List of fictional detectives

Auguste Dupin

Sherlock Holmes

Fictional detectives are characters in detective fiction. These individuals have long been a staple of detective mystery crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories. Much of early detective fiction was written during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction" (1920s–1930s). These detectives include amateurs, private investigators and professional policemen. 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 was Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin.^[1] Later, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes became the most famous example and remains so to this day. The detectives are often accompanied by a Dr. Watson–like assistant or narrator.

Types

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:

Amateur detectives

Misir Ali – part-time professor of psychology at University of Dhaka, created by Humayun Ahmed
Arjun – young detective from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, created by Samaresh Majumdar
P. K. Basu – criminal lawyer, created by Narayan 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 by Brian Eastman
Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley – widowed socialite, created by Gladys Mitchell
Father Brown – Catholic priest, created by English novelist G. 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 by Ellis Peters, also known as Edith Pargeter.
Jonathan Creek – creative consultant to a magician, in a British TV series by the same name, written by David Renwick.
Nancy Drew – High school sleuth, created by Edward Stratemeyer.
C. Auguste Dupin – upper class character created by Edgar Allan Poe. Dupin made his first appearance in Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), widely considered the first detective fiction story.^[2]
Dr Gideon Fell – "lexicographer" and drinker, created by John Dickson Carr
Sister Fidelma – A Celtic nun in the 7th century who solves mysteries, by Peter Berresford Ellis
The Famous Five (novel series) - Child detectives and their pet dog created by Enid Blyton.
Jessica Fletcher – writer, created by William Link and Richard Levinson for Murder, She Wrote TV series (1984–1996)
Pandab Goenda – team of five child detectives, created by Sasthipada Chattopadhyay
Gogol – teenage detective, created by Samaresh Basu
Beverly Gray – protagonist of the Beverly Gray Mystery series by Clair Blank
Cordelia Gray – private detective in London in novels and TV by P. D. James^{[Not in amateurs list]}
Myrtle Hardcastle – Victorian girl detective, main character in the Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery novels, created by Elizabeth C. Bunce
The Hardy Boys – Sibling high school sleuths, (Frank & Joe) created by Edward Stratemeyer.
Jonathan & Jennifer Hart – millionaire couple, created by Sidney Sheldon
Patrick Jane – con artist, created by Bruno Heller for The Mentalist TV series
Jagga Jasoos – young detective, created by Anurag Basu for the eponymous film
Al Moghameron Al Khamsa (The Five Adventurers or The Adventurous Five) - kid detectives created by Egyptian writer Mahmoud Salem.
Jayanta & Manik – amateur detective duo created by Bengali novelist Hemendra Kumar Roy
Kakababu – former director of the Archaeological Survey of India, created by Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sally Lockhart – teenage girl, created by Philip Pullman
Miss Marple – a small town old spinster who solves a number of crimes using common sense, created by Agatha Christie
Veronica Mars – school girl whose father is a private detective, created by Rob Thomas
Amelia Peabody – Egyptologist who solves a variety of dastardly crimes in turn-of-the-century Egypt, created by Elizabeth Peters.
Ellery Queen – author and editor of a magazine, created by two writers, using the pseudonym Ellery Queen
Easy Rawlins – black WWII veteran from Houston. All stories take place in Los Angeles during the 50s & 60s. Created by Walter Mosley.
Joseph Rouletabille – journalist created by French writer Gaston Leroux. Main character in The Mystery of the Yellow Room.
Niladri Sarkar – retired colonel, naturist and amateur investigator, created by Bengali writer Syed Mustafa Siraj
Laura Thyme – with Rosemary Boxer, gardening detective, created by Brian Eastman
Dr. John Thorndyke – medical doctor who trained to become a forensic specialist, created by R. Austin Freeman
Philip Trent – gentleman sleuth, created by E. C. Bentley
Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen – created by Jacques Futrelle
Hetty Wainthropp – retired working-class woman, created by David Cook
Lord Peter Wimsey – wealthy English gentleman, created by Dorothy L. Sayers, assisted by his valet (and batman from WW1) Bunter and later also Harriet Vane
Kyoko Kirigiri - a former detective from the game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Shuichi Saihara - main detective and second protagonist in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
Three Investigators - An American juvenile detective book series created by Robert Arthur Jr.
Kiyoshi Shimada - a Buddhist priest who excels at solving mysteries, created by Yukito Ayatsuji. Shimada first appeared in Ayatsuji's debut novel The 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]

Private investigators

David Addison in Moonlighting – created by Glenn Gordon Caron
Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) – Vampire with a soul and private investigator in Los Angeles
Byomkesh Bakshi – created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
Feluda - created by Satyajit Ray
Goenda Baradacharan – created by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay
Parashor Barma – created by Premendra Mitra
Batman – World's Greatest Detective in the DC Universe – created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford – created by Agatha Christie
Sexton Blake - created by Harry Blyth
Benoit Blanc - created by Rian Johnson
Jackson Brodie – created by Kate Atkinson
Nestor Burma – created by Léo Malet
Albert Campion – created by Margery Allingham
Pepe Carvalho – created by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán
Richard Castle – Very successful novelist and private investigator from the ABC television series Castle
Nick & Nora Charles – created by Dashiell Hammett
Dipak Chatterjee – created by Swapan Kumar
Elvis Cole – created by Robert Crais
Bulldog Drummond – created by H. C. McNeile
Feluda – created by Satyajit Ray
Phryne Fisher – created by Kerry Greenwood
Ganesh – created by Sujatha
Garrett – created by Glen Cook
Dirk Gently (Svlad Cjelli) - created by Douglas Adams
Cordelia Gray – created by P. D. James
Peter Gunn – created by Blake Edwards
Mike Hammer – created by Mickey Spillane
Dixon Hawke - created for D. C. Thomson
Madelyn "Maddie" Hayes in Moonlighting – created by Glenn Gordon Caron
Mitin Masi – created by Suchitra Bhattacharya
Sherlock Holmes – created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Jack Irish – created by Peter Temple
Jessica Jones - created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos
Jake Lassiter – created by Paul Levine
Nelson Lee - created by John William Staniforth
Bernie Little – in the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series, created by Spencer Quinn
L. Lawliet – created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Thomas Magnum – created by Donald P. Bellisario for Magnum, P.I. TV series
Joe Mannix – created by Richard Levinson and William Link for Mannix TV series
Philip Marlowe – created by Raymond Chandler
Veronica Mars – created by Rob Thomas TV Series (books based on TV Series. Movie based on TV series)
Kinsey Millhone – created by Sue Grafton for her "alphabet mysteries" series of novels.
Tess Monaghan, created by Laura Lippman
Adrian Monk – created by Andy Breckman for Monk TV series
Kogoro Mori, created by Gosho Aoyama
Bhaduri Moshai – created by Nirendranath Chakraborty
Hercule Poirot – created by Agatha Christie
Precious Ramotswe – created by Alexander McCall Smith
Jeff Randall – created by Dennis Spooner for Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) TV series
Jim Rockford – created by Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell for The Rockford Files TV series
Kiriti Roy – created by Indian dermatologist and a popular Bengali novelist Nihar Ranjan Gupta
John Shaft – created by Ernest Tidyman
Sam Spade – created by Dashiell Hammett
Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster – created by Steve Franks for Psych TV series
Spenser – created by Robert B. Parker
Remington Steele – created by Robert Butler, Michael Gleason for Remington Steele TV series
Jake Styles – created by Dean Hargrove and Joel Steiger for Jake and the Fatman TV series
Cormoran Strike – created by Robert Galbraith (a pen name of J.K. Rowling)
Jack Taylor - based on Ken Bruen's crime-drama books an Irish ex-cop as a maverick private investigator
Philo Vance – created by S. S. Van Dine
V. I. Warshawski – created by Sara Paretsky
Nero Wolfe – created by Rex Stout
The Continental Op – created by Dashiell Hammett
Matt Houston – created by Lawrence Gordon
Ace Ventura - created by Jack Bernstein

Police detectives

Inspector Roderick Alleyn – created by Ngaio Marsh
Sgt. Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson – from the television series Police Woman, created by Robert L. Collins, played by Angie Dickinson
87th Precinct detectives – created by Ed McBain
Inspector Alan Banks – created by Peter Robinson
Superintendent Battle – created by Agatha Christie
Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte – created by Arthur Upfield
Harry Bosch – created by Michael Connelly
Inspector Nash Bridges from Nash Bridges (1996 to 2001), played by Don Johnson – created by Carlton Cuse
Charlie Chan – created by Earl Derr Biggers
Inspector Clouseau – from the Pink Panther franchise
Columbo – from the American TV series Columbo, created by William Link and Richard Levinson
Sergeant Cork – created by Ted Willis
James "Sonny" Crockett – created by Anthony Yerkovich, played by Don Johnson (1984 to 1990) and Colin Farrell (2006) in Miami Vice
Inspector Adam Dalgliesh – created by P. D. James
Shabor Dasgupta – created by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay
Judge Dee – 8th century Chinese fictionalized magistrate with later editions by Robert van Gulik
Popeye Doyle – created by Robin Moore, based on the real Detective Eddie Egan
Harrier "Harry" Du Bois - created by Robert Kurvitz for the video game Disco Elysium. Chosen name may vary depending on the player's choices.
Inspector French (Joseph French) – created by Freeman Wills Crofts
Inspector Frost – created by R. D. Wingfield
D.C.S. Christopher Foyle – from the British TV series Foyle's War, created by Anthony Horowitz
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache – created by Louise Penny
Inspector Alan Grant – created by Josephine Tey
Inspector Japp – created by Agatha Christie
Richard Jury – created by mystery author Martha Grimes
Lt. Theo Kojak – TV series (played by Telly Savalas)
Christie Love - fictional New York City police detective from TV movie and series Get Christie Love!
Inspector Lestrade – created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Judge Bao – Chinese judge and investigator
Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald – created by E.C.R. Lorac
Jules Maigret – created by Georges Simenon
Steve McGarrett – Hawaii Five-O TV series
Adrian Monk – created by Andy Breckman and David Hoberman
Salvo Montalbano – Italian police commissioner created by Andrea Camilleri
Inspector Morse – created by Colin Dexter
Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse – created by Colin Dexter, played by John Thaw in Inspector Morse (1987 to 2000, original series), and by Shaun Evans in Endeavour (2012 to 2023, prequel series)
Detective William Murdoch – created by Maureen Jennings
Furuhata Ninzaburō – created by Kōki Mitani, a Japanese version of Columbo
Inspector Palmu – created by Mika Waltari
Jake Peralta (from Brooklyn Nine-Nine) – created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur
Inspector Walter Purbright – created by Colin Watson
Inspector Rebus – created by Ian Rankin
Dave Robicheaux – created by James Lee Burke
Inspector Simon Serrailler – created by Susan Hill
Detective Inspector Luke Thanet – created by Dorothy Simpson
Thomson and Thompson – from The Adventures of Tintin, created by Hergé
Dick Tracy – created by Chester Gould
Inspector Wallander – created by Henning Mankell

Forensic specialists

Siri Paiboun - Dr. Siri Paiboun Mysteries - novels created by Colin Cotterill
Temperance Brennan – Bones TV series based on the books by Kathy 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 by John Rhode
Dr. R. Quincy – Quincy, M.E. TV series
Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs – created by Jeffery Deaver^[9]
Elizabeth Rodgers – Law & Order TV series
Dr. Kay Scarpetta – created by Patricia Cornwell
Abby Sciuto – NCIS TV series
Dr. John Thorndyke – created by R. Austin Freeman
Bruce Wayne – Batman comics and adaptions
Barry Allen – Flash comics and adaptions

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation TV shows

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

Anime and manga

Koichi Zenigata – character in Lupin III, by Monkey Punch. Arch rival to the main protagonist Lupin.
Hajime Kindaichi – character from the manga and anime series Kindaichi Case Files.^[10]
Shinichi Kudo/Conan Edogawa – protagonist of Gosho Aoyama's series Case Closed, which is known in Japan as Meitantei Conan.^[11]
L – a detective featured in the Death Note series created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Alice – protagonist of Kamisama no memochou, a NEET Detective.
Sou Touma – main character of the Q.E.D. series created and produced by Motohiro Katou.
Kyoko Kirigiri – character in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc started off as "Ultimate ???" revealed as the "Ultimate Detective".
Shuichi Saihara – character in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony known as the 'Ultimate Detective".
Naoto Shirogane – character in Persona 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 by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn.
Goro Akechi – character in Persona 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 by Robbie Daymond.
Dick Gumshoe – character from the manga and video game series Ace Attorney.
Grévil de Blois - inspector working in Sauville's police department. Featured in the novel series Gosick created by Kazuki Sakuraba.
Siesta - character from the Light Novel and anime series The Detective Is Already Dead.
Sakaido - character from the original anime series Id – Invaded directed by Ei Aoki and written by Ōtarō Maijō. The anime has also received a manga sequel.
Armed Detective Agency - an organization from the animanga series Bungou Stray Dogs, the most notable of which being Edogawa Ranpo.
Kyouko Okitegami - protagonist of Nisio Isin's novel series Bōkyaku 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.