have sold them in a garage sale years ago. I’m almost as sad about that as my lost Nancy Drew collection.

7. V.I. Warshawski – Written by Sara Paretsky, this tough but feminine detective is must-read. (And made a great movie starring Cathlene Turner as well!)

8. Fletch – Written by Gregory Mcdonald, is a sarcastically witty reporter and amatuer detective. (And also made it into a couple very funny movies starring Chevy Chase.)

9. Annja Creed – Archeologists have to be detectives of a sort. And mysteries always seem to surround her, written by a couple authors under the name Alex Archer.

10. John Taylor – This dark, mysterious and funny detective scours the Nightside, created by Simon R. Green.

11. Magdalena Yoder – A hilarious Mennonite, innkeeper and amateur sleuth created by Tamar Myers.

12. Amelia Peabody – Mysteries and Egyptology… two of my favorite things, written by Elizabeth Peters.

13. Harry Dresden – I’ve just about finished the first book in the series; and I’m already loving this character, penned by Jim Butcher.


62 thoughts on “Thursday 13 Great Literary Detectives”

  1. Great list. I hope after you read Greywalker that you’ll want to add Harper Blaine to that list. And I will make an effort to read Butcher this year before I run into him on the street somewhere.

  2. I’m a fan of Albert Campion written by Margery Allingham. He starts off as a bad guy and ends up as a detective with a reformed cat burglar as his valet.

    I just love the oldies.

  3. I loved Trixie Belden too. Oh, and Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion. I never could stand Hercules Poirot though.

    Great list, Angela! I’m a huge mystery buff and there are a few on there I hadn’t run across.

  4. I mosied on over here from Carl’s blog.

    What a great list! There’s about three I haven’t heard of that I’ll have to check out. I just love Harry Dresden; I hope you will enjoy the series as much as I have. Hercule Poirot is another favorite of mine. And Batman! Great addition to the list! 🙂

    (I keep seeing these Thursday Thirteen lists–maybe I should check it out. )

  5. I’m taking notes and adding names to my TBR list. There are several on there that are my favorites, too. One you haven’t listed that I like is Thursday Next from Jasper Ffordes The Eyre Affair. She’s pretty fiesty. You’d probably love this book because it’s definitely scifi. Also has lots of humor.

  6. Literary Feline – Thanks for stopping by! Thursday Thirteen is a lot of fun, give it a shot.

    Booklogged – I’m definitely going to have to check that one out! Thanks for the recommendation!

  7. Famous Five – I always wanted to be George out on her Island, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Batman…oh those early formative years …Hercule Poirot and all of Agatha Christie were my great friends for a few years…Sherlock Holmes is probably my all time favourite…Stephanie Plum and Falco are some recent fun reads.

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